2 mins
HJ VOICENOTES
After a break-in at his salon November Collective, Christopher Laird was forced to re-look at his business and his career – and he worked to improve them for the better
"FOR SOME PEOPLE A SALON BREAK-IN MIGHT HAVE FORCED THEM TO TAKE A STEP BACK. BUT NOT ME.
Six months into opening our new salon, November Collective in Livingston, Scotland we had a break-in. It was a real awakening, and although it was devastating, I’ve tried to take the positives from it and it’s now informed how I run my business and my career. Up until that point I was throwing everything at my personal career and I admit I didn’t feel as in control of my business as I wanted to. If it was to happen again, myself and my business partner Emma Cantwell, feel that we are in a much better place organisationally and professionally to deal with it.
The break in really forced me to learn the art of delegation and that it can’t always be me 100% of the time. I think going from a one-man band into a partnership and having staff was a learning curve. I'm a perfectionist, and I have always been responsible for how I present myself, how my business is run and what happens day to day, because it was only ever me that I had to look out for. But now, having a company growing at such a fast pace, I’ve had to delegate and let go of things a bit more.
Thankfully, it’s meant I can continue working with new brands and saying ‘yes’ to every opportunity given to me and the salon. I had a call with an agent yesterday and the first question they asked was ‘are you based down in London now?’ - no, I’m not. I’m in Scotland, but it's only an hour's flight away. People act like I’m travelling across the Atlantic! I won’t allow my success to have a geographical limit, and location shouldn't come into consideration when accepting jobs. We live in a world now where you can literally be anywhere within a few hours. I think a lot of it comes down to the individual rather than location. I always say to my colleagues at ghd, it probably takes me less time to get to central London than someone who lives in south London! I live nine minutes away from the airport, I can park my car and be through security within 16 minutes.
For some people a salon break-in might have forced them to take a step back. But not me. You know, the famous saying, ‘sleep when you’re dead’?, I live by that motto. My screen saver on my phone says: ‘Just remember 5 years ago you dreamed about where you are now’. And that is my ethos in life. I've had to learn to look after myself a lot better. Eating nutritiously, making sure to pick a hotel with a gym and still having a healthy lifestyle, wherever I am. But you’ll never find me saying no to a job based on location.