Expert hands: how veteran stylist stuart ross built his business with fresha

With over two decades of experience styling and teaching at Vidal Sassoon Salons, and work published in magazines across the world, Stuart Ross knows a thing or two about hair colour. Here’s how Fresha has helped him make the journey from educator to entrepreneur... The philosophy at Stuart Ross Hair is all about giving customers the West End experience, something founder Stuart Ross is very familiar with. His glittering CV includes stints in Vidal Sassoon’s Covent Garden and South Molton Street branches in the heart of London. But while he spent 23 years at the globally renowned salon, Stuart has gained a breadth of experience across many roles in the hairdressing industry. After working in salons across the city, he joined the Vidal Sassoon Academy as colour director, travelling the world for 11 years to share his expertise - before returning to Peckham to open Stuart Ross Hair. “Coming away from that and going into business as a salon owner is completely different - especially being in education then going back behind the chair, it’s been a real opportunity.”

Setting Up Was Easy With Fresha

Stuart knew the challenges involved in starting a business, especially during the COVID pandemic, but he’s been enjoying every step. “It’s been a really great experience, and I hope to keep the success going.” With contacts working at Fresha already, and colleagues in the industry sharing their positive experiences, choosing his salon booking software was an easy decision. Fresha has been invaluable in helping Stuart set up. “I can’t imagine opening up this business without having Fresha. It has everything in place for you: management, reception, pay, commissions - you name it. I know every little detail of what’s happening in the business.”

Keeping Clients At The Forefront

Stuart wants to ensure clients feel taken care of at Stuart Ross Hair, to connect with them and keep them coming back. “The ambition of the business is to build the relationship between us and the client. They think navigating the booking in Fresha is really easy. They love the notifications, the reminders, every little detail as soon as they’re booking an appointment.” Fresha’s range of marketing tools makes reaching out to clients easy. Features like automated marketing campaigns mean Stuart is able to engage customers and keep retention rates high. “Once you have a client visit for the first time, we send an alert offering 10% off their next visit. So already this week, we have three brand new clients rebooking their next visit. It’s about attracting the client and getting them back - and that’s what Fresha does.”

Using The Full Range Of Fresha’s Tools

With so much on offer from Fresha’s software, Stuart is taking full advantage of its capabilities - and is on the lookout for more updates in the future. “I think for me, there’s so many things that I find useful about Fresha - and there are things that I know are being added now. The key things I really love are the alerts for when you need to replenish stock, and the extra processing time you get on the calendar between appointments.” Fresha’s integrated payments and reports have been particularly useful, giving Stuart an overview of how his salon is doing. “You can go on the app and find every bit of information; the top paying clients, the ones that come back more often, staff member bookings, and even pay for staff members at the end of the month. It’s organised for you.” Having everything in one place makes running the day-to-day of Stuart Ross Hair much easier, so Stuart can focus on plans for the future. As a small business, the extra time to focus is incredibly important. “We’re looking forward to seeing our first Christmas, and with Fresha in place people are already booking their December appointments. We know December is the month for hairdressers, and to handle the phone calls normally we would need a receptionist - but Fresha has done all of that for us. I would recommend Fresha to anyone looking for a salon booking software, 100% - plus it does so much more than just booking." Manage your business to success like Stuart Ross Hair by joining Fresha free at https://www.fresha.com/for-business Discover Stuart Ross Hair at https://stuartrosshair.com/