I’ve always been quite self-motivated… and I opened my first salon aged 20. It was close to Gretna Green, so I began doing wedding hair, and after a few months I was doing bridal hair for up to 10 clients a day! It was a strange set-up, but it was great.
After my daughter was born… I moved back to Surrey and continued my bridal hair business there. It quickly went from me working on my own to being one of the biggest hair and make-up agencies in the UK, with 75 different stylists working for the business all over the country.
My work took me all over the world… which was amazing, but I ended up burning out really badly and knew I needed to make a change. It was my love of yoga and wellness retreats, and their positive impact on me and my business, that sparked the idea to run retreats for hairdressers. Based in the UK and Ibiza, the retreats provide a nurturing space for both wellness and business, giving participants the chance to reconnect and focus on themselves and what they need.
You can be the best business owner or stylist ever… but if you’re not feeling good in yourself, you’re not going to be able to show up for yourself and reach your potential. My work is about getting in tune with who you are and what you need as a person, and building that confidence.
When you understand yourself as a salon owner… and understand your team better, you can create an authentic environment where people feel brave enough to share who they really are. And that’s where all their good ideas come from – they’re in a safe space to be authentic and feel good about themselves, so their communication and connections with clients and each other will be better, and their competence in learning new skills will improve. Everything just goes up a level, helping the business.
The main things holding stylists back are… fear of judgement, lack of self-belief, and always connecting happiness to the future when they can be happy in the here and now. I advise people to find out what their joy is: Being in nature? Music? Wearing red lipstick? It could be so small, but if it makes you happy, try and incorporate it into your everyday to bring that little piece of joy.
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joirving.com and lovehair.co.uk