In my last blog I touched on the fact that this “bizarre” time has given a lot of us some time to reflect. A time to capitalise on new opportunities, a time for a refresh & growth. Personally, it’s given me a fresh start in new and exciting ventures for both my team and I at AREA Studio. 


Right before this second lockdown period, we had an internal team training day for the academy. The idea behind doing this was to get everyone on the same page and to make sure everyone’s vision was heard. Essentially to make sure we can all move forward in the same direction and with the same purpose. This inspiring day brought up many interesting conversations between us all. One that has particularly stuck in my mind and one I want to share with you today was understanding the “why” behind what we do and what we are about to do with the academy.

This is an interesting question I think we all need to ask ourselves about the direction in which we are going with our lives because what we act upon right now, in the present moment is building and working towards our future selves. The person we want to become in 5 years. 


So why did we set up AREA Academy? To put it very simply – if we are not part of the solution, we are part of the problem… 
To elaborate more on that point with no disrespect whatsoever to anyone else trying to educate within our beautiful industry, because there are some amazing educators across Australia – but we see a gap that needs to be filled. We see a “problem” and if we don’t provide a “solution” then we become part of this problem. 


Currently in Australia to learn our forward-thinking techniques, methods and mindset towards modern men’s haircutting – there are very few people or companies that offer anything we feel is valuable to the overall growth of the industry. For our specific niche, there are very few resources for us to upskill and grow as a stylist in which we feel is monumental in sustaining a successful career. 


Ultimately our mission, our “why” is to empower our “students” to achieve their goals, to have confidence in themselves and to take their careers to whatever heights they desire. The reason I have the word “students” in inverted commas is because we never like to look at ourselves from a position of hierarchy but rather from the position of a peer. We are all trying to do the same thing at the end of the day and we want the overall industry to grow. That’s why we understand that to transition from a stylist to an educator our emphasis will change from giving advice and helping people within our community to helping other stylists develop their skills so that they can provide a better service, charge more and ultimately achieve a better way of life. 
That’s our “why”. 


I found that figuring out your “why” is a really interesting task to do with yourself and I would advise anyone who has got this far in reading this blog to do the same thing. Sit down and ask yourself “Why do I do what I do?” Or “Why do I want to do what I want to do?”. Bit of a tongue twister, I know but it makes sense… 


I’ve found that if you have the correct intentions and you are willing to grow/learn then you will be successful in anything you set your mind to. 
Now that’s enough of the inspirational words from me – bloody hell, I only cut hair!


Finally, I would like to wish all my peers in Victoria the best throughout this hard time. I would advise that you use this time to your advantage. Time is the most valuable currency we have and now we have been gifted more of it than we’ve ever had. I’ve mapped out my 6 weeks and have broken it down into a week-by-week plan and within that week-by-week plan, I have a daily checklist. This will make sure I achieve all of my goals and maximise productivity. If you are the type to struggle with implanting such structure please don’t hesitate to reach out and I can help you create a plan that will help you achieve your goals. Regardless, no matter the topic – if you have anything at all you’d like to chat about or discuss I’d love to be of some assistance or help for anyone. 
Thanks for hearing me out CTJ!