Lacey Hunter-Felton founded co-working space, The Hunter Collective, six years ago. After recently reading that 2023 was the 'year of freelancing' for UK businesses as many companies have stopped hiring new recruits, Lacey shares her opinions of how freelancing in hairdressing has changed and how far is has come.
Community
Lacey comments that the way the concept of community is perceived has dramatically changed in the freelance sector of hairdressing. Freelancers now feel empowered to recognise themselves as their own community filled with others who want to be connected to them, whilst also being individuals able to move forward independently on their own career path. She notes that this didn’t used to be the case as freelancers often felt just on the edge or on the outside. But now community is so much more fluid and more dynamic as a concept - it’s together and apart, whole and independent, and Lacey couldn’t love it more.
People of Influence
The realisation that your 'people of influence’ are there by your choice and you as a freelancer have complete control over this. This is a movement Lacey has seen emerge in recent years, as freelancers decide who is there, why they are there and how others are in their circle of influence. She has noticed that freelancers are now asking who, why and how they will be influenced- they are really taking control of their narrative.
Are You 'In' or 'Out'?
Lacey explains that there has been a shift from the established cycle that to be a hairdresser you have to be 'all in' to rocket your career, sacrificing other areas of your life. And if you don’t, you face feeling out of favour, insecure, irrelevant and as if you aren’t moving forward. This has been an incredibly hard balance to get right, but one she has been seeing so many freelancers choosing to change. With freelancing, the balance of flexibility of how you manage and spend your time is yours to control and no one else’s. Lacey thinks this is setting a brilliant benchmark for the rest of the industry that you can be productive on your own terms.
Security
Lacey says that if you aren’t a freelancer, then the conversation about security, or the possible lack of it, is frequently associated with freelancing. Meanwhile, for working freelancers this conversation just isn’t happening. Of course, if you take away a traditional structure of income then yes there is a risk, but with being freelance you have autonomy, and you are making decisions about if this is a high or low risk choice for you personally. She continues that freelancers have very much moved on from this conversation and they will only make the move into this sector of the industry, or continue this career, if they are feeling successful or have the potential to be successful. If not, you have the control to change that. It feels the conversation has changed from security to it being about potential success.
Sources of Creativity
During the past six years, Lacey has seen how people’s sources of inspiration have become so much more diverse and eclectic. She considers it to be so refreshing to see how people are bringing originality through their personal passions, lifestyles and interests to their creativity in hair and beauty, which they didn’t feel entitled, or self-confident enough perhaps, to do earlier in their career. She explains that creativity isn’t just based in the practical elements of colour, hair and texture- outside of this, it can be creative in how you approach business, your work/life balance and new formats of learning.
Acceptance of Freelancing
Freelancing has always been there as an option but the platform for freelancers has really evolved and is growing. She states that freelancing is a very creative and powerful sector with no playbook, which makes it so exciting as every journey is different and original. Everyone can make their own path knowing they as a community have shared values and sensibilities of what they all want the sector to be. The spotlight is well and truly on the freelancing sector of the industry. Freelancers are owning it for themselves, not necessarily looking for any approval but noticing the industry’s evolving appreciation of freelancers and their vision. Lacey notes that this can be seen in the way brands are incorporating freelancers and independent business in arenas and negotiations that they probably would not have entered into before. Brands, large and small, are engaging and valuing freelances with own-ranges, dedicated training and specialist equipment.