The Ed.
Well-Known Member
There's something you need to know about Nergish Wadia Austin, founder and director of Phab Standard and all round beauty business powerhouse: she doesn't do things by half. It's one of the very first things you notice. She may as well have coined the mantra: If it's worth doing, it's worth doing properly.
It's clear from the very first moment you meet Nergish that she won't settle for anything less than, excuse the pun, phab-ulous. She knows what works and what doesn't and she should do. If you're even a little bit involved with the hair and beauty world you'll know her name.
Nergish is a Vidal Sassoon graduate (she was managing a VS salon by the time she was 19), beauty therapist ("I tried telling my mother you didn't do hair and beauty but she wouldn't have it") and retail consultant/magician (think Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Harrods, Fenwicks, et al.). Now though, she's set her sights on something else. Since 2010 Nergish has been running PHAB (Performance in Hair & Beauty) with a burning desire to standardise, and I mean really standardise, our industry in a way that the industry and the consumers understand.
'But why is PHAB different to all the other organisations out there trying to standardise our industry?" I hear you holler from somewhere out there in cyber space. It's simple really. PHAB will make you better at what you do and your business better at what it does. PHAB is not just a case of showing a certificate of qualification, handing in a form and a cheque. PHAB will not even consider granting you any kind of status until you've got at least two years experience under your belt. "How can you be good enough without that experience?" asks Nergish. And she's right.
The concept is simple. PHAB requires just three things of you as a professional in the beauty industry. First, you must prove that you're busy. Secondly, you must prove that you have regular, returning customers and finally, you must prove that you can retail products. Nergish believes that, if you score highly on these three things, then you're doing a PHAB job and you deserve the PHAB standard. And don't try and cheat your way through the application process; Nergish has explained her means and methods of verifying the information and boy oh boy are they thorough. If you've met her, you'll know not to try and get one over her.
If you don't reckon you do qualify yet, don't worry. Nergish has created a set of tools and exams on the PHAB Standard website to help you develop - for free. Without spending a penny, you can check what standard you're eligible for right now HERE. If you're a salon owner you can use the free performance management tool that's online HERE and see how far away your staff are from being PHABulous. If you fancy working towards a PHAB standard, or getting your staff up to scratch then for just £18 you can get them to sit an online exam which immediately allows you to identify their weaknesses. And, the best thing about it? As you do develop and work towards your first PHAB standard, you can't help but make money and improve your client list in the process. Not a bad trade off really, is it?
Until now, PHAB has concentrated on identifying individuals and salons that are worthy of their standard (individuals are awarded PHAB status and then, when a salon has enough PHAB individuals, the salon itself can apply for PHAB status). But now, it's about hitting the consumer.
Because, let's face it, that's the real problem isn't it? It's all very well creating registers and rules and awards but if the consumer doesn't know about it then there's not a lot of point. After three years of setting the company up, PHAB is now ready to roll out phase two: tell the consumer about it and trust me, when that happens, you'll be desperate to get on the PHAB map.
More than anything, PHAB are looking to help you and to support our industry. This is a model that works and that works for you - one of the only models that really does make sense. Follow PHAB's advice and you can't help but be successful. Hunt them down at Professional Beauty and get involved now.
For more information head to the PHAB Standard website.
Until then...geek on!
The Ed.
It's clear from the very first moment you meet Nergish that she won't settle for anything less than, excuse the pun, phab-ulous. She knows what works and what doesn't and she should do. If you're even a little bit involved with the hair and beauty world you'll know her name.
Nergish is a Vidal Sassoon graduate (she was managing a VS salon by the time she was 19), beauty therapist ("I tried telling my mother you didn't do hair and beauty but she wouldn't have it") and retail consultant/magician (think Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Harrods, Fenwicks, et al.). Now though, she's set her sights on something else. Since 2010 Nergish has been running PHAB (Performance in Hair & Beauty) with a burning desire to standardise, and I mean really standardise, our industry in a way that the industry and the consumers understand.
'But why is PHAB different to all the other organisations out there trying to standardise our industry?" I hear you holler from somewhere out there in cyber space. It's simple really. PHAB will make you better at what you do and your business better at what it does. PHAB is not just a case of showing a certificate of qualification, handing in a form and a cheque. PHAB will not even consider granting you any kind of status until you've got at least two years experience under your belt. "How can you be good enough without that experience?" asks Nergish. And she's right.
The concept is simple. PHAB requires just three things of you as a professional in the beauty industry. First, you must prove that you're busy. Secondly, you must prove that you have regular, returning customers and finally, you must prove that you can retail products. Nergish believes that, if you score highly on these three things, then you're doing a PHAB job and you deserve the PHAB standard. And don't try and cheat your way through the application process; Nergish has explained her means and methods of verifying the information and boy oh boy are they thorough. If you've met her, you'll know not to try and get one over her.
If you don't reckon you do qualify yet, don't worry. Nergish has created a set of tools and exams on the PHAB Standard website to help you develop - for free. Without spending a penny, you can check what standard you're eligible for right now HERE. If you're a salon owner you can use the free performance management tool that's online HERE and see how far away your staff are from being PHABulous. If you fancy working towards a PHAB standard, or getting your staff up to scratch then for just £18 you can get them to sit an online exam which immediately allows you to identify their weaknesses. And, the best thing about it? As you do develop and work towards your first PHAB standard, you can't help but make money and improve your client list in the process. Not a bad trade off really, is it?
Until now, PHAB has concentrated on identifying individuals and salons that are worthy of their standard (individuals are awarded PHAB status and then, when a salon has enough PHAB individuals, the salon itself can apply for PHAB status). But now, it's about hitting the consumer.
Because, let's face it, that's the real problem isn't it? It's all very well creating registers and rules and awards but if the consumer doesn't know about it then there's not a lot of point. After three years of setting the company up, PHAB is now ready to roll out phase two: tell the consumer about it and trust me, when that happens, you'll be desperate to get on the PHAB map.
More than anything, PHAB are looking to help you and to support our industry. This is a model that works and that works for you - one of the only models that really does make sense. Follow PHAB's advice and you can't help but be successful. Hunt them down at Professional Beauty and get involved now.
For more information head to the PHAB Standard website.
Until then...geek on!
The Ed.
