The debate: should you name your salon after yourself?

Just like naming your child, naming your salon is a huge decision and something you'll be stuck with for the long-run. Having a eponymous salon can have pros and cons so we spoke to two salon owners for them to weigh in.

Should you name your salon after yourself?

Yes, says Jamie Stevens

“Don’t confuse putting your name over the door with a big ego.” While you can name a salon anything you want, I think the really memorable ones tend to be named after their founder – Trevor Sorbie, Charles Worthington, Nicky Clarke, Errol Douglas – the list is endless. There are a number of great reasons to do this. Firstly, you are ensuring your brand immediately has an identity – putting a face to a brand gives you credibility and cultivates trust in your potential clients. It shows that someone is passionate about their business and is accountable for the service they receive. It’s also an important way to inspire your team – they know that your name is over the door and therefore your personal reputation is on the line if they don’t work to an appropriate standard. Having an eponymous salon means the work you put into building your own strong reputation translates into a loyal clientele who know what you do and associate your work with your brand. Whenever I’m in the press or on TV we get calls in the salon from new clients who have found us easily and feel instantly engaged with our brand. Whenever you meet people or appear on stage, they associate your name with your work so if you eat, sleep and breathe your craft it makes perfect sense to put your name on your salon. Establishing a strong salon name also attracts applications from staff who have a desire to align themselves with what you do. This means you can deliver your own brand of training successfully – my team has been nominated and won many awards, including the L’Oréal Colour Trophy and most recently Alex Morton won Newcomer of the Year at HJ’s British Hairdressing Awards, sponsored by Schwarzkopf Professional. Don’t confuse putting your name over the door with having a big ego – there is plenty of space to nurture and grow talent and when your team succeed, your brand name grows as well. It’s just a good marketing strategy!

No, says Sam Burnett

“I believe the name of our brand will help us to grow organically.” When I launched Hare & Bone this is a question that I gave a lot of thought. I also discussed it at length with my friends and colleagues. In my opinion it is not necessary to do so and in fact there are lots of benefits to not calling a salon after yourself. I wanted to create a collective space that would encourage a strong team culture whilst allowing individuals to grow and develop their own career paths within the industry. Creating a brand name rather than using my own gave us the opportunity to express the salon’s identity at the earliest opportunity. I believe it empowers our team to really contribute to and immerse themselves in our brands ethos and core values. It has always been our intention to grow the brand organically within London and potentially globally. By trading under Hare & Bone rather than an individual’s name there is the potential to do so without the expectation of always seeing ‘Sam Burnett’ at any given location. We did, however, attach the strap-line “A Sam Burnett Salon” to the logo and branding, this was to make the salon sound more established in the early days and to help promote the salon with the trade and consumer beauty press. Once the brand is fully established the strap-line could be removed or if we ever decide to open a partner salon with a member of the team we can adjust this with the individual’s name. I also believe the Hare & Bone name could lend itself well to products, styling tools and accessories should we ever feel we want to expand the business in those directions.