How does a world-renowned barber, seasoned educator, shop owner, and master-level stylist like Alan Beak get to teach over 50 different industry professionals, while most of the world is still practicing social distancing? The answer is simple. Alan partnered with Booksy to host an online educational webinar that showcased his experience, while he provided invaluable advice. This one-of-a-kind online learning opportunity took place on September 14th, and it was aptly titled Blended. Barbers and stylists from three different countries watched as Alan seamlessly blended the worlds of classic hairdressing and modern barbering to create a haircut that precisely complimented the facial features, hair length, and unique hair texture of his model. Click the video below to learn from the educational webinar. Or, read through this short article to get some valuable insights from this dedicated Booksy Ambassador, who has earned a reputation in the United Kingdom and America for sculpting haircuts like a fine artist.
8jMH6D3oo8A
To Alan, teaching others moves him a step forward in his career. He believes that eduacating helps him evolve as a professional. Although Alan had a long list of different grooming and styling tips, here’s three takeaways that this Manchester, U.K. based professional shared with colleagues scattered across the globe:
According to Alan, the words inspect, detect, and correct play within his mind, whenever he meets a new client or if a previous client has worked with another barber. And that’s because these three words represent the three steps that he takes when he performs a cut and style. “Inspect your client’s previous haircut. Inspect the hair. Inspect anything that will affect the cut,” he said, adding that “once you inspect, you then detect.” He elaborated stating that the second step means to detect aspects of the haircut that are flawed or need some work. But it also means to look for positive things in the haircut that look great and won’t need attention. Finally, the last step is to take action and carefully correct “any detail in the haircut that needs changing,” he said. After finishing his thought, he repeated the words “inspect, detect, and correct.”
To make things more digestible, it’s important to divide the haircut into different parts, which simplifies the process. Alan believes this is just as important for a haircut, as it is when driving from point A to point B, for instance. Even though creating a perfect haircut is something that’s usually much more complex. “We have our clipper work, we have our blending-in, we have our edges or outline, we have our layering, texturising, and then styling,” he said. “Once we’ve broken those down, into those bite sized chunks, we’re going to work on each one individually.” Focusing on each step lets the barber or stylist concentrate on very specific parts of the cut. Instead of focusing on the haircut as a whole, we’re focusing on each individual section. And this provides clarity and structure, he said.
After the webinar, Alan told his listeners to challenge themselves. “But it’s important to do so with a premeditated process in mind. Everybody has that same kind of drive and ambition to do something great. But very few people actually take time to draw upon that instinct by making a plan and then putting that plan into action,” Alan said. Alan added that industry professionals in particular are very hands on people. But that shouldn’t stop them from spending some time analysing their strengths and weakness. And then taking steps to progress. So, it’s really really important to be in that state of motion where you make a plan, write down a things to do list, create goals, micromanage yourself, and micromanage your progression. “But then it’s really important to make the steps to turn motion into action, after you’ve done your self-analysis,” he said.
Keeping busy is one of the reasons that educators enjoy participating in remote learning sessions. But participating in an educational webinar lets Alan feel more connected with the industry. “The best way to reinforce your knowledge of a subject is to share it. And obviously that’s one thing that we pride ourselves on. Anytime that we take a step forward by doing an event, we bring someone else with us. By doing that we were creating a sense of family and community,” Alan said. It was also great to see people from different countries, he added. “I made sure that when I first started that I got people to write in the comment section, what country they were from. It was really, really nice to see all of the different countries. The different scenes. That was really cool. It shows that common goal about learning and progression,” he said.
To continue learning these kinds of business tips, make sure to register for a future Booksy Educational Webinar. During many of these sessions, industry experts like Alan share their tips and advice on how to succeed. So, continue learning how to get ahead from accomplished professionals. Participating in an upcoming class is simple, just check our website for times and dates. Then register to help grow your business or sharpen your skills.
.png)
