6 QUESTIONS TO PATRICK SAUBAL

Patrick SAUBAL started hairdressing in 1984. He owns 10 salons under the name Pascal COSTE and PEOPLE and manages with his partner a staff of 70 co-workers.

1. You are the leader of a group of 10 salons. What are your daily challenges ?
Well, I don't know if that notion of « group » suits me. According to me, a group develops on a larger scale and needs bigger structures. Let's say that I consider myself more like a business manager, hairdresser, at the head of 10 salons.
To answer your question, I would say that my main challenge is avoiding having challenges and regarding that there are three key points:

• Anticipating as much as possible.
• Make sure our managers are involved and motivated everyday so that they can act like engines with their teams.
• Involving oneself and give energy the teams.

This work around human dimension is the my main objective because I am convinced that the results essentially come from the motivation of the colleagues.

2. How can one create a group like yours ?
At a time, I did business in partnership with colleagues that I knew the potential and the ambition. Later, I gave them that business. To such an extent that, if I count well, I created a total of 22 salons during my life !
The real turning point, I had it after the meeting with my current partner who stimulated me to make the leap. Being well surrounded is an essential condition.
Furthermore, I must admit that being franchised within a group enabled me to acquire some unavoidable methods.

3. The quest of new doors is not a an end in itself. What pushed you to develop yourself ?
Indeed, I've never had the objective to develop a precise number of salons. I think that my partners pushed me to do it because they also have desires and a need to move on and it would have been a shame to not make the most of that opportunity.

4. Running 10 salons is not just an easy life ! What are for you the keys of success and in the contrary the pitfalls to be avoided ?
Three factors are indispensables:

• Well defining your commercial approach: your positioning, your prices, your locations etc
• Choosing the good co-workers and place them at the good post.
• Always questioning yourself because things evolve very fast around us.

Regarding the pitfalls:

• Promoting a hairdresser to a manger post not for his/her skills but for his/her years of service in the company often proves to be a big mistake.
• Acting like the king of the world because you developed a few business projects, that the banks follow you and thinking that you are untouchable. Getting a big head is the worst thing to do

5. What do you think of the current hairdressing market and according to you, what are the major challenges facing the hairdressers to see future in a positive way ?
I think that there are several hairdressing markets: low-cost, high range, innovations like hair color bars or fringe bars. One thing I can say with conviction is that cutting the hair is not sufficient anymore.
Consequently, regardless of the objective, challenges are the same:

• Being always positive: one must believe in their project and questioning themselves.
• Finding new services and no hesitating to take inspiration from the tendencies. You can't have a closed vision but on the contraire you must be creative in developing even if it doesn't last so much.
• Exploiting the potential that you have regarding the sale of products or materials.
• Finally, fixing yearly clear and rational objectives and setting up budgets are two essential conditions. The time when you would do things under impulsions is over because the companies can't do it anymore.

6. Finally, new projects for the next five years ?
Yes and no ! We know that we are ready from financial point of view to develop new projects but we are not involved in anything. By contrast, we observe and we are eagerly awaiting for real opportunities we will seize at the right time.