A cut above
Hair colour specialist Jo Hansford and her daughter Joanna talk shop
LEADING HAIR COLOUR SPECIALIST JO HANSFORD, WHOSE EPONYMOUS LONDON SALON IS A FAVOURITE WITH CELEBRITIES, NEVER EXPECTED HER DAUGHTER JOANNA TO BECOME THE COMPANY’S MANAGING DIRECTOR
Jo Hansford, 58
Since she set up her own business 13 years ago, Jo Hansford’s Mayfair salon has become known as one of the leading hair colour salons in the UK. Her celebrity devotees include HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, Liz Hurley and Helen Mirren
“I started my working life as a trainee for Vidal Sassoon in the mid-1960s. That was a wonderful time. In 1978 I went into partnership with another hairdresser to start the first hair colour salon in the UK, though unfortunately, after 13 years, this relationship ended rather acrimoniously, so I suddenly found myself wondering what I was going to do.
My husband, David, a property entrepreneur, who sadly died five years ago, encouraged me to open my own salon. I was nervous; I had only ever worked as a hairdresser and the idea of running a business seemed daunting. Also, it was the middle of the recession. But despite these initial concerns, something told me to go for it. So, with the support of my husband, who became my business advisor, we bought a property in Mount Street and opened a hairdressing salon that specialised in colour.
The first year was very difficult. We had to work all hours and there was a lot of pressure to establish ourselves. Running a hair salon is a bit like running a restaurant. It’s not enough to serve the best food. You also need to create the right atmosphere and make it a place that people want to return to. Fortunately, we succeeded, and by year two we were actually making a profit. By year four we were well on track.
It was around that stage that my daughter Joanna first came to work in the salon. At first she did so on an ad hoc basis, in between her travels. She was still very young and not quite sure what she wanted to do. She started right at the bottom, working as a trainee. She also helped on reception and in the salon generally. Though she was the boss’s daughter, she couldn’t be seen to have any special favours or there would have been a lot of resentment among the other staff.
I wanted her to succeed on her own merit. I knew she was good but she had to prove herself like anyone else. Joanna worked incredibly hard and didn’t take long to be accepted as a valued member of the team. So much so, that when she decided to go off travelling again, everyone couldn’t wait for her to get back because she had become so indispensable.
When she returned, I took her on full time. Since then she’s done everything from trainee stylist and receptionist through to salon manager and is now the managing director. We get on well but that doesn’t mean we agree on everything. But we can always talk things through.
Joanna and I aren’t that similar and I think that’s why working together works so well. We complement each other.
For example, she loves shopping, I don’t. And she’s more business-minded. When David died she took on a lot more responsibility for the financial side, though we have a financial adviser as well. She also oversees much of the strategic planning so I can totally rely on her when I’m not around.
But there are similarities between us too. We’re both homebodies yet love travelling. So it’s great when we can go on trips together; for example, on educational trips where we teach hairdressing and colour techniques to salons in other countries. We have also just set up a foundation with L’Oréal in Mumbai, India, where we will be training young people to give them the chance of a career in hairdressing.
I realise that I’m very lucky to be able to work so closely with my daughter. I never planned it this way. I would never have stopped her if she wanted to do something else. I’m just glad she derives as much pleasure from working here as I do.”
Joanna Hansford, 31
Joanna is managing director of Jo Hansford, the company which covers the salon and hair product range
“I had always loved working with animals, particularly horses. While I was at school, I worked at local stables and did a lot of competitive show jumping. So for a while I thought I would do something in that area. I also loved travelling. And I felt that I couldn’t settle down until I had got some of the wanderlust out of my system. I headed for places like Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia. I used to work in this salon in between trips to earn some money but it wasn’t till I was 21 that I stayed on permanently.
Mum never put any pressure on me. She was totally supportive of whatever I wanted to do. But one day she suggested I help
out in the salon. I never realised I would enjoy it so much. I loved the fact that each day was different, and also the social side.
Since then, I’ve never looked back and have learnt so much working here. It was not easy to begin with. I was very conscious that I was the boss’s daughter. People may think that makes it easier but it doesn’t. If anything it makes it more difficult. There can be a lot of jealousy. You can’t just swan in and land the top job. I had to start at the bottom and work my way up, just like everyone else. It was very tough. I felt that my performance was under scrutiny. I worried that if I made the smallest mistake, everyone would think: ‘she might be the boss’s daughter, but she’s not perfect.’ That made me try even harder. In time though, things worked themselves out. And I’ve been here so long now that it’s no longer an issue.
We currently have 48 staff. When I was salon manager it was my job to make sure things were running smoothly, whether that was staff sick days or suchlike. Mum’s too busy with the creative side and training to deal with that. She also sees clients three days a week. Now I’m MD and we’ve taken on a new salon manager it frees me up to focus more on areas such as product development, public relations and the financial side. Having been off on maternity leave for the last few months, I keep in touch by phone and come in for the odd day.
What’s wonderful about working with Mum is that I feel we have an equal relationship. We both have different roles and so we’re not competing – just very supportive of each other.”
Jo Hansford, 19 Mount Street, London W1K 2RN; +44 (0)20 7495 7774; www.johansford.com
Interviews: Eva Gizowska, Portraits: Helen Cathcart
