5 minutes with: british hairdressing business awards junior of the year

George Curran of Errol Douglas, London won the coveted Junior of the Year award at the 2015 British Hairdressing Business Awards. We caught up with him to chat about his flourishing career and the importance of entering awards. What attracted you to a career in hairdressing? Hairdressing is a vast industry offering great opportunities; it was the diversity within this trade that attracted me to it. I love the idea that you can change someone’s complete look with a snip of the scissors or an application of colour. Add to that the opportunity of travel, educating the next generation, creating a trend, having work published on gloss it is the perfect career. How did your career begin? My career began as a 17-year-old, nervous boy, whose hairdressing knowledge was limited to a tin of Dax and a head flick. Three years ago, I walked into Daniel Galvin Jnr in Knightsbridge and begged them for an apprenticeship. As soon as I started I knew this was the career for me. How did you come to work at Errol Douglas? Errol Douglas is a legend within the hairdressing industry I always had his salon in my sights. I was working alongside a senior at the time at Daniel Galvin Jnr and he left to go to Errol Douglas luckily I was given the chance to follow him. I jumped on it. Tell us about the training you have received at Errol Douglas salon? It has excelled my expectations; Errol Douglas is unique in that it has four areas of specialism; European cutting and styling, Afro technical, colour and Errol’s artistic night. This is great because it has broadened my knowledge of all different hair types. The salon works alongside The Hair Project where I acquired my NVQ level 2&3. The expertise and enthusiasm is second to none I cannot rank them highly enough. Alongside Errol Douglas’ renowned in house training this proved to be a winning combination. What do you think makes you a good junior? A good junior needs to tackle every task as if it is the most important, be flexible, respect the experience of their mentors, absorb information like a sponge and treat the clients like they are royalty. How did it feel to win Junior of the Year? It was fantastic. It was the ultimate reward for all my hard work and dedication. I felt honored that the panel had chosen me out of the whole country. Has the win benefited your career at all? Winning injected enormous confidence in me. However, with the reward, came a huge sense of responsibility; I felt the real need to fulfill everyone’s high expectations and it triggered a greater determination to become the best. I have since applied for and successfully joined the Fellowship of British Hairdressing, Project X team. This is already proving a great stimulus. What ambitions do you have for the rest of your hairdressing career? I want to leave no stone unturned to grasp every opportunity. To leave a stamp, to be able to say I did something I changed something. To build a brand. Aspire to inspire. If you fancy making your mark in business this year, enter the 2016 British Hairdressing Business Awards.