Winners spotlight: Ruksher Mailk, co-founder, Pastels Salon

We begin the start of our weekly interviews highlighting our amazing 2019 award winners by chatting to Ruksher Malik, co-founder of Pastels Salon

NAME: Ruksher Malik
JOB TITLE: Co-founder
SALON NAME: Pastels
CATEGORY WINNER: Buisness Director of the Year

Why did you enter the 'Business Director of the Year' category?

The Professional Beauty awards are very prestigious and are recognised throughout the world as awarding the absolute best in the industry. In the past couple of years, I have focused a lot on self-improvement and how I could enhance my business skill-set, something that with my stylist background I had never done before. 
Focusing on the logistical and business side of the salon has meant I have undertaken a lot of education. This has included the EIDEAL-Santi Business Leadership Programme, seminars run by Nergish Wadia-Austin and the Redken Step-Up Course, which was billed as how to transform your clientele into "high ticket clients" to enhance revenue.

How does it feel to win this award?

Absolutely amazing - it's a real honour. I am so proud to have won and to have had all my efforts and hard work recognised feels wonderful and makes me want to contribute on this buisness-oriented path I have started.

What does it take to be a good 'Buisness Director'?

You have to lead by example so that all of your staff members are clear on how they should operate and work both individually and as a team.
Secondly and very importantly, you have to be knowledgeable about every single aspect of the business and what it needs to achieve success. Increasingly, my role is to work behind the scenes and focus on the management aspect of the business.
In general, I leave the day-to-day running to my managers and I allow them to make autonomous decisions that will improve their respective salons but I am always on hand if they need a soundboard or support.
I am very fortunate in that my managers and I are a team and there is a continuous open channel between us. My managers are passionate and commited to my business, are always involved and invited to put forward opinions and ideas. We meet twice a month formally and together; we review the salon and staff targets. From this, we can identify performance levels of every individual and find a way to motivate staff and boost those that need encouragement. This gives my managers a sense of ownership, which motivates them in their work.
I now spend a bulk of my time in the salon implanting, working on and putting systems and processes in place to ensure the brand grows. I focus on how we can improve the salon buisness to ensure it remains profitable and that its reputation for brilliance in terms of technical expertise, customer service and as a place to work is maintained. For instance, I developed a handbook called 'The 8k Buisness Boost - The Pastels' Client Journey', the aim of which was to educate the staff about the "Michellin Star" standards that were needed across the entire company to ensure a flawless client experience.

What piece of advice would you give to a salon owner who wants to enter this category for the 2020 awards?

Make sure you are already doing what it takes to be a good Buisness Director. Educate yourself on any areas of the buisness that you do not already understand completely. Undertake a thorough analysis of the business to identify the strengths and weaknesses. Put into place new initatives to improve any areas of weakness and to improve on all standards. It is crucial to systemise the buisness and ensure you have procedures for all of its specific aspects in place.

The 2020 award entries will be open on May 1st - keep an eye on www.professionalbeauty.ae or our Instagram @pro_beautygcc for more info!

We begin the start of our weekly interviews highlighting our amazing 2019 award winners by chatting to Ruksher Malik, co-founder of Pastels Salon

NAME: Ruksher Malik
JOB TITLE: Co-founder
SALON NAME: Pastels
CATEGORY WINNER: Buisness Director of the Year

Why did you enter the 'Business Director of the Year' category?

The Professional Beauty awards are very prestigious and are recognised throughout the world as awarding the absolute best in the industry. In the past couple of years, I have focused a lot on self-improvement and how I could enhance my business skill-set, something that with my stylist background I had never done before. 
Focusing on the logistical and business side of the salon has meant I have undertaken a lot of education. This has included the EIDEAL-Santi Business Leadership Programme, seminars run by Nergish Wadia-Austin and the Redken Step-Up Course, which was billed as how to transform your clientele into "high ticket clients" to enhance revenue.

How does it feel to win this award?

Absolutely amazing - it's a real honour. I am so proud to have won and to have had all my efforts and hard work recognised feels wonderful and makes me want to contribute on this buisness-oriented path I have started.

What does it take to be a good 'Buisness Director'?

You have to lead by example so that all of your staff members are clear on how they should operate and work both individually and as a team.
Secondly and very importantly, you have to be knowledgeable about every single aspect of the business and what it needs to achieve success. Increasingly, my role is to work behind the scenes and focus on the management aspect of the business.
In general, I leave the day-to-day running to my managers and I allow them to make autonomous decisions that will improve their respective salons but I am always on hand if they need a soundboard or support.
I am very fortunate in that my managers and I are a team and there is a continuous open channel between us. My managers are passionate and commited to my business, are always involved and invited to put forward opinions and ideas. We meet twice a month formally and together; we review the salon and staff targets. From this, we can identify performance levels of every individual and find a way to motivate staff and boost those that need encouragement. This gives my managers a sense of ownership, which motivates them in their work.
I now spend a bulk of my time in the salon implanting, working on and putting systems and processes in place to ensure the brand grows. I focus on how we can improve the salon buisness to ensure it remains profitable and that its reputation for brilliance in terms of technical expertise, customer service and as a place to work is maintained. For instance, I developed a handbook called 'The 8k Buisness Boost - The Pastels' Client Journey', the aim of which was to educate the staff about the "Michellin Star" standards that were needed across the entire company to ensure a flawless client experience.

What piece of advice would you give to a salon owner who wants to enter this category for the 2020 awards?

Make sure you are already doing what it takes to be a good Buisness Director. Educate yourself on any areas of the buisness that you do not already understand completely. Undertake a thorough analysis of the business to identify the strengths and weaknesses. Put into place new initatives to improve any areas of weakness and to improve on all standards. It is crucial to systemise the buisness and ensure you have procedures for all of its specific aspects in place.

The 2020 award entries will be open on May 1st - keep an eye on www.professionalbeauty.ae or our Instagram @pro_beautygcc for more info!