Benelux Enterprise Awards 2020

EU BUSINESS NEWS / 2020 Benelux Enterprise Awards 13 , Ladies Hair Salon of the Year 2020 – Flanders Froma one-person barber’s shop to a teamof brilliantly skilled salon specialists who have been invited onto the world stage, HairLin is the success story of building a small business into the quintessential salon experience. Sep20028 HairLin is a barbershop and hairdressers that serves ladies, gentlemen and children. It is located on the commercial roundabout of Gooik. Although you can book an appointment with them, they also take walk-in appointments from the street. The team at HairLin is made up of eleven experienced hairdressers, each of whom brings their own speciality to the salon. For example, there is a specialist in the team who can carry out complex colour transformations, and another who installs hair extensions and a complete department that specialises in permanent smoothing treatments. Whatever your age, this family salon is able to cater to your needs, as has been the case since the day it was founded. In fact, they even welcome babies, and do something extra special whenever an infant is brought in for their first ever cut. Business manager Lindsay Schets first founded the salon. Initially it was a solo proprietorship and has since expanded. It first took on extra employees back in 2015, and over the last five years, has grown to a team of 11. Despite this, the core identity of the business has not changed. Lindsay is very proud of her colleagues. The team work together like a group of friends. Lindsay says that this comradery is evident to the patrons and is part of why it is such a pleasant place to go. “Without good people,” Lindsay says, “you cannot build a stable company. That is something for which I am very grateful to my employees.” The jaw-dropping achievement, that really highlights HairLin’s proficiency as stylists is their invitation to be one of the hairdressers to work backstage at the Eurovision Song Contest. Of course, due to the unfortunate year, the competition was cancelled. Look out for the hair styles next year though, as HairLin’s inclusion has been carried forward. Lindsay and her team have truly seen remarkable success. She puts this down to six ingredients that make for a spectacular salon experience. A drink, a snack, a beautiful interior, a pleasant chat, a listening ear and, above all, friendliness. They make sure that a customer feels at home in the salon. Of course, with the pandemic, it is no longer possible to offer the food and drink, but the rest still holds true! In order to keep prices down, the team is very efficient. Small tips and tricks can make a lot of difference and save a lot of time. Every employee has his or her own role within the team that ensures HairLin is a well- oiled machine. The company is also unafraid of the heavy investment that comes with ensuring the members of the team are well trained and keep up to date on the latest industry developments. At any time, a team member might be off in New York, Barcelona, London or Amsterdam on courses designed to sharpen their skills. Therefore, they always have the most state-of-the-art techniques ready in the salon. In the run up to the coronavirus pandemic, there was ever more emphasis being put on the salon “experience” in the industry. HairLin worked hard to make each appointment memorable and relaxing. Of course, that has changed with this year’s developments, but HairLin is still planning to follow the trajectory that they had planned. With two more floors about to be added to the salon, they will soon be seeing a huge expansion. Even more incredible, following the rising trend of corporate responsibility, they have looked into sourcing vegan and environmentally friendly products, free of chemicals such as ammonia and PPDs. Taking it a step further, HairLin’s expansion is to be completely energy neutral, and they will compensate for all energy (heating, electricity and hot water) through their own energy production. They aim to be the first energy-neutral hairdressing salon in the world. It is an incredible goal for an incredible company. The future looks as bright as the past has for this superb hair salon, with their tenth anniversary on the horizon in the next few weeks. Company: HairLin Contact: Lindsay Schets Website: www.hairlin.be