The Power of Community Maria Dowling believes businesses should share information to stay in the game

For the last few months I have been chairing a community of like-minded individuals, called the Beauty & Hair Salon Owners’ group. We’re all salon owners, successful in our own right and we meet once a month.

Why? Because we all know that despite being “self-made” we miss having someone to talk to, someone who knows the business and most importantly, faces the same challenges as us every day.
As small business owners, we need to ensure our team is supported and inevitably, we spend a lot of our time mentoring the staff. Yet how many of us have come to terms with the fact that we also need support?

As the saying goes, “there is strength in numbers” and no more so than when it comes to running a successful business. Regardless of how talented or driven you may be, you’re not going to get very far without learning how
to leverage the power of community.

Here are my five reasons why I think industry groups are so powerful.

Knowledge gathering and sharing

Richard Branson was quoted as saying, “No matter how incredibly smart you think you are, every start-up team needs at least one good mentor”. If you join a community, you have a much higher chance of finding a mentor than you do if you choose to go it alone.

The chance to learn from the group, drawing on their experience and wisdom and sharing your knowledge will all increase if you immerse yourself in a community. By sharing your experiences, you will also gain the trust of your peers and hopefully avoid any major errors or costly mistakes within the business.

Growing your network

In our business group, some of the members I already knew well, but there were many I had only met briefly, and some I didn’t know at all. In Your Network is your Net Worth, author Porter Gale says that by growing your network in business it means you increase your chances of creating positive opportunities through these relationships. She writes, “I believe that seeking out and working in collaboration with others who share your interests and values will provide a stronge foundation, enabling you to reach a higher level of success than you would on your own”.

The chance to learn from the group members, drawing on their experience and wisdom and sharing your knowledge will all increase if you immerse yourself in a community. By sharing your experiences, you will also gain the
trust of your peers and hopefully avoid any major errors or costly mistakes within the business.

Inspiration and creativity

Isolating yourself can stifle creativity and lead to the failure of your business. A sure-fire way of your business breaking down is if you stop learning, evolving and adapting. Chefs travel for inspiration, fashion designers are inspired by muses, so surrounding yourself in a community which by nature contains diverse opinions, ideas and knowledge is going to inspire you. Being around new ideas means you are challenged to think creatively, question what you know and broaden your horizons. It’s also great for problem solving, finding solutions to business problems that you would never have previously thought of.

Additional resources

We can’t know and do everything by ourselves, although we try to at times. Many of our group are sole founders, without active business partners, so we can be at a disadvantage because we don’t have all the skills to achieve our goals. The power of community, when it comes to finding people who have the skills in the areas that you don’t have, is invaluable. Yes, we can hire someone to do it for us, but often, the solution is simple and it just needs a short conversation with someone who has done it before or knows more than you about the subject.

Supporting each other

Being part of a community of like-minded business owners means that everyone will know exactly what you are going through because they will be going through the same issues. It provides a support network of people who are on the same journey as you, and enables you to get support when you need it.
I now count some of the best salon owners in the business as my friends. I have no qualms about messaging them with a problem to see if they have the same, or giving them a heads-up on a new salon regulation. I look forward to our meet-ups as a group of industry friends, without being guarded about swapping industry information. Sharing is caring, after all. 

If you are a salon owner or manager, and would like to be part of the Beauty & Hair Salon Owners’ group, please contact [email protected]

Maria Dowling is creative director at mariadowling salon and has been a colourist for more than 20 years.
For more information call: +971 4 345 4225
Follow mariadowling on Instagram @mariadowlingdubai