How I Keep The Passion and Inspiration Flowing
In her weekly article, Jo Haywood tells us how she keeps herself up-to-date and inspired.
Hairsocials
I love being a part of the fantastic community that is Hairsocials. From the Facebook group, the HSPRO team chat, Banner Of The Week and all of the Patreon content, my education and inspiration is constantly fed and for that I’m SO grateful.
How To Cut It podcast
I’ve been listening to the lovely Dom Lehane on his industry podcast for years and years, I absolutely love it. The show’s tagline sums it up perfectly, ‘The show that gives you the insights, inspirations and information to take your hairdressing and barbering careers to the next level’. Dom interviews industry greats, new talent and anyone making waves in the industry which opens his audience up to new ideas and inspires hairdressers new and old. If you’re wondering what avenues you can go down within hairdressing or are just nosy and want to know what’s going on then you’ll love it as much as I do!
Industry Magazines
We are lucky to have many fantastic magazines sharing photographic collections, debates, news updates and interviews. Of course you know this from reading Salon Business! If topics like the cutting the VAT blow your mind and you have no idea what everyone’s talking about, then pick up a mag because they will fill you in on all you need to know. As well as publishing a magazine monthly (or quarterly in some cases) they run competitions and awards which produce outstanding work. Winning one of these is an enormous accolade which is held in high regard by the industry. Whether you enter or simply love to watch from the sidelines seeing what is produced for the competitions is hugely inspiring.
Education
Nothing gets creativity flowing more than getting involved! Keeping your hand in with education is a huge way to be is inspired and to feel confident with your work. If you don’t feel confident it’s hard to muster creativity and passion so I feel education is key. I understand it can be expensive, time consuming and even overwhelming to decide which education to go for as there is so much to choose from. Recently, I’ve been enjoying Hair In Motion’s app because it’s only £15 a month and it’s online- perfect for little and often, no huge time or financial investment yet amazing education none the less!
Having just had a change of product line in the salon I work in, we had a Davines educator come to visit us in the salon and tell us all we needed to know about the new range. Hearing about how new products work and how to use them got me so excited to do my clients hair. To understand exactly what I’m using gave me the passion to talk to my clients about the products, therefore educating them too and leading naturally into an opening to market the retail we offer.
Industry Events
I’m so exited to be going to HairCon this year, it’ll be my second time there and I already know I’m going to leave with excitement and a spring in my step. Every year I go to Salon International and every year I learn something new, see amazing hair, watch industry greats create their masterpieces- and buy a few too many YS Park combs if I’m being completely honest haha! These events are the perfect place to network and expand your circle of hairdressing friends, to support other hair artists and to discover new brands, tools and techniques. It truly is the best way to immerse yourself in the world of hairdressing. If you haven’t been to something like this you’ve got to go! Maybe I’ll see you at HairCon this year, it’s going to be fun!
Trusty old Instagram never fails to help me stay connected, be inspired and help me keep up with trends. I know TikTok is just as huge if not even more huge now but I’m an IG girl! I love the support and love we can share between our peers. I love to get ideas and inspo from what others post. Even with things I don’t specialise in like hair up, I’m inspired and intrigued and it makes me want to learn more. There’s so much free education to be had on social media and I think we’re crazy if we’re not taking advantage of this. We all know and love Instagram but are we all using it for our own business? There’s nothing that gets me more passionate than creating my own content. It pushes me to create the most beautiful hair I can because I know I want to take a killer picture or video afterwards. It brings out creativity from another angle of photography and editing the reels and posts. Most of all, it makes me feel part of something bigger than just my chair but part of the hairdressing world at large. It’s my way of contributing and connecting with you all and that is my favourite thing of all.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by The Signing Hairdresser | London Hair Stylist (@johaywood.hair)
What gets you fired up about our industry? Let me know what you do to keep inspired and passionate I always love to hear new ideas!
Jo Haywood x
INSTA @Salon_Business
