Hair Life

By Nathan Plumridge

Welcome to the Hair Life Podcast with me Nathan Plumridge.

28 years ago I was a confused teenager who had no real idea of what I wanted to do as a career and no real passion for anyt... more

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FAQs about Hair Life:

How many episodes does Hair Life have?

The podcast currently has 70 episodes available.

Hair Life episodes:

July 31, 2022A Salon Owner’s Guide To Self-Motivation And Crushing Negative Thoughts
In this episode Nathan talks about how he’s noticed a lot of mixed up feelings around him lately from salon owners and guests that come into the salon about how they’re currently dealing with everything that’s going on in the world. Nathan has been working with his mentor recently on things that he hopes, once he’s shared them with you on this podcast, will help you achieve a more positive general outlook.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
I’ve started to really work on my morning routine – having a good morning routine is proven to have a lasting positive effect on our body and, most importantly, on our brains. The first thing I do when I wake up is drink a glass of water – almost a pint – because you dehydrate so much when you sleep. I make my bed straight away. I do a five minute journal about dreams or thoughts I had during my sleep, what’s ahead for the day, and three things I’m grateful for – it basically clears your head of things and lets you start the day clear.
I’ve got what my kids call my “green goo”, which is basically a drink called Athletic Greens, for me it’s an essential mix of all the vitamins and minerals that my body needs to give me a great hit for the day. It’s also really good for gut health which is really important.
I’ve started to get more and more focussed on my personal ‘why’. Why am I doing this? Why am I running my business? I’ve also started to think about the impact that I can have, not only on me but on the people around me. It’s really noticeable when you’re in a really upbeat, positive frame of mind and then you get these battery drainers that come into your salon and it’s like they try to take you down to their level. Learn to let these people and their thoughts wash over you. The best way to do this is to have an incredibly positive peer group (others that run their own business/salon) that you can talk to and quash any of those negative thoughts that tend to sit on your shoulders.
Where I’ve learned most, and I think it will help you feel more motivated and quash any negativity is to understand that negativity – or that word – is simply just an emotional feeling that you give to a situation. You have the opportunity to change that feeling from bad to good, literally with the flick of a switch, or a smile. Tell yourself out loud “get going!” and take action.

BEST MOMENTS
‘Breathe in. Getting plenty of oxygen into the body makes you feel so much better.’
‘I’ve taken to exercising in the morning, no more than 20 minutes. Studies show that those who exercise in the morning get much better sleep at night.’
‘Having a broad group of peers is going to really help you because they’re going to give you different feelings and thoughts. We can probably all do with mixing it up a little bit.’
‘Simply smiling gives you a hit of ceratonin.’
ABOUT THE HOST
Welcome and thank you for reading this, I’m Nathan Plumridge salon owner and Hair Stylist. I’ve been in the industry for nearly 30 years and have been a salon owner for 23 of them. I have been fortunate enough to work and learn with some of the biggest names in the industry and this has given me the experience and drive to now be here with you sharing my experiences.
CONTACT DETAILS
www.hairlifeshow.com
Instagram is @nathan.hairlife
Email me at [email protected]
This show was brought to you by Progressive Media
...more
11min
July 17, 2022Is Your Salon Overwhelming You?
In this episode Nathan talks about how you – as a salon owner – are probably having to deal with quite a lot right now and how you can deal with feelings of overwhelm as a business owner.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
When I say “overwhelm”, I mean that feeling that everything is coming on top of you, like being buried alive, and you don’t have the answer to everything. I feel like this sometimes in the business, that there are moments where everything is attacking you and you do know what to do.
I’ve talked to a lot of salon owners recently that are fed up and have had enough of running a business and just want to go back to being a stylist again without any of the stresses and aggravation, which is such a shame. If that’s you, just take a minute and think about if it’s the right decision.
Focus on your diet and exercise, they will ultimately aid to helping you feel so much better as well as help you get good, quality sleep, which will also help.
There is a solution to absolutely everything. It may take time and it depends how long you’ve been in business and how long you intend to be in business. Put together a priority list and physically write it down to get it out of your head. Once you’ve identified your problem(s), it makes it a lot easier to break them down.

BEST MOMENTS
‘You are definitely not alone, but ultimately that doesn’t stop you waking up and having those feelings of overwhelm.’
‘Firstly, just breathe. Properly and slowly. Get yourself calm in order to make the right decisions and stop these feelings of overwhelm.’
‘Make a financial plan. Call your accountant, arrange a meeting, because sitting down and having a look at what your most important costs are, what you can get rid of, what you can make leaner and what you can spread. Chat to your bank also and see what they can do for you – extending an overdraft or your payments. Give yourself some breathing space.’
‘Talk to your team. They want to be part of a great team and work in your amazing salon, be honest and ask them questions or for help, they are the most vital part of your business. Many hands make light work.’
ABOUT THE HOST
Welcome and thank you for reading this, I’m Nathan Plumridge salon owner and Hair Stylist. I’ve been in the industry for nearly 30 years and have been a salon owner for 23 of them. I have been fortunate enough to work and learn with some of the biggest names in the industry and this has given me the experience and drive to now be here with you sharing my experiences.
CONTACT DETAILS
www.hairlifeshow.com
Instagram is @nathan.hairlife
Email me at [email protected]
This show was brought to you by Progressive Media
...more
11min
June 26, 2022Future-Proofing Your Business
In this episode Nathan explains why he’s been away for the last few weeks, it was a time of reflection where he took some time to really think about his business and this show. What have been some of the challenges and what are the opportunities to future-proof the business?
KEY TAKEAWAYS
As a salon owner, like me, you are definitely starting to notice the difference in every part of your business. We have just ended our best year ever, but when you look at the bottom line you realise there isn’t a lot of cheese left. I’ve never been in that situation because I’ve always run our business as a proper business: focussed on profit, reinvesting capital back into my team and the business and continually trying to help it grow and scale
We all know our costs are rising in so many different areas, costs on loans have changed, inflation has gone past 10% so everything has gone up having a huge effect on your bottom line. But, I took a step back and started looking at it in a positive nature and I thought: “What can we do to start future-proofing the salon?” We’ve got 6-18 months before there’s a slowdown. Let’s focus on the short term.
How long until your clients drop a week off between visits? That length of appointments might start to stretch because families might start feeling the pinch and will cut back on certain things. You’ve probably got team members who are asking to be paid more for doing exactly the same job because they’re also starting to feel the impact of these things as well. We are also starting to make sure that, as a business owner, we look after our teams – they are your stock. What additional services can you offer? There’s probably more that you can do.
How about offering a subscription service for your clients where every 8 weeks you send them a bottle of shampoo and conditioner and a styling product. Could you offer a loyalty programme where you offer your guests better rewards? Don’t give then a percentage off because it’s no good for you as a business, give them a free service, like a blow-dry or treatment, this way you’re utilising other members of your team.

BEST MOMENTS
‘It doesn’t matter almost what you do. It’s the first time in a long time that I’ve not really had too many answers.’
‘Our industry, particularly the hair industry is one thing that people now can’t live without. The pandemic showed us that. I’m confident in this.’
‘What can we do as salon owners to start preparing? I think you’ll have to get a little more strategic and start looking at every single part of your business. One of the best ways to do this is pretend to be your guest, open the door and look at every part of it, how does it look and smell and how are you greeted? Focus on the client journey from the moment they enter to the moment they leave. What are areas you can work on?’
‘I’d much rather lose some of my margin to make sure that our guests have much better quality hair when they come into the salon. I’m sure, if you talk to you’re open and honest with your product companies they will give you a better discount.’
ABOUT THE HOST
Welcome and thank you for reading this, I’m Nathan Plumridge salon owner and Hair Stylist. I’ve been in the industry for nearly 30 years and have been a salon owner for 23 of them. I have been fortunate enough to work and learn with some of the biggest names in the industry and this has given me the experience and drive to now be here with you sharing my experiences.
CONTACT DETAILS
www.hairlifeshow.com
Instagram is @nathan.hairlife
Email me at [email protected]
This show was brought to you by Progressive Media
...more
20min
May 29, 2022Making The World A Better Place
In this episode Nathan is joined by the founders of Wellity Global, Simon Scott-Nelson and Sadie Restorick. These two amazing entrepreneurs are changing the way businesses are looking after their teams by creating phenomenal health and wellbeing programmes that are designed to help break the confines of work expectations and pressures whilst allowing you to feel empowered to manage your own wellbeing.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
We’ve made some progress in breaking down stigmas and taboos around mental health in the workplace, but there’s still a long way to go. What managers can do to encourage people to open up… it’s got to be persistent patience, it does take time. If you think of it as a wall or a barrier that some people put up in relation to showing what they’re really felling, that wall has to be broken down brick by brick, you can’t come in with a sledgehammer and smash it down and expect everyone to allow themselves to be vulnerable because that’s really difficult to do.
Wellity covers everything to do with the individual, once we can help the individual they can bring their true selves to work. But that depends on a myriad of different things that make us up as humans. What Wellity is is training and consultancy, we have about 300-400 titles of wellbeing which they can access by group seminars, webinars, e-learning facilities, downloadable resources, posters and engagements. We help to create the culture within your organisation that makes it an everyday, normalised conversation around mental health and allows them to really realise that they’re not alone with their thoughts, that everyone has these things.
Stress hormones make us blinkered and reactive. People don’t realise how they’re feeling until they get to that breaking point. This is because of the way the stress hormones make us feel “now, now, now, do, do, do, I must fulfil these appointments, I must churn through all these different things to make that money”. It’s about teaching people how and when to take off those blinkers, and how to recognise the signs. Chronic stress affects our creativity, innovation, things that are really important in relation to work and when that starts to diminish we push ourselves harder to try and achieve. It's a slippery slope.
People want to try to fix things straight away, but you might be coming at that from your angle, not theirs. People don’t need fixing necessarily if they’re coming to you with some sort of problem, they might want you to observe it, but they don’t want it fixed. They want you to step into their darkness and just sit there for a bit and see it through their eyes, only then will you get a feel for the emotion, the temperature, whether it’s going darker.

BEST MOMENTS
‘Managers need to go first and openly talk about their own experiences, the struggles they’re navigated and that it’s generally OK to talk openly in the workplace about your mental health and wellbeing in the same way that you would talk about having a really bad headache. We have to normalise it.’
‘Last year 89% of professionals reported suffering from burnout. It’s something that’s quite a concern across the working population at the moment.’
‘Any effort to promote, encourage and optimise employee wellbeing has to come across as genuine and authentic, it really has to be felt by those individuals that “my company really cares”, not just because mental health is all over social media and the news at the moment and is the current thing on trend. That has to be positioned really really well.’
‘Essentially, psychological safety is taking interpersonal risks, it’s allowing ourselves to be open and honest and say “hey, I made a mistake with this”, “hey, I’ve got an idea” and know that we’re not going to get shot down whether that’s with management or colleagues.’

ABOUT THE GUESTS
Sadie Restorick is a global speaker, consultant, trainer and published academic scholar specialising in workplace mental health and wellbeing and psychosocial risk management.
Sadie has worked in the field for over 10 years providing consultancy and training to some of the largest companies in the world. She has worked with companies of all sizes to develop mental health strategies that are fit for purpose, auditing organisations on their existing strategies and helping stakeholders develop an approach that fits the needs of their people and their businesses.
Having spent over 20 years in business and corporate leadership across various industries, Founder of Wellity Simon Scott-Nelson discovered first-hand the importance of creating a rewarding work environment for people. After a period of burnout, Simon realised his vocation was to normalise the conversation around mental health and established Wellity.
He went on to participate in a number of pioneering initiatives, which included his eldest daughter working with Jamie Oliver and the government on the youth advisory board of the BiteBack 2030 charity and receiving messages of support from Jonny Wilkinson, Gabby Logan, Dylan Hartley and Don Armand among many others. He is now the Chair of the ISM Mental Health and Wellbeing Committee, a global speaker, advisor and national champion for mental health charity Mind.
Website: https://www.wellityglobal.com/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wellity/
Socials: @BeWellity
Email: [email protected]

ABOUT THE HOST
Welcome and thank you for reading this, I’m Nathan Plumridge salon owner and Hair Stylist. I’ve been in the industry for nearly 30 years and have been a salon owner for 23 of them. I have been fortunate enough to work and learn with some of the biggest names in the industry and this has given me the experience and drive to now be here with you sharing my experiences.

CONTACT DETAILS
www.hairlifeshow.com
Instagram is @nathan.hairlife
Email me at [email protected]
This show was brought to you by Progressive Media
...more
59min
May 15, 2022Top Ten Tips Reasons Salons Or Businesses Fail
This episode of Hair Life is a companion piece to the last episode in which Nathan talked about the ten biggest business learnings he’s had over the years. In this episode he points out the top ten reasons salons and businesses fail and how you can avoid them.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
Growing too fast: While growing your salon is a desirable thing to do, over-expansion can be a serious error. Taking on additional overheads can spur you to overextend your business financially. Set yourself realistic goals and expand only if your needs dictate it.
Failing to track your finances: Many businesses that failed took on too much debt. Learn to pay strict attention to your finances and keep careful records of all money coming in and going out, particularly at the beginning phase.
Overspending: Many new salon/business owners burn through their start up capital before they get into a cash flow positive situation. This happens because of misconceptions around how salon businesses operate. You might have a really great week, but then you have two quiet weeks and you go into panic mode.
Be prepared for the unexpected rise in costs of things – utilities, materials, labour: Have enough reserve cash to carry you through unexpected times or seasonal slow downs. Try to put 5% away every week in a rainy day fund.
Poor choice of location: Don’t let a cheap lease tempt you into choosing the wrong location, consider your competition; how many similar salon businesses are located nearby? Is it accessible? Is the area really well served by great road access, plenty of public transport, good footfall, free parking? Ultimately people don’t want to walk too far after they’ve had a £200 cut and colour.
Poor execution: Poor guest services and overall team incompetence will quickly sink your business, make sure your team place a huge amount on delivering a premium guest service, make sure as an owner/manager that you develop systems and processes for how tasks should be accomplished that everyone can follow and deliver, and internal measures to monitor them.
An inadequate business plan: A one-to-five year plan that is well thought out will force you to think about the future and the challenges that you’re going to face. It also forces you to consider your own financial needs, your marketing financial plans and your competition, also your overall strategies. Keep chasing it, your plane will always change.
Failing to adapt and pivot with the times ahead: The ability to recognise opportunities and be flexible enough to adapt is crucial to surviving and ultimately thriving. Learn how to wear multiple hats, respond nimbly and develop new areas of expertise in your salon, what extra services could you offer? Keep asking your guests to see what they want.
Ineffective and inadequate marketing: Your guests can’t do business with you if they don’t know you’re there. It doesn’t cost a lot to advertise and promote your business through online marketing, social media, email, local searches, reviews and so much more. There are so many free and cheap advertising tools. Use them wisely and spend time really looking at your audience, but also look at how your audience perceives you, how do you look from the outside, do you attract your target audience?
Underestimating the competition: Your competition can be an effective source of business, but customer loyalty doesn’t just happen, you have to earn it. Watch your competition and stay one step ahead of them, if you don’t take care of your guests your competition will. Now more than ever the hair industry is all about guest experience, if you see someone else doing something that you think will help you grow your own business, do it. Everything is copied in some form or another.

BEST MOMENTS
‘While it may seem a matter of luck, in reality, there are some really common mistakes that kill so many businesses even before they get off the ground.’
‘Seek out seasoned business owners and ask for advice before making any big expenditures because it’s very easy to rush in and spend money unnecessarily.’
‘Treat your business like baking a cake, create a recipe for what you want it to look and taste like that your team can literally follow to the letter. That will enable you to achieve your goals.’
‘The high street is a prime example of companies that did not adapt quick enough before the pandemic and after it and is why a lot of those big household names have gone. Smaller businesses have a better ability to react and bounce quickly.’

ABOUT THE HOST
Welcome and thank you for reading this, I’m Nathan Plumridge salon owner and Hair Stylist. I’ve been in the industry for nearly 30 years and have been a salon owner for 23 of them. I have been fortunate enough to work and learn with some of the biggest names in the industry and this has given me the experience and drive to now be here with you sharing my experiences.

CONTACT DETAILS
www.hairlifeshow.com
Instagram is @nathan.hairlife
Email me at [email protected]
This show was brought to you by Progressive Media
...more
17min
May 08, 2022Ten Tips For A Better Business – Hair Life with Nathan Plumridge
In this episode Nathan talks about the ten biggest business learnings he’s had over the last 24 years, but more specifically from the last ten years.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Competitors can be your best source of revenue. I was terrified of the competition when I first started as a hairdresser and meant I worked 6 days a week doing 12 hours shifts. After I started meeting my competition, they all seemed to be doing the same as me. But after a while I realised there are plenty of guests to go around and some guests don’t suit on salon but will suit another.
Fear is what kills us – tell it to take a running jump! The last three years have been my most fearful time in business because we scaled up which meant more pressure to impress the guests, I had to scale up my team, and I had a family within the last 10 years which added an extra fear factor I’d never felt before. Since listening to Tony Robbins and doing a few of his courses like ‘The Power Within’ which teaches you to notice internally what’s going on and utilising your strengths, I’ve become more fearless, it’s enabled me to snap out of fear and stop worrying about the things that used to keep my up at night.
People buy people not services. Ultimately we’re a service industry, but there are team members who have an innate ability to build incredible relationships with their guests, who they often keep for life. The hairdressing industry is an incredibly personal service, it’s like wellness on a huge level. Build a really good consultation service (in the hair, beauty or fitness industries), this will enable your team to get on with doing what it does best.
Retention is easy. There can be a very high rate of attrition within hairdressing, some people like to try out different salons. It’s so important to make a great first impression so guests come back two or three times. Once they’ve come back a few times, they’re now part of your family. Don’t only concentrate on finding new business, remember your loyal guests, don’t take them for granted. Give them the new client service every single time.
Great people lead to great results. Hiring has been the hardest thing for me over the last 24 years. Without great employees you can’t have a great company. Ask if the person feels right, have they a skill set, does it look like they can talk to a client well, are they going to fit with the business? We’ve all made bad hires and they’ve all had significant impact on the business. Use technology – We’ve started using the Myers-Briggs 16 personality traits as a tool to look at the perfect energy stylist.
Business is maths. Revenue + Expenses = Profit, therefore every single business decision that you make is a maths problem. If you don’t like maths and you don’t have plans to hire a bookkeeper you’re going to have a bad time. I learned fairly early on that having a decent accountant/bookkeeper and leaning your numbers to know where your business is is a huge benefit, especially now costs for everything have gone up.
One too many is the only way to scale. We’ve grown over the last 24 years by employing more stylists than we’ve often needed sometimes. There’s a risk involved there, especially around cost, but you can only grow your business by employing or having more hours that you can sell otherwise you’ll plateau. Alternatively, do you want to grow? Scaling isn’t for everybody.
Change does not have to be scary. Change happens every single day, particularly in a hair salon and particularly in the past couple of years. You navigate constant change on a daily basis, it comes with the territory, but your core business never changes. What changes are people’s expectations, services we offer, your team, the business landscape. Change is exciting, it keeps your business evolving and growing.
Perfectionism is lethal. I want things to be perfect all the time, but there’s no such thing. You’re better off with a kick-ass half than a half-assed whole. Get started and get perfect later. I’m 24 years into a business and I’m only feeling now that I’m becoming the boss I always wanted to be.
Love what you do. People say life is short, but I’m not sure it is. I’m 45 and I could potentially live to 110-130, I’m not sure if I want to, so let’s say I live to 90, that’s the whole of my life again. I lean new things all the time but one thing I’ll never lose is my love for the hairdressing industry. Everything I’ve talked about in this podcast is about people at every single level.

BEST MOMENTS
‘These valuable business lessons have played a crucial role in our ability to survive as a business and thrive as a company. But it’s also given me the ability to enjoy a flexible and incredibly rewarding lifestyle as a salon owner and entrepreneur.’
‘Reassess your business every year.’
‘Having children changes everything. Your responsibility suddenly increases.’
‘Don’t let fear destroy your dreams.’
ABOUT THE HOST
Welcome and thank you for reading this, I’m Nathan Plumridge salon owner and Hair Stylist. I’ve been in the industry for nearly 30 years and have been a salon owner for 23 of them. I have been fortunate enough to work and learn with some of the biggest names in the industry and this has given me the experience and drive to now be here with you sharing my experiences.
CONTACT DETAILS
www.hairlifeshow.com
Instagram is @nathan.hairlife
Email me at [email protected]
This show was brought to you by Progressive Media
...more
37min
April 10, 2022No D***heads Allowed
In this episode Nathan talks about developing an inspired and driven team by getting rid of the d***heads in your team.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
Life’s been throwing me a few curve balls recently and it’s made me look at things within our salon and business in general. It’s also made me look at who is in our salon, my team and the team as individuals, how they work and how they act as a team.
In order to grown your business and your team you need a truly clear vision, but also a moto. Something that everyone can understand. The All Blacks rugby team have an absolute cracker: “no d***heads allowed”. All business owners will agree that they put up with d***heads for a long time and they can be some of the most productive and highest earning members of our team, and fear is what makes us keep those d***heads in our squad.
We’re all aware that preparation and practice are hugely essential elements to creating a winning team, particularly in a salon environment. Practicing everything as many times as possible so that every team member knows how to carry out every task under pressure to the highest standards and getting into the habit of making it frequent. Make training more regular.
Remove the d***heads from your team, don’t let fear control you, create a mantra/moto that your team will understand, prepare and practice everything with everyone regularly.

BEST MOMENTS
‘How do they work? Who are they? What are they? What’s their personality? Do they share? Are they a team player or a soloist?’
‘D***heads are no good for your business and they’re not good for your team.’
‘In order for us to make an inspired, well-driven, shared vision, goal focussed team, you need to d***heads gone. Simply: better people make better teams.’
‘For things to grow, everyone must be going in the same direction.’

ABOUT THE HOST
Welcome and thank you for reading this, I’m Nathan Plumridge salon owner and Hair Stylist. I’ve been in the industry for nearly 30 years and have been a salon owner for 23 of them. I have been fortunate enough to work and learn with some of the biggest names in the industry and this has given me the experience and drive to now be here with you sharing my experiences.

CONTACT DETAILS
www.hairlifeshow.com
Instagram is @nathan.hairlife
Email me at [email protected]
This show was brought to you by Progressive Media
...more
10min
March 27, 2022What’s Going On ?
In this episode Nathan expresses his thoughts and feelings on the current state of the world and how keeping happy is a lot harder than you think.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
In 30 years of being a salon owner I’ve never ever experienced so many lows and messed up people with crazy, screwed up situations. It is not the world I want to be in.
Have you just had enough of it? Are you not fed up of hearing shit from your clients and friends, doesn’t it make you think why the hell am I not on some tropical desert island away from any social media and news?
I’ve always been one for journaling my thoughts. Never has there been a better time to write down what is good and what is bad, what you want to keep and what you want to get rid of, what’s keeping you down and what’s picking you up and start making changes based on that.

BEST MOMENTS
‘What the heck is going on with the world right now?! How is our planet so off course?’
‘How can we deal with this shit and just feel happy?’

ABOUT THE HOST
Welcome and thank you for reading this, I’m Nathan Plumridge salon owner and Hair Stylist. I’ve been in the industry for nearly 30 years and have been a salon owner for 23 of them. I have been fortunate enough to work and learn with some of the biggest names in the industry and this has given me the experience and drive to now be here with you sharing my experiences.

CONTACT DETAILS
www.hairlifeshow.com
Instagram is @nathan.hairlife
Email me at [email protected]
This show was brought to you by Progressive Media
...more
4min
March 20, 2022Do People Really Care What You Look Like? Body Confidence
In this episode Nathan talks about bodies: Do we like them? How do we feel about them? And, if we don’t feel great about them, what can we do to make ourselves feel better?

KEY TAKEAWAYS
The issue of our bodies and body image has come up a lot in the last couple of weeks on the podcast as well as in my team. As a job, I talk daily to our guests in the salon and the team. I see and hear a lot about the issues and it’s especially a big subject with younger people and the age group between 35-50.
Social media has a lot of fitness experts and celebrities continuously posting with ‘the best body’, how to achieve it, what to eat or what training to do to promote muscle growth. We’re continually subjected to having the perfect body. This is these people’s job, where they earn their living, and they are showing their best self 24/7. We’d all be doing the same in their position. How much of it do you want to be subjected to?
I look at the poses that young women get into in a lot of pictures they take: the bending of the knee, the lifting of the ankle, the hand on the hip, the pouting lip. It seems like a lot of hard work to me! But it seems men are increasingly getting affected by this, seeing pictures of guys with perfect abs and muscles in all the right places. I want to be in good shape, strong and have definition, but I also like to eat and drink without thinking about it the whole time. It’s all about achieving balance in our lives.
We need to stop scrolling through social media, on average 18-22 year olds spend 4 hours a day on social media and the impact of that is huge. Put your phone down, think about who you’re following and clear out the things that make you feel bad about yourself. There are plenty of body positivity sites out there that you can access. Stop questioning who you are. Are your peer group making you question who you are? Surround yourself with battery chargers, not people who drain your battery. Never keep it locked away, there are so many resources out there to help you and for you to talk and get things off your chest. Please do that. If you can see the signs that your friend is feeling uncomfortable, suggest that they go and talk to someone, even if it isn’t you.

BEST MOMENTS
‘I don’t know what the perfect body is, but I think there is a healthy body.’
‘Covid and the lockdown has caused a growth in these markets because people had nothing to do.’
‘The impact I see on people, almost daily, is that they’re continuously dissatisfied with what they look like, particularly in pictures.’
‘We are all different, there’s no one-size-fits-all.’

ABOUT THE HOST
Welcome and thank you for reading this, I’m Nathan Plumridge salon owner and Hair Stylist. I’ve been in the industry for nearly 30 years and have been a salon owner for 23 of them. I have been fortunate enough to work and learn with some of the biggest names in the industry and this has given me the experience and drive to now be here with you sharing my experiences.

CONTACT DETAILS
www.hairlifeshow.com
Instagram is @nathan.hairlife
Email me at [email protected]
This show was brought to you by Progressive Media
...more
12min
March 13, 2022Fairness and Parity in the Hair Industry
In this episode Nathan talks to three of the founding members of the Salon Employers Association (SEA) – Toby Dicker of the Chapel Group, Edward Hemmings of Alan D Education and Stephen Nurse of Daniel Galvin – to discuss how the hair industry needs changes to make it a fair playing field for salons who employ their teams.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
We initially set up a WhatApp group to try to make sense of the Government’s guidelines to Covid, because they were so confused and the language they used wasn’t very hairdressing friendly. We used it to make sure we were all on the same page, opening and closing at the same time, implementing the government’s guidelines in a similar fashion. It then grew organically from that when we noticed trade was declining and cost of employment was going up which led to a much wider conversation and we linked arms and embarked on this journey.
All we’re asking for is fairness and parity, if you’re running a traditional business hairdressing model, it’s impossible to compete with a salon down the road where the vast majority of the team is self-employed. We have to pay National Insurance contributions, holiday pay, pension… it’s not a level playing field. We’re not anti-self-employed, but we’re asking please, please make it fair.
I’d much rather take on 19-20 year olds who have got much more about them, but we’re forced to take on 16 year olds – which is age discrimination – because they are cheaper for us. That’s just stupid. Perhaps we need to make changes to the funding so perhaps the government covers some of the older people’s salaries, and/or a potential type of training bond which is formalised in our industry which encourages them to continue working for us so we can claw back some of the £30,000-40,000 training cost.
Salon owners should join us, follow us on social media, help us every time we put out a poll or survey or questionnaire. We’re at the right point in time to make this work. The more information that we have to go back to BEIS and Government with, the better and the more timely that information is. With that information we then build traction with the government, we’re not just going to go away.

BEST MOMENTS
‘It brought a certain industry together in a way it never had before, instead of being incredibly competitive with each other.’
‘The government has been very generous with grants over the last couple of years, but the last big one finished last April, which was £4000 per salon owner. There’s no benefit to “finishing” someone now.’
‘The only reason for doing the self-employed route, as a salon owner, is that it’s massively tax-beneficial and the legalities and moralities of that are there to be discussed. If we were paying less or they were paying an equal amount, there really wouldn’t be a problem.’
‘We’d like to see VAT reduced to 9%. Like it is in Ireland because what we’re selling is time. VAT as an input/output tax doesn’t work for us.’

ABOUT THE GUEST
The Salon Employers Association has been created to represent professional salons and protect and preserve the future of the industry through ensuring parity and campaigning for reform on fiscal & tax matters which directly affect the sector.
Website: http://www.salonemployersassociation.co.uk/
Instagram: @salonemployersassociation – Visit them here and answer the polls and surveys they post regularly

ABOUT THE HOST
Welcome and thank you for reading this, I’m Nathan Plumridge salon owner and Hair Stylist. I’ve been in the industry for nearly 30 years and have been a salon owner for 23 of them. I have been fortunate enough to work and learn with some of the biggest names in the industry and this has given me the experience and drive to now be here with you sharing my experiences.

CONTACT DETAILS
www.hairlifeshow.com
Instagram is @nathan.hairlife
Email me at [email protected]
This show was brought to you by Progressive Media
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41min

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The podcast currently has 70 episodes available.