1 mins
HOW TO GET AHEAD IN HAIRDRESSING
Abigail Butler – owner of the Strictly Xtended salon in Bishop’s Stortford and an AXA Business Insurance customer shares how she stands out from the crowd
In a competitive market, you have to stay a cut above the competition. But it’s not always enough to build your experience, skills and knowledge to be the best hairdresser or stylist you can be.
Real success comes from combining your passion for hair with a head for business.
Here, Abigail Butler – owner of the Strictly Xtended salon in Bishop’s Stortford and an AXA Business Insurance customer since 2015 – shares how she found her niche and her tips for success.
“Hairdressing is a competitive market. Years ago, it used to be quite niche for us to specialise in extensions, but recently the market has become saturated with more and more people coming through the ranks. A lot of the newer businesses might not have the experience we do or the qualifications. For example, they could have learned their skills from Youtube.
“So the way we stand out is through our professionalism and our experience. I’ve been doing extensions since I was 16, so there’s a lot I’ve learned. At the end of the day, experience does carry you through.”
Build your knowledge
Being skilled in your craft is one thing, but as Abigail points out, there’s a lot more that goes in to making her salon a success: “I needed to build myself up to get to the point where I thought: ‘ok, I can run this business. I know my profits, my loss and my cashflow’. Initially it was just me doing people’s hair, but that’s totally different from running a business. I had to train myself to understand the business side of things. I’m still learning though!”
A guardian angel for your salon
AXA know that running your own business is hard work, but their Business Guardian Angel site can help make things a bit easier through useful blogs, in-depth guides and practical advice to help give your small business the right tools and knowledge to succeed.
From help with hiring staff to advice on your allowable business expenses, search AXA Business Guardian Angel