Interview with val cooke, chairman of babtac

Val Cooke is chairman of BABTAC (The British Association of Beauty Therapy and Cosmetology), a not-for-profit organisation, and the largest and oldest established single-body trade association for beauty and holistic therapists. CIBTAC (Confederation of International Beauty Therapy & Cosmetology) is its sister company, an awarding body that offers diplomas in beauty and holistic therapies in the UK and abroad. The company has recently celebrated 30 years of successful business offering a quality service to its members and schools.How did you get into the beauty industry? By default; I enrolled on a part-time cosmetic make-up course at a local FE College to complement my interest in the theatre and became hooked. What is your greatest business achievement? Contributing to the re-organisation of the management team and positive development of BABTAC in the last two years. The association has taken a huge leap forward for members as we head into 2008, and the foundations we are putting in place will, I hope, see us well into the next 30 years. What has been the most satisfying/rewarding moment in your career? Being nominated as the chairman of BABTAC. The association is effectively governed by an unpaid council of members elected from the 10,000-plus membership, and that council and their chairman work incredibly hard. If I’d known how much hard work lay ahead, I might have felt less satisfied at the time! What is the best business/career advice you have ever been given? In business I have been given so much advice it would be difficult to say – I listen to it all, good, bad and indifferent, and then follow my gut reaction. Three things you couldn’t do your job without? A high degree of energy, a sense of humour, and my computer because I work from home. Mind you, some days I need the energy and the sense of humour just to get the computer to do what I want it to do! Best/worst bits of your job? The best part of the job is undeniably meeting and receiving positive feedback from satisfied members, which genuinely happens a lot. The worst? Probably having to think before every decision or action -– I am normally a shoot from the hip person. Future business ambitions? To ensure the company is well prepared to meet the challenges of the future. Imagine you are at the start of your career, what would you change? Nothing; I have enjoyed the diversity of the industry and welcomed the changes and challenges. I am not a person to reflect on the ‘might have been’. Would you do it all again? Not all of it, but most…