MEET
Former salon owner turned freelance/mobile hairdresser, Sheila Abrahams MBE is the founder and face of the Freelance Hairdressers Association. Sheila set up the FHA 30 years ago having become increasingly frustrated with the negative attitude shown towards independent and self-employed hairdressers at that time.
She has since been a tireless advocate for freelancers, striving to set better standards and put support systems in place for the freelance sector of the industry – ultimately building a community where members who work on their own, don’t feel alone. Thanks to Sheila, members have access to new education and business training, leading industry brands, professional development and fair working conditions. Her efforts have not only elevated the status of freelance hairdressers, bridging the gap between industry brands wanting to target them, but they have also inspired a new generation of professionals to pursue their passion in a freelance capacity.
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Lacey Hunter-Felton is a dynamic force, and (as the name might suggest) the brains behind Hunter Collective, a pioneering co-working space for hair and beauty professionals in the UK.
In 2017, Lacey combined her 24 years of hairdressing experience with her savvy business outlook. In doing so, she found this distinct gap in the market and created her freelance community brand: Hunter Collective.
Nearly seven years on from opening her first co-working site, Lacey has strategically grown her spaces in London – with further-afield openings on the horizon too. She is an influential powerhouse in the co-working sector of hairdressing. Above all, she is an approachable mentor that loves to empower and nurture others – a veritable freelance guru.
Throughout 2024, as part of a series of features and advice columns in every issue, Lacey will openly share her insights and top tips for freelancers and co-working space providers.
MEET
With nearly 20 years’ experience in the hair and beauty industry, Ruth Lundstrom is the CEO and Founder of market-leading mobile app, The Freelance Suite.
Ruth, who started out as an apprentice hairdresser, had previously been both salon and area manager at some of the North West’s leading hair franchises, before becoming a freelance hairdresser 10 years ago. This gave her the opportunity to further enhance her business skills, allowing her to identify a key issue surrounding pricing.
During the Covid 19 lockdown in 2020, Ruth decided to host weekly Instagram Live sessions on subjects such as pricing, business and mindset before creating her first e-book, The Ultimate Guide to Freelancing: In the Hair & Beauty Industry.
It was at this point that Ruth identified the opportunity to develop an app to help solve the issues around pricing and other business complications that hairdressers around the world face on a daily basis.
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