Could you be named junior of the year?

Monique Rogers-Fallon at The Colour Room won Junior of the Year at HJ's 2014 British Hairdressing Business Awards. The judges called her 'utterly inspiring' - but what did winning do for business? We find out. Why did you enter the British Hairdressing Business Awards? During one of my appraisals, my bosses told me about the British Hairdressing Business Awards and more specifically, the Junior of the Year category. They thought I had the right attributes to enter, so I went away and did my research on past winners, what they had done to achieve the award and what they had achieved since winning. From there, I began to collect all the evidence I would need to support my entry. Ever since I joined The Colour Room team - which has won many awards over the years - I always thought I would love to enter an award myself. I never dreamed I would actually win first time! One thing that really drove me to enter was seeing that my colleague, Leah Walton, had won the award herself seven years earlier. It was such a great launch pad for her career that I realised I had absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain by entering. I made sure I took advantage of every opportunity to prove myself in my role within the salon and at outside events to demonstrate my passion for hairdressing and my determination to succeed and enhance my chances of reaching the finals. What is the value of entering the Business Awards? Entering the awards makes you even more passionate about what you do. You have something to prove in entering a national award, and you have to have the evidence, enthusiasm and passion to back it up. It really made me analyse everything I had achieved and it gave me massive self-belief. It made me realise what a brilliant career I could have in hairdressing. It was a massive leap forward and challenge for me. Attending the interview with the panel of judges in London was a major deal for me. Being faced with industry icons was both thrilling and terrifying. I decided the only way to approach this was by presenting an honest, true and real version of myself so I answered all their questions from the heart with as much integrity as I could. Knowing the true me was what had impressed the judges was a great boost for my self-confidence and self-belief. In the run up to the awards ceremony, it was fantastic to be able to talk to our clients about being finalised. They were all thrilled for me, and I was overwhelmed with the support I got from my clients and colleagues at The Colour Room. Attending the awards ceremony was probably the most exciting night of my life. And the impetus the award gives you to move on to the next career challenge is invaluable. I look upon winning Junior of the Year as the start to an exciting and fulfilling career in British hairdressing. How did it feel to win Junior of the Year? I felt so honoured to be at the awards ceremony, rubbing shoulders with all the hairdressers I had so much respect and admiration for. The venue was amazing and the whole evening was a magical experience. Seeing my picture on the big screens and then hearing my name called out as the winner of Junior of the Year was a dream come true. So many lovely people kept coming over to me throughout the night to congratulate me. In fact, the whole thing didn’t really sink in for me until I had come home, seen my Mum and gone to work again on the Wednesday! I could then take the time to look back at the night, see all the pictures, the video and re-live the whole night over and over in my head.