My biggest mistakes were definitely when I was learning to do hair. I started off in my mum’s dining room, and I did six years without any education! I was trying my best, I really was, but it probably took me 10 years before I actually stood back from someone’s hair and felt proud of my work. I once accidentally carved a big bald patch into someone’s crown with clippers, I also cut off the top of MULTIPLE people’s ears and I did lopsided bobs before they were in fashion! When I decided I was going to open up my own salon, I realised that I needed to get myself properly educated – I started going to Sassoon every single week, taking back what I learnt to my little salon that I just opened.
Definitely. I mean, don’t get me wrong, working in the dining room was the making of me in many ways; it allowed me to become uniquely me because I had no influence. At the same time though, I wouldn’t recommend that to anybody. My advice is that you need to go and work with the best people from the offset. If you get the chance to work with someone really good, you need to stick to them like glue; they’ll be the ones to teach you all their skills and introduce you to all their contacts.
When I launched my brand in Boots, I felt like I’d won the lottery! I’ll always remember when, after six months, they basically said to me, “If you don’t double your sales in the next six months, you’re out.” One minute, I was looking at houses in the Hamptons and the next I’m considering cardboard boxes outside Piccadilly Circus! So, you can’t get too carried away. Also, when the range first launched, I thought I was being really clever by just copying all my favourite products from other professional brands. I quickly realised that you don’t get anywhere from copying; innovation is king.
There came a point in my career where I was juggling so many different businesses within the hairdressing world. I had seven salons, a product line, I was on a retainer with Redken, I was doing TV work, as well as multiple other things – when you’ve got a lot of balls in the air, you’re going to end up dropping a few. I was speaking to one of my friends, Sean, and he gave me a great bit of advice. He said, write down on a bit of paper everything you’ve got going on, and then next to them write how passionate you are about each one, how much time they take up and how much money they’re earning you. After I did that exercise, I realised that the salon business was taking up all my time and it was also losing me money. So, after 20 years, I made the decision to close all my salons down. My PR team was having kittens; they thought it was an absolute disaster! Looking back though, this was probably one of the best decisions I ever made because it filled that black financial hole. I was finally making money for the first time in my career, giving me the time and headspace to concentrate and subsequently open up 21 academies. There were 35,000 salons in the country at the time, but how many people had 21 non-profit academies teaching young people…? It ended up being a great marketing spin!
When I sold my brand 18 months ago. ‘Making it’, for me, was always about being financially secure enough to never have to do a day’s work again. When I sold my brand, it was the first time in my life that I had financial freedom.
That’s a tough question, because I’m very happy with how my career panned out. I loved what I did, and I’m now living in Ibiza, never having to do another day’s work in my life. I’m very happy with my journey and with my destination. If I had to change something, though, it would definitely be going to have worked for someone ‘proper’, rather than starting off in the dining room.
Yeah, I always tell people I’m a hairdresser even though I don’t do anyone’s hair anymore. I feel rusty now though – a bit out of the game. For the 42 years I was doing hair for, I was obsessed with it. I didn’t think about anything else; it was my whole life. It’s not like that anymore; my life now is my kids, my wife and working out. I’m in a different place. My academy business is a non-profit venture, and I’ve got a general manager that runs it all. I’m just on the outskirts, checking in and showing my face from time to time. I’ve also become an investor and have a portfolio of properties, as well as having four young children and building a house in Ibiza – it’s hard to define exactly where I am.
Let’s put it this way, Phil, I’ll always read a contract. People have to earn your trust, don’t they, and even then, you need to have things written down; it needs to be contractual and there needs to be. solicitors involved. Trusting someone just off the bat is a silly move. Personally, I went through a lot of hard times, nearly bankrupt a few times, especially in the early days when I was trying to get my head around everything. When I went from the dining room to my first little salon, this tax man came out of nowhere – I thought, who’s this geezer?! It certainly wasn’t easy, but you’ve got to try to get motivation and inspiration from anywhere you can.
No one’s got anywhere in the world without working hard, and I think that working hard can outdo talent most of the time. If you want success, you’ve got to grind harder and want it more than anyone else. Problems are going to come your way, but you just got to eat them problems for breakfast!
The one person I’ve always admired and who ended up becoming a mentor of mine is John Frieda; his story inspires me so much. I interviewed him not so long ago, and one of the things he said really struck a chord: John went to work for Leonard when he was 16 years old – there was a couple of hundred people working in the shop and like 50 assistants, or something ridiculous. The day he arrived, all the other assistants said to him, “whatever you do, avoid the towel job” (because the towel room was right at the bottom in the basement, and the chutes from every floor would throw down the dirty, smelly, hairy towels for someone to wash.) It was a horrible job. Of course, at some point, John got that job. He also used to read a lot of Indian philosophy at that time, which taught him to do any job – no matter how small – to the best of his ability. So, when he got the job in the towel room, he made a pact with himself to ‘wash, dry and fold those towels like they were a piece of art.’ At some point, Leonard walks past and says, “who did those towels? I want him as my assistant.” So, John became Leonard’s assistant, learnt all of his tricks, met all of his contacts and gained all of his confidence. Then, when Leonard wasn’t available to do a Vogue shoot at the last minute, John stepped in. I heard that story and just thought, wow. I’d say that to any young person – if you get a horrible job, you may think it’s beneath you, but if you do it superbly, you are going to stand out and get noticed.
Lee, you’re looking great and living the dream. You’re my inspiration right now; don’t stop doing what you’re doing. Thanks for your time.
