Salon SOUL made its debut at Professional Beauty & Hair 2025, with the panel discussion taking place on the Beauty Stage on Sunday, 9 March in front of a packed audience.
Salon SOUL – which stands for Salon Owners United in Learning – is the brainchild of Greg Clarke, co-owner of Amica Eco Hairdressing in Dublin.
Leading the discussion, Clarke was joined by Image Skillnet CEO Margaret O’Rourke Doherty, Zeba’s Paul Dromgoole, Ikon Hair’s Valerie Finnegan Cahill, Vanilla Hair Design owner Samantha Byrne and Rossanos owner Rossa Danagher.
The group looked at the challenges facing the hair and beauty industry today, and talked about how to overcome them. Here are five takeaways from the discussion.
1 Price yourself properly
Dromgoole spoke about rising costs, suggesting that you look at 10 parts of your business and see if you take 10% off the cost of any of them. “We don’t price ourselves properly in the industry,” he said. “We undervalue our skills and specialities. We need to attract good team members and pay them properly, and that will only happen if we price ourselves properly. We also need to manage client expectations – listen to what they want and deliver. Clients are now looking for more. They are expecting to have an experience in your salon.”
2 Technology is here to stay – but it won’t replace the personal touch
Byrne talked about how the role of the hairdresser is evolving. “Trends are everywhere now, and social media has taken over, so we need to keep up with it. Online consultations are more common now too. They won’t take over, but they are creeping in. AI is creeping in too. It has its uses, but it still can’t replace that personal service and touch. I think going forward, traditional skills will be combined with modern technology to give clients a more dynamic experience. But clients will still want that personal service.”
3 Great leadership starts with team culture
Finnegan Cahill spoke about the strategies you can adopt to stay more resilient and future-ready. “As salon owners, we often don’t stop to think about the culture in our businesses, and how to instil that in our teams. We have got to go back to basics and become great leaders by managing and minding our teams. We need to keep our environments safe and happy – that type of culture will give our salons longevity.”
4 Be the driving force behind your own business
When it comes to having a thriving salon, Danagher’s advice was to “get behind the wheel”. “You have to be driving force behind your business,” he said. “Go back to what you are good at – your business will survive if you drive. Do not be afraid to be the boss.”
5 Make use of the resources available to the industry
Meanwhile, O’Rourke Doherty reminded everyone of the role Image Skillnet can play in your success. “We should be your best friend,” she explained. “We are a non-profit agency that is co-funded by the National Training Fund. There’s no catch. Go to our website and look at what is on offer. If there’s something that you’d like to see there, get in touch with us. For example, if you’d like to collaborate with a guest artist, we can help. It’s an absolute no-brainer to use Image Skillnet to help your salon business.”
“I had the honour of hosting Salon SOUL at Professional Beauty & Hair,” said Clarke. “This amazing event brings together salon owners and industry professionals over two days to educate, discover and network in a way that will help maintain and grow our amazing industry. Your network is your net worth, so if you weren’t there this year, make sure you don’t miss it in 2026.”
