Not Another Salon - Sophia Hilton

British star stylist Sophia Hilton wowed Middle Easter audiences when she appeared on our HJ Stage thanks to Gloss Academy in Dubai in February. We caught up with her and learned how social media has helped her build her brand

Before Sophia Hilton opened her innovative Not Another Salon, the industry was already aware of her, not least because of her striking sense of personal style and her high profile on Instagram. But Hilton has proved she is about far more than a colourful image. Every element of her London salon is based on both an empathy for those that are unconventional, and the sound business acumen that won her two gongs at HJ’s 2016 British Hairdressing Business Awards.

Talking of her original vision for the salon, which opened in October 2015, Hilton says: “I just wanted to walk into work every morning in a place that makes me happy, so I created a bubble, my very own ‘safe place’. Not Another Salon allowed me to create a safe environment for all other ‘misfits’. It is this “no judgement policy” which Hilton believes is the brand’s real USP. “Yes, of course it’s our aesthetic that grabs attention, but it’s our values that hold them there,” she says. “The emphasis is put on being accepting and kind, not cool.”

Perhaps one of the reasons the salon has acquired the “cool” tag is the way Hilton has built brand awareness through social media, although she is quick to stress that social media will only work if the brand itself is right in the first place.

Building a profile

“Social media was really important, but I think what’s forgotten is that it is just a platform to show all the other elements of your company,” she says. “Essentially, it’s my branding that’s strong, not my social media.”

When it comes to building profiles – both of the business and of herself and her team members – social media has proved an incredibly successful platform, however. Says Hilton: “I always wanted to make my staff known as individuals, to allow my efforts in the business to propel their personal reputations. Through the constant tagging on our @notanothersalon Instagram account, and her great quality work, my team member Harriet, at only 21, has quadrupled her following since joining me. In fact, in about two weeks she will have surpassed the following for my own personal account. I’m very comfortable when a young person in my team rises over me; I see it as a personal achievement. I have enabled her to show the world what she can do. It’s awesome; she’s awesome.”

Dedication

And despite all her other commitments, Hilton still dedicates a huge amount of time to social media. “I have to remain obsessed,” she says. “When my interest comes down, so does the growth of my following. That’s easy to see with my personal account. When I focused on it a couple of years ago, it tripled in six months. When I took on the business and I turned my focus on that, my personal account stood still. The Not Another Salon page rose from nothing to 122,000 in 14 months - why? Because I obsessed about it, morning to night.

“I have never let anyone else post on our accounts and I have no intention of ever letting a company do this for me. I’m dyslexic so sometimes it has so many typos that it looks like I type with my toes. But at least it’s real. People want to hear a real voice, warts and all, not a dull company saying the same rubbish they have heard before.” Commitment And in return for this kind of commitment from her team, Hilton believes in repaying them with education. “Predominantly, I’m an educator, so I look at it like this: I would be so upset if anyone were to leave my company and say that I failed them educationally. How could I possibly stand on stage as a teacher and hold a reputation if there is anyone within my own four walls that is not being developed properly? Every single person, no matter how young or old, is going through a personal education programme; it’s simply not an option to stand still. You don’t come to work for me unless you are committed to self-development.”

Hilton extends this passion for education beyond her own team, with the launch of Not Another Academy. Says Hilton: “The academy has exploded and we have remained fully booked three months in advance for almost a year. The looks we have created have caused a lot of attention in such a short amount of time and we have been written about by journalists all over the world claiming we are pushing a change in trends. But what’s the point if it’s just us?

“Is it cooler to have a company that is unique? Or is it cooler to have a company that helps hundreds of companies become unique?”

After the success of the Sophia Hilton workshops which took place at Gloss Academy Dubai in February, Sophia’s workshops will be returning to Gloss from May 2017.

To register for a place please contact the academy 04 321 6588