WHEN Cape Town salon-owner and hairstyling guru, Frank Fowden, walked off with yet another Global Salon Business Award in Barcelona, Spain this year, it was real evidence of his prestige & influence in the hair-dressing industry world-wide.The literal “hair-dressing Oscars” - a bi-annual event which honours global salon owners for their entrepreneurial skills &impact in both society and the economy – this was Frank’s second Global Salon Business Award for “Business Excellence in South Africa”.Global Salon Business Award winners are selected from numerous nominations for each participating country and judging is overseen by University of California LA’s Price Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies.The international hair-styling industry currently turns over more than US$135 billion annually.With a career spanning almost four decades - from his beginnings in London in the swinging 60s to his cutting-edge salon today based in Cape Town’s stylish V&A Waterfront - Frank Fowden is renowned as a skilled stylist, a well-reputed salon entrepreneur and respected industry trend-setter.“There has been tremendous growth in the hairstyling industry over the past decade – in terms of both products and service,” says Frank. “A good salon today not only lives and dies by great service &atmosphere but an ability to deliver on the “wow”-promise to the client.”“There’s show and there’s business – and cutting & styling is only 40% of it!”Twice a finalist in Hairstylist of the Year and three times winner of Twincare Business Awards in South Africa along with two Global Business Salon Awards under his belt, Frank’s career keeps glowing hotter with the result that he has introduced both a new blog site and web-book to guide salon owners through the ins & outs of the hair trade.While there are no short-cuts to success – “passion & patience” are the name of the game – Frank’s experience, insight and know-how can make a difference and is contained within his web-based book, “Crash-Proof Your Salon”.“As many hair-dressers are not necessarily business-minded people, hair salons are often not run as a business,” says Frank. “My 37 years in the industry has shown me that while there are no short-cuts there are crucial business decisions one can make to ensure success.“There’s show and there’s business – and cutting & styling is only 40% of it!”
The bulk of success – and being able to “Crash-Proof” your salon - says Frank, comes by: (a) maintaining a well-structured business; (b) making sound financial decisions; (c) having a clear vision; (d) determining coherent & solid principles of staff management; (e) developing a creative marketing approach and; (f) applying a simple, reasoned approach to day-to-day management - without losing the flair & creativity demanded by the hair-dressing business along the way.
While he has opened seven salons in his illustrious career, Frank started out the working life as a life-guard in England and in the Canary Islands.By 21 though, Frank decided that, while he needed permanence in his life, he’d find a trade which still afforded travel opportunities.“Hair-styling seemed like a good choice - but what was a job became a passion,” says Frank who trained first at Vidal Sasson in London and then joined Leonardo’s a top salon in 70’s Cool Brittania, where he cut his craft on TV commercials, fashion magazines and major movies, including the period epic Barry Lyndon (where there was a lot of hair!) and The Shining.Frank also did get to travel – he taught in Europe & Thailand and took part in shows in France – and it was a series of workshops for L’Oreal that brought him to South Africa.“On the third occasion I decided to take extended leave and stay behind. That was 1979 and I’m still here!” says Frank, who opened his first salon – Fowden & Bailey – with former partner Chris Bailey in Johannesburg’s Fir's Mall before opening Frank Fowden Hair-Stylists in exclusive Sandton Square.
In Johannesburg, Frank also became much sought-after as a stylist on television commercials and magazine shoots as well as hair-dresser of choice for visiting celebrities at the time.By the mid-90s, Frank relocated to Cape Town and his salon - Frank Fowden Hairstylists at the V&A Waterfront – has become a landmark on the Cape Town styling map, where service and styling are equally and acutely considered.Celebrities who have stepped in for a colour or cut in the past have included the Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson, Colin Farrel, Arnold Schwarzenegger & family and, more recently Dame Margaret Thatcher and Michael Schumaker.
Married with a young daughter, the Fowden family live in Bantry Bay beneath Lion’s Head on Cape Town’s Atlantic sea-board, an exotic canvas from which multi-coloured paragliders swirl on summer thermals.Early mornings find Frank in the gym or taking a run along Sea Point’s sea-sprayed promenade before opening the salon to business.And from the windows of Frank Fowden Hairstylists, the lazy Atlantic Ocean dazzles in its blue serenity beneath a blazing panorama of cobalt sky.Not bad for a boy who started out with travel on his mind and ended up a luminary in the hair trade.
“For finally,” says Frank, “while you must instil a vigilant business approach, you must also enable your creativity to fly. And that’s why I call it ‘crash-proofing’.”
