Meeting of minds

Visitors gathered to gain inspiration from the crème de la crème of our industry at the first Professional Beauty GCC Beauty Conference, launched at 2016 exhibition.

Headlining the conference was a lively panel debate, held at the end of each day, when the audience could hear the views of, and glean tips from, our Professional Beauty ambassadors.

Our leading ladies included Tara Roux, Ruksher Malik, Maria Dowling Galina Spierling, Salina Handa and Mona Syed-Mirza.

Audiences packed the hall to hear the renowned businesswomen speak on What to Do When Things are Tough, and give their predictions on Regional Trends; What’s Hot and What’s Not. Encouragingly, the panel concluded that 2016 could still be a lucrative year for the beauty industry despite talk of a financial downturn in the world economy.

Maria Dowling, owner and creative director of Maria Dowling salon commented: "There are very few opportunities to get together with like-minded women in the beauty business. Not only were the panel discussions a great way to share opinions on issues we are facing this year but they were also an opportunity for delegates to ask important questions on a number of topics affecting their businesses in 2016. Thank you for inviting us to be part of it Professional Beauty!"

Ruksher Malik, co-founder of Pastels Salon said: "It was really interesting to get the opportunity to interact with women who run businesses in other beauty-related sectors such as aesthetics. It gave me a valuable insight into how they think and their standpoint. Different people had different points of view on the same topic and this allowed me time to reflect on my own opinions and consider what changes or improvements I could possibly make to my business model."

Other sessions, which included topics such as How To Create Business Minded Therapists, Marketing Your Salon To A GCC Audience and How To React To Negativity/Bad Reviews On Social Media, also drew crowds and inspired debate.

The conference was carefully curated based on feedback from Professional Beauty readers and aimed at proving practical solutions for business owners. Following its success, Professional Beauty’s 2017 Beauty Conference aims to be even bigger and better.

Look out for our survey coming out soon where you can tell us what you would like to see included in the 2017 agenda! 

RSVP for Professional Beauty exhibition 2017 here