Catching up with Hamilton Brooks

In the Summer 2010 issue of TRADE, new hairdressing salon owner Hamilton Brooks talked about setting up and starting his salon. Four months later, TRADE ONLINE catches up with Hamilton to see how he’s going.

How do you feel about the process of starting your own salon now, a few months down the track?

It was a great learning curve and fantastic to have worked through all aspects of getting the salon open; from finance to designing and building, definately harder then expected but once those doors are open for trading it's an amazing feeling.

What is it like to look back on those opening few weeks? How would you describe them?

The first few weeks I was a ball of nervous energy, having the impending bills rolling in and hoping your clients will follow.

With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, is there anything you would do differently?

I would have probably hired a project manager. I don't think I did too badly for someone with no building experience but it was extremely stressfull

Have there been any unexpected issues or benefits to running your own salon? Has anything surprised you about your journey in the last few months?

Having a really supportive clientele and staff members has been a huge benefit. They really want you to succeed.

What is it like being in Newmarket/Nuffield St? Has the high rent been an issue or is the space still working well for you?

It has absolutely been the best move for us opening in Nuffield St. The high profile of the street, as well as the surrounding shops and high foot traffic has meant great exposure.

Are you still doing the long hours, or has that calmed down a bit?

Still putting in 60+ hours a week I can't see it slowing down but when it is your baby you are happy to put the hours in

In terms of clientele, do you have a few regulars now, and because you’re in a busy street, do you get a lot of walk ins? Give us an idea of how it’s working from that perspective.

We are getting on average two-three walk-ins a day and to cope with that demand have been lucky to get two amazing new staff which take us up to six in total, with plenty of room to grow further.

What is the best thing about owning your own salon?

Being in control of your own destiny.

To read the original article about Hamilton Brooks, go to our previous issues section.