A win at HJ’s British Hairdressing Business Awards can deliver immediate and long-term benefits for a business or individual. We spoke to two winners from the first British Hairdressing Business Awards – held in 1999 – to find out how the accolade helped their career and business.
Hellen Ward, director of Richard Ward Hair & Metrospa in London, was the first-ever recipient of the Manager of the Year award.
What qualities do you think made you the winner of Manager of the Year in 1999?
At that time I was solely focused on the salon as we had not diversified into manufacturing or products, and I wasn’t lecturing or conducting education. I was very hands-on, as it was also before I had my children! I think I was probably lucky enough to win because I demonstrated that I was looking at every aspect of the business – team performance, public relations, marketing, growing the salon brand and human resources, as well as financial capabilities. Since then I’ve worked to develop a management structure and delegate lots of those responsibilities.
What did you include in your entry to get these qualities across to the judges?
I remember compiling lots of data to back up the claims – team key performance indicators, as well as a demonstration of turnover, profitability, staff retention, good customer return rates and feedback on service. I was keen to show we were walking the walk as well as talking the talk, so I put together sound evidence and statistics to support my entry.
Why is the process of entering awards good for the business?
Entering awards helps you focus on your business – when there is stringent criteria to meet it’s crucial to ensure you can demonstrate what you claim – and this process can give you great insight into your performance. When I’m judging now I often look past the slick presentations to the meat on the bone – the evidence that clearly shows how well the salon is really performing. I’d rather see something that’s not been put together professionally but by the salon themselves, so that it’s real and factually based – so don’t be put off if you haven’t entered before, or don’t have someone to compile your entry. Any judge worth their salt will look past the gloss to see the real deal, but they’ll also be looking for evidence – so ensure the entry is based on facts and figures.
What did it feel like to win?
Wonderful! I’ve never won anything! Our parents were there as well as our team, so it was great to celebrate. It was lovely to be recognised for my achievements, as in a business partnership such as ours it’s common for the ‘behind the scenes’ person not to get as much recognition as the frontman.
How did the win benefit the business or your role within the business?
It marked the start of my trade profile. I now hold several key roles and responsibilities in the industry, as well as writing books and columns, commenting on the business, educating and judging awards, so it helped with positioning my profile.
How did you use the win to promote your business?
We promoted it among trade and consumer PR – it was great to say the salon was award-winning. Awards like that are great for the team, they were thrilled. We were quite astute in the way we marketed our win to maximise the opportunities.
In 1999 Victor Pajak, managing director of Headquarters Hair Salon in Kingston, Surrey, took home the award for Newcomer of the Year. Here he reflects on what that momentous win has meant for him and his business.
What did you feel were the strengths of your new business that made it worth entering?
We opened in 1998, so we had been open just 12 months when we won Newcomer of the Year. We entered because we knew we had a good business with a young promising team, and a turnover that already exceeded our expectations in those first 12 months.
What did it feel like to win?
To win felt amazing! It was the first competition we had ever entered, so we had no idea how we compared to other salons. It was gratifying to realise our gut instincts that we were doing well were right. It made all the hard work of that first year worthwhile.
Fifteen years on, do you still feel it is benefiting the business?
It always benefits a business to be known as a “multi-award-winning” salon. Many of the clients and team members who came to us after those early awards in 1999 and 2001 are still with us today. Those early awards established our reputation.
How did it benefit the business?
That first award in 1999 significantly raised our profile, both in the industry and in Kingston. From that point on we saw a big surge in business, as local clients were impressed by the award. We also found ambitious stylists approaching to work with us – many of whom are still with me today.
How did you use the win to promote your business?
We’ve won several other business awards since the Newcomer Award in 1999 – including Salon of the Year in 2001, 2003 and 2006 – and we’ve always promoted all our award wins on our stationery and in our windows. In the early years we did a lot of local press and local radio too. In more recent years we’ve promoted our award wins on our website and on social media.
Why is the process of entering awards good for the business? We still enter all kinds of awards – business and creative – because I feel it is important for a business to continue growing and developing and moving forward all the time – otherwise, you can become complacent. It’s also important for the salon team to have goals to aspire to, and the whole process of entering an award can be a great team event. It’s also a very good process from a business perspective, as it helps you to analyse your business. We continue to enter awards because we want to demonstrate we are still very much a winning team.
