The business books and podcasts the hair and beauty industry rates

When we spoke to three hair and beauty business influencers during the virtual event Professional Beauty World, and conversation soon got round to the books and podcasts that have helped inspire them as leaders. Have you listened to or read any of them yet?

Kaye Sotomi, founder of ChopChop London

"The Business of Fashion podcast touches on everything from fashion to beauty. It’s great for hearing about different people’s philosophies and strategies and of course it touches on industry current affairs too. I really rate another UK podcast called The Bottom Line. It shares the stories of UK-specific businesses and their strategies. It explains how to scale up a business – what to do and what not to do. It really does cover everything that you as a business founder will go through. And The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steve Cubby completely changed my life. I can’t recommend that book enough in terms of the principles it covers. It helps you create vision boards and strategies on how to get there. It also helps you separate what’s important and what’s not so important, vital for leaders."

Stephen McManus, founder Leaf Scissors and MCM Hairdressing management consultancy

"An important life ritual for me is to have two books on the go – a fiction that helps me escape the world and then a self-improvement book that helps me develop. Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goldman is a great book for those of us who have to manage other people. It really helps you to understand the different dynamics and the inner workings of your colleagues and it really explains how you as a leader can help them grow and develop. I read The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle during lockdown. It’s not completely linked to business but what it did for me was it helped me focus. Any person leading a company has a million things going round their head. But the Power of Now helps you bring everything to the present moment. It brought peace of mind and allowed me to think really clearly. It created space to allow clear ideas to be generated."  

Amy Lewis, director and owner of Mooeys

"I’m obsessed with walking the dog while listening to podcasts – it’s the ultimate combination. I walk and learn at the same time! I love the podcast How I Built This by Guy Razz. Each episode focuses on a different entrepreneur’s story. Their tales are fascinating and I always come away from listening to it feeling so inspired and with so many ideas. It’s the story of how they’ve got their business to where they want it. Most of the entrepreneurs have lived on the poverty line for years as they created their business, but then you hear about the other end of the spectrum – when they sell their company for millions. It’s so inspiring. I also love the podcast How to Fail with Elizabeth Day. The Mo Gawdat episode was life changing. I’ve now got his book Solve for Happy: Engineer Your Path to Joy and can’t wait to read it. " These extracts were taken from the talk 'How to Grow and Expand Your Salon Business' which was broadcast live during the Professional Beauty World virtual event.