Leading the way - Deborah Whitehead returns to talk about the importance of educating the industry

When did you realise that the industry really needed boosting?

As our industry is forever evolving it is important to have easy access to education. While the product companies support salons and their teams with education related to their specific products, there is a need for fundamental foundation skills for hairdressers. This is why I began Gloss Academy as we can give that support offering training for those entering the hairdressing industry and most importantly ongoing education to motivate and inspire stylists wanting to enhance their skills. While this is widely available in the U.K we have seen a gap in the market in the Middle East and wanted to change that.

What have you done to help educate the industry so far?

We started Salon Educators in 2011 and now we have Gloss Academy and Salon on Al Wasl Road where we offer both City and Guild courses, full and part time, as well as bespoke courses tailored to salons requirements or individual stylist requirements. Currently, we are working on a new programme which will offer salon training solutions on a flexible and affordable basis which will be launching in 2017.

We are very excited and it’s a great initiative to help salons grow their teams!

Can you tell us more about the leadership scheme you’ve been participating in?

We are working with Eideal and Susie Santiago on their leadership programme which brings salon owners together to provide support on a business level. At times, as salon owners, you often get the feeling of being on your own, and the Eideal-Santi programme has allowed us to step out of the salon, observe, evaluate and discuss openly with other salon owner’s everyday issues we may be facing.

What issues have been raised whilst on the Eideal- Santi leadership scheme and how have you been advised to overcome it?

There’s too many to mention, but evaluating yourself is very enlightening. Having the support when moving out of your comfort zone is invaluable as it allows you to grow.

Why should other salon owners participate in the scheme?

Talking openly about what you’re doing in your salon brings healthy competition, I feel that all salon owners should openly talk about the issues they have as well as anything positive. If you want to grow both your salon and your team, then the programme is ideal as it gives you all the support you need. It shows you how to take a step back and look at your business. I would recommend salon owners to take up the challenge for 2017 – they won’t regret it. What good is it to you and your business to stay the same year in year out?

Deborah Whitehead, founder, Gloss Academy & Salon