Hair Life

In this episode Nathan talks about how you – as a salon owner – are probably having to deal with quite a lot right now and how you can deal with feelings of overwhelm as a business owner. KEY TAKEAWAYS When I say “overwhelm”, I mean that feeling that everything is coming on top of you, like being buried alive, and you don’t have the answer to everything. I feel like this sometimes in the business,...

In this episode Nathan explains why he’s been away for the last few weeks, it was a time of reflection where he took some time to really think about his business and this show. What have been some of the challenges and what are the opportunities to future-proof the business? KEY TAKEAWAYS As a salon owner, like me, you are definitely starting to notice the difference in every part of your business...

In this episode Nathan is joined by the founders of Wellity Global, Simon Scott-Nelson and Sadie Restorick. These two amazing entrepreneurs are changing the way businesses are looking after their teams by creating phenomenal health and wellbeing programmes that are designed to help break the confines of work expectations and pressures whilst allowing you to feel empowered to manage your own wellbe...

This episode of Hair Life is a companion piece to the last episode in which Nathan talked about the ten biggest business learnings he’s had over the years. In this episode he points out the top ten reasons salons and businesses fail and how you can avoid them.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Growing too fast: While growing your salon is a desirable thing to do, over-expansion can be a serious error. Ta...

In this episode Nathan talks about the ten biggest business learnings he’s had over the last 24 years, but more specifically from the last ten years. KEY TAKEAWAYS Competitors can be your best source of revenue. I was terrified of the competition when I first started as a hairdresser and meant I worked 6 days a week doing 12 hours shifts. After I started meeting my competition, they all seem...

In this episode Nathan talks about developing an inspired and driven team by getting rid of the d***heads in your team.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Life’s been throwing me a few curve balls recently and it’s made me look at things within our salon and business in general. It’s also made me look at who is in our salon, my team and the team as individuals, how they work and how they act a...

In this episode Nathan expresses his thoughts and feelings on the current state of the world and how keeping happy is a lot harder than you think.    KEY TAKEAWAYS In 30 years of being a salon owner I’ve never ever experienced so many lows and messed up people with crazy, screwed up situations. It is not the world I want to be in. Have you just had enough of it? Are you not fed up...

In this episode Nathan talks about bodies: Do we like them? How do we feel about them? And, if we don’t feel great about them, what can we do to make ourselves feel better?   KEY TAKEAWAYS The issue of our bodies and body image has come up a lot in the last couple of weeks on the podcast as well as in my team. As a job, I talk daily to our guests in the salon and the team. I see and hea...

In this episode Nathan talks to three of the founding members of the Salon Employers Association (SEA) – Toby Dicker of the Chapel Group, Edward Hemmings of Alan D Education and Stephen Nurse of Daniel Galvin – to discuss how the hair industry needs changes to make it a fair playing field for salons who employ their teams.    KEY TAKEAWAYS We initially set up a WhatApp group...

In this episode Nathan talks to Béatrice Dautzenberg, Managing Director of L’Oréal Professional Products Division for the UK and Ireland, to celebrate International Women’s Day and share some tips and guidance on how to succeed both at work and at home.   KEY TAKEAWAYS There is never a perfect balance between family life and work, I get asked this a lot by younger wo...

In this episode Nathan talks about what else the Hair Life podcast is about: Living your best life. One of the biggest topics of discussion he’s noticed recently is keeping healthy as you age, so here he suggests some things you need to be aware of and some solutions for you to keep fit and feel good.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Every salon worker and owner has probably worked a day in the salon wh...

In this episode Nathan is joined by Ruari Fairbairns, co-founder of the One Year No Beer programme and author of the 28 Day Challenge to talk about the company he’s set up, the advantages of choosing not to drink and much more. KEY TAKEAWAYS I was a party boy when I became an oil broker, I was always the first to call for shots, the last man standing at the end of the night and usually naked...

In this episode Nathan Plumridge follows on from last week’s podcast about costs and how they’re killing the salon industry. This week he focuses on marginal gains: What are they? These are something that top sports teams and individuals use every day in order to make them grow and make them the best that they can be. Just making a small tweak and increasing your potential by 1% can ma...

In this episode Nathan Plumridge talks about the self-care industry, is it being killed by the costs that we’re now getting and, if so, what strategies and things can we put in place to survive 2022 and kill it in 2023?   KEY TAKEAWAYS It’s been a very hard few years. In 2019, the hairdressing, fitness and beauty industry was growing at its fastest rate for years, we were all crus...

In this episode Nathan Plumridge is joined by Hayley Jepson, a mental health coach for hairdressers, who works with individual hairdressers and salon owners. Previously she was a hairdresser who suffered from depression and, after her own therapy, became a therapist herself, which puts her in the perfect space to talk hairdressers through their mental health problems. In this episode the tow talk...

In this episode Nathan Plumridge present his 18 ways he thinks we can potentially make 2022 an even better year than the last couple. KEY TAKEAWAYS Do all the things that you said you were going to do in 2021: travel, exercise more, drink less and get better at my finances. Look at your circle of influence. If they’re negative, or battery drainers, and they don’t align with your core v...

In this episode Nathan Plumridge speaks to Rob Moore, author, double world record holder, multi-millionaire, the UK’s biggest business podcaster, an educator, creator, mentor to millionaires all over the world. The pair talk about entrepreneurship and running successful businesses and where Rob’s boundless energy comes from. KEY TAKEAWAYS If you want to be an entrepreneur and be produc...

In this episode Nathan Plumridge speaks to Ian Bishop, co-owner of the very ethical hair colour brand Organic Colour Systems. They discuss the brand in great detail and the shift in the hair industry for a cleaner and more environmentally friendly way of doing what it’s done for years. KEY TAKEAWAYS The colour took two full years of development. The branding and the products we use as part o...

In this episode Nathan Plumridge talks to Edward Hemmings, owner and salon director of the Alan d Education Group. With over 30 years of hair and education experience, Edward and his team provide outstanding hair and barbering education from their two sites in London and Ipswich. The pair talk about education in the hair industry and a number of other key subjects. KEY TAKEAWAYS Young hairdressers...

In this episode Nathan Plumridge talks all things colour with Carolyn Newman who has had a career spanning over 35 years as a hair colour expert and educator. Carolyn has won numerous awards such as the Most Wanted Colourist 2012 and has been covered in major magazines such as Tatler, Vogue and Marie Claire, she has also appeared on TV shows like GMTV, This Morning, Working Lunch and many more. KE...

In this episode Nathan Plumridge is joined by Lorraine Hume, a salon owner and the reigning L'Oréal Colour Trophy champion – one of the biggest competitions in British hairdressing. The pair talk about her experiences, colour trends and what it’s like to run a busy hair salon. KEY TAKEAWAYS We streamed the L'Oréal Colour Trophy Awards live in a bar/restaurant with mine an...

In this episode Nathan Plumridge is joined by his first guest, hairpeneuer and multi-award winner salon owner Victoria Mavin. The pair discuss what it’s like to start a business and the challenges it brings. KEY TAKEAWAYS There are some people who love hair extensions and some who hate them. My focus – and what’s worked well for me – was on quality, systems, follow-ups, mai...

In this episode Nathan Plumridge brings you up to date with where his business is at today, surviving the pandemic and the learning that came out of it. KEY TAKEAWAYS After my Dad died, I felt alone but I also felt more in control, everything about the business was now down to me and I found it easier to get on a grow in the way I wanted it to. It was almost as if the shackles had come off and gav...

In this episode Nathan Plumridge talks about his father and the emotional roller coaster of being a carer and finding out some pretty bad news. He wishes to share this information because it was pivotal in his life with his father but also to give an insight into the experiences they shared together.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Me and my Dad had a business and we were best mates. We argued about mos...

In this episode Nathan Plumridge talks about relocating to a new premises and the ups and downs that brought to the business as well as the incredible beginning of a new business and what that brought to everyone in it. The episode also includes the biggest change in his life and the beginning of something incredible.  KEY TAKEAWAYS We got to a change where we had outgrown our current site an...