Logging On With…Sarah Simpson-Davies
TODAY in our new look Logging On With… series, we talk to Sarah Simpson-Davies, founder of the Birmingham’s first organic hair salon, Puro Hair.
Organisation: Puro Hair
Employees: Five
Job title: Director
Describe yourself in a Tweet, (no more than 140 characters):
Part-time Buddhist who finds spirituality the route to happiness, but then so is a night out & a few glasses of wine! Ambitious & motivated.
Career highlights:
Seeing Puro Hair as a finished salon.
What’s on your iPod?
Everything from Alicia Keys to Kings of Leon. I like songs rather than ‘types’ of music.
What has been your favourite/worst job?
Worst: Being covered in dirt and dust from building sites over the last five years while working as a property developer.
Best: The one I have now.
Who is your ideal dinner guest or which public figure do you admire most and why?
Am I allowed two? The Dalai Lama and Richard Branson because of his non-bully like attitude towards business.
Are you worth what you’re paid? Why?
Well I hope so because I work 70-hour weeks and I’m paid very little right now as the salon has only been open for three weeks!
What has been your biggest business mistake/achievement?
Mistake: Not paying shop fitters to sort out the salon and spending too much time on site.
Achievement: Creating a thought into reality.
What is your pet peeve both in and out of work?
Badly-run businesses that charge the Earth.
Who has had the biggest influence on your career?
My dad and my boyfriend
What do you enjoy most and least about your role?
I really enjoy seeing clients leaving the salon, feeling the way I have always dreamed of, and I enjoy seeing the effect this has on the job satisfaction of my staff. The long hours and lack of social life are the least enjoyable parts of my role.
What’s the key to managing people?
I’m still learning but my approach is to treat them the way I would like to be treated as an employee.
What are the biggest barriers to your organisation’s success?
Helping customers understand what organic hairdressing is and switching them over from chemical alternatives with trust.
What would make the West Midlands an even better place to live and work?
More art and boutique shops and less ugly motorways and dual carriageways stopping us from being able to walk through Birmingham city centre more easily.
If you weren’t doing what you’re doing now, what alternative career would you choose and why?
Nutritionist or gymnast.
