HJ Reports: Wella RED Business Network Live

Marking 25 years of Wella Business Network Live, the two-day event delivered a dose of motivation, numerous networking opportunities and seriously good business-building tips and advice

More than 200 guests, which included Wella RED members, salon managers and owners, headed to the West Midlands to the Belfry Hotel & Resort.

Industry podcast host, Dom Lehane, hosted the two-day conference, whilst Wella’s Senior Director Sales and Education UK & Ireland, Tatiana Suvorova, welcomed guests. “A year ago, I stood here and promised you a business networking club to help grow your business, and we made RED happen,” she said. “This year celebrates 25 years of Business Network Live and I believe this is the best hairdressing event in the calendar. I hope that in the coming days we can find time to inspire and motivate each other.”

Highlights from the speakers included a thought-provoking talk from entrepreneur Priya Lakhani OBE, whose diverse career enabled her to share plenty of business building advice with the audience. “As a business owner you only ever feel two things: euphoria and terror. My message to you is either disrupt or be disrupted,” she said. She advised the audience to look at how tech is going to revolutionise the industry and urged the delegates to think about colour subscription services and question why they aren’t taking client's payment up-front like other industries do.

Communications coach Richard Newman delved into the way we communicate with our teams, with advice on ways to improve team engagement. He said: “You must not be a hero in your own business or in team meetings because that makes other people feel like they have to be the victim or the villain.”

A fascinating session with author and entrepreneur Sam Conniff Allende focused on ‘being more pirate’, doing things differently and breaking the rules to make change for the better. “There are only two things that stop people in business. Fear and admin. If we continue to follow the same rules, then we are dealing with the past. Rule breaking is not the risky way to act, it’s the responsible way,” he said. Bringing the conference back to the reality of salon life, salon owners and business gurus Collette Osbourne, Salv Mule, Anya Dellicompagni, Carole Taylor and Liz McKeon then led a panel discussion, covering topics ranging from price increases to team resilience and retention to deposits.

A presentation from Olympic rower Sir Steve Redgrave ended the first day as he touched on topics such as perseverance and teamwork. “To be the best you basically have to train more than everybody else, do more work than everybody else and try harder than everyone else. Instead of focusing on achieving a Personal Best, try spinning everything on its head and think about what steps you need to take to get to where you want to get to,” he said.

Guest speakers from the second day included former professional poker player Caspar Berry who spoke about risk taking, decision making, and embracing uncertainty, whilst customer service expert Linda Moir shared her top tips. Having previously headed up the award-winning customer service at Virgin Atlantic and being instrumental in leading the Games Makers at the London 2012 Olympic Games, Linda shared how making the experience fun for customers and employees alike was key to the success of both roles. “When crew satisfaction goes up, the customer satisfaction goes up. Create the culture inside the team that you want customers to see,” she advised.

Finally, adventurer and expedition leader Oli France, relayed his life experiences and his journey to conquering the unknown. “Everything is a matter of perspective and we have the power to change it. The thing we rarely consider is the risk of not even trying. So many of us have hopes and dreams, and what a tragedy it would be if we didn’t fulfil them. Sometimes the only thing that is stopping us from success is us,” he said.

The Wella RED Business Network Live event delivered the per fect combination of business inspiration and networking opportunities – and it was the ideal start to 2023, full of positive, but realistic, motivation and practical advice that we all need right now.