Monique rogers-fallon: styling skills meets business savvy

Monique Rogers-Fallon was named Junior of the Year at HJ's British Hairdressing Business Awards. As this year's competition opens for entry, we find out more about combining styling skills with business savvy. How did you end up in your job? I've wanted to be a hairdresser for as long as I can remember. My Girls’ World was my favourite toy! While still at school, I went to The Colour Room for my work experience. I really enjoyed it and obviously impressed Sean and Claire, the salon owners, as they offered me a Saturday job which I was thrilled about. When I left school, I became an assistant hairdresser at the salon, studying my NVQ in hairdressing on a day release basis and doing all my practical training in house at The Colour Room Academy. What tips would you give for anyone who wants your job? Be under no illusion that it’s an easy job! It’s a fantastic job, but it's very hard work. The hours are long, you work every weekend and it is a physically and sometimes emotionally demanding job. You have to be passionate about hairdressing and the industry and very committed to providing a fantastic salon experience for clients. It is definitely the kind of job where you get out what you put in. What are the best and worst parts of your job? One of the best parts is being part of a fantastic team here. My colleagues all work so well together – we are all individuals, but we all work together towards the same goal; enjoying a great career and giving our clients the best possible hairdressing and customer care. I am really fortunate to work in a salon where there is no hierarchy – the juniors are considered just as important members of the team as the most senior stylists and salon owners. Everyone supports and encourages one another. Outside the salon, hairdressing is an industry with so much to offer its members at every level. There is always something of interest happening within the industry and organisations like The Fellowship for British Hairdressing work tirelessly to provide a schedule of education and entertainment. The worst part of the job is that you get through lots of pairs of shoes! On your feet all day, running up and down stairs – they soon wear out! What do you like best about being involved in the hair industry? I love the fact that, whatever the stage you are at in your career, there are always opportunities available. As a young hairdresser just staring out, I can benefit from the fantastic education, support and creativity of the Fellowship’s ClubStar project, entering Junior of the Year, assisting at shows and on photoshoots. Every opportunity and challenge leads to the next one. There is a definite career path you can follow each year of your career, with clear goals and the routes to take to achieve them. I love the fact that creatively, there is a real flamboyance to the hairdressing industry too. There are so many fantastic inspirational hairdressing icons – all of whom seem only too willing to encourage you, give you advice and afford you their time and attention. It feels like everyone in hairdressing works together for ther good of the industry How important is it for you to undertake training and attend industry events to further your knowledge? It is absolutely imperative (for me anyway) to attend as many industry events and training opportunities as possible. I feel that it is important to always be on top of trends and techniques and creativity. Hairdressing is very innovative and fashion led – and for my career and my expertise to keep developing, I have to be up to date and even one step ahead of everything. This make my day to day job more exciting too – clients love to feel you are using the very latest tecniques and looks on them. The same goes for product education. Where do you see yourself in ten years? I would love to be able to look back and be proud of everything I have accomplished. I want to have achieved a great balance of working with my clients in the salon as well as travelling and being involved in industry events, shows, education, awards and photoshoots. To have made my mark in HJ's British Hairdressing Awards would be awesome. In the judges’ comments, they praised your understanding of the business side of hairdressing as well as creativity. Is that something that’s important to you? At the end of the day, we are all in our jobs to make a living and be part of profitable, forward looking company. I know the importance of playing my part in attracting clients to The Colour Room and nurturing the loyalty of clients through great hairdressing and great customer care. As I start to take my own clients on the salon floor, as I am doing now, I am conscious that I am responsible for building my client base and contributing financially to the bottom line of the salon. A salon that is doing well financially is able to offer great careers and take advantage of all that the hairdressing industry has to offer. Attending events, entering awards and doing photo-shoots can be expensive, but can be justified if doing so adds value to the business and our clients’ enjoyment of their experience with us. How do you progress your business knowledge? I’m really lucky that the management style at The Colour Room is a very open, meritocratic one. Every member of the team is taught to understand the workings and the needs of the business and to look upon their own column as a mini business that needs to be busy, profitable and growing. We are all encouraged to bring our ideas to the table through regular team meetings and The Colour Room owners, Sean Tetlow and Claire Smith are very open and hands-on in the business. We take full advantage of L’Oreal Education, and if I identified a business-oriented course I wanted to attend and which I could justify as benefiting the business, then I would be encourage to pursue it. Reading through all the industry magazines also gives me a good insight into all aspects of hairdressing beyond just the creative side. What advice would you give to fellow Juniors thinking of entering the Business Awards? I would advise them to think well ahead and make sure they are in a position to answer every question in the category and back it up with real evidence. Be completely au fait with the specific questions that are asked and work towards being in a great position to satisfy what they are asking. Rather than rushing and entering with a sketchy track record, I would suggest making a checklist of all the things that need to be achieved and then strategically working towards them. The more opportunities and challenges you embrace, the stronger your chance of being finalised and winning. But I would say to everyone – have a go! It’s a great experience and forces you to analyse your achievements, set goals and accomplish them. How have you promoted your win in the salon and your local press? Our local newspaper gave us coverage of the win and we made sure we shouted about it through social media, our website, newsletter and our salon magazine. I have also had great coverage in HJi – last month there was a full page feature on me in the careers section, which was fantastic! All The Colour Room’s British Hairdressing Business Awards trophies are displayed at our reception – and, being the most recent, mine stands out as being the shiniest for now!