Wednesday 6 June 2012
A hairdresser's path to success: Interview with Nicky Oliver
Have you ever wondered what gives a hairdresser a celebrity reputation?
In short, it takes three words: Creativity, Passion and Tenacity.
I recently interviewed Nicky Oliver who set up his first salon about 25 years ago and is now an established landmark for hairdressing in Manchester. During his career, Nicky has opened several salons, created his own hairdressing academy and launched his own product range. He allowed me to pick his brain about his journey to this point, and who knows, maybe his story will inspire you to do the same!
How it all started
Nicky Oliver started his career in 1976. Aged only 14, and not really enjoying studies, he left school and found a job in a hair salon in Yorkshire: "I will always remember the feeling that I had when I first entered this salon,” he recalled. “I immediately knew that this was what I wanted to do and this was where I wanted to be. I loved the salon, the clients, the staff, that creativity you could feel in the air... the whole atmosphere in fact."
After fifteen months working there, his boss took Nicky to Salon International in London. It was at this moment he found his vocation: "That first show was really amazing. I was looking everywhere, watching the professionals on stage and realized that I wanted to do the same, I wanted to be a stylist on stage". Whilst in Yorkshire Nicky organised his first photo shoot with a local photographer. The pictures of this first shoot were not only published locally, but also in the USA which allowed Nicky to plant the seeds of an international reputation.
He also felt that it was time for him to move to a bigger city and chose Manchester.
Gaining experience
Wanting to gain experience and travel at same time, Nicky found a job as a stylist and within six months became the Art Director for a company called Pierre Alexander. During this period, he enjoyed giving seminars and participating in different hair shows around the world. He was also involved in a lot of photo shoots for various magazines: "This job made me learn a lot about the industry and the new trends of the moment. It also helped me learn how to talk in front of an audience and how to spark off interest in people who are listening to you during a seminar".
His first business
After 5 years, mainly spent abroad, Nicky decided it was time for him to start on his own and set up his first salon in Manchester: "I started it with only £35 so I decided to create a partnership with another hairdresser and someone with business savvy", added Nicky.
Despite some geographic obstacles (the salon was located in the back of a building down a corridor and wasn't visible from the street), clients came and the business grew. After only one year, they even opened a second salon in the suburbs of the city.
The two hairdressers agreed on the fact they needed a better location for their salon and finally parted ways with the third partner. They therefore closed the two first salons to open another one in a more fashionable part of the city: "We gave it our two surnames and called it 'Oliver San'", says Nicky. Having already established their clientele and enjoying the new location, the salon was a big hit. Nicky and San's reputation grew fast and they were quickly known in the area for offering creative new haircuts.
Only six months after the launch, they expanded to a new, young, hip area of Manchester - The Northern Quarter. The initial thought was to have 2 separate salons, a premium one and a budget one. However, falling more and more in love with the second location and experiencing unexpected refurbishment expenses in the first salon, they actually closed it down and reinvested all their money in the second one: "It was a massive gamble as we had taken on a big 6,500 square feet building, which was really huge compared with the size of any other salon at that time".
Enter the Dragons Den (not quite)
They therefore decided they would create a total hairdressing complex with the salon on the ground floor, a school on the first floor, a photography studio on the top floor and seminars taking place in the basement. Such a project however would have cost a lot of money and banks weren't ready, at the time, to lend millions of pounds for setting up a hair salon.
"I think I sent around 200 business plans but only got negative answers,” said Nicky. “Then, one day, a bank manager called me and said he was interested. He had worked with Rainbow Room in Scotland and said he would work with me if I was passionate about hairdressing and convinced that the idea would work - which I was!"
The salon has been furnished with all furniture by Philippe Starck, a successful French designer whose reputation helped Nicky to have his salon featured in highly respected magazines like Elle and Vogue. Such promotion made the salon known nationally, attracting many clients and reinforcing the image of the founders.
The IRA Bomb
In 1991, Nicky’s partner decided to move on and the salon was renamed "Nicky Oliver". Three years after, the hairdressing academy was properly established, offering private courses to hair students. However, in 1996, the Manchester Bombing, carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) seriously threatened their business:
"This period was very tough and we lost about 90% of our activity,” recalled Nicky. “People were scared to come into Manchester, particularly in the area where we were located. Moreover, a lot of damage had been caused to the salon itself. It took us about 5 years to recover but we made it!"
Today the Northern Quarter is one of the the most popular area of Manchester and known for being the "Artist’s Quarter". A lot of bands like The Smiths and Happy Mondays used to come to Nicky's salon, increasing its reputation and reviving the business. "We still have musicians and actors that use the salon, which is carrying on the tradition".
Strength to strength
Since its creation, the salon has won many awards like Styling Team of the Year, Best Manchester Salon and the Creative Team Awards to name a few. Nicky Oliver also decided to launch his own range of hair products under his name a few years ago, expanding his activity.
"I like to describe my career as a journey towards excellence. You don't arrive in this industry knowing everything; you bring your creativity and learn new things progressively. There are ups and downs but if you are able to adapt , keep the same passion you had at the beginning and stay determined, nothing will stop you".
If you had just one piece of advice to give to a young hairdresser who would like to follow your lead, what would it be?
"Always remember that sensation you feel when you first entered a salon. That passion you have at the beginning is what will drive you for the rest of your career.”
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