Salon Forum - A symbol of a new era in the 60-year history of CPR.
Over 20 years ago, CEO Cass Donnelly had an idea for CPR to evolve and support the hair industry by resourcing the network with excellent business education and industry wide resources. Hence, The Salon Forum was born.
Mid Feb 2024 saw the awakening of this 20-year-old dream. The foundations had been set and the CPR community was hungry for more connections and business acumen.
There were over 200 people at this 1 day-of-power conference, coming from all over the country. Some travelled for over 8 hours, with teams of 10 arriving in style; groups of apprentices including 2 salon owners who have been in business for over 40 years.
It was safe to say that the CPR Salon Forum was filled with a diverse and eager group of people who wanted to grow and be guided into their next phase of professional and personal development.
Cass choreographed the day into six different movements – taking the audience on a journey, flowing from personal development through mental strength, inspiration, shaking off the old and embracing the new, being motivated but also having practical tools to take back into their salons.
On top of Mocha Group and HairBiz being the Official Media Partner for The Salon Forum, our General Manager Jarred Stedman was also the MC for the day. “The schedule was very full, with 10 different speakers in 8 hours and my job was really just to be a bit of a ‘sugar hit’ for the audience, bringing some life and laughter to help the next speaker go on stage with an audience that was energised, focused, and ready to absorb all that they had to offer. It was a real an honour to be part of this moment in time for CPR,” said Jarred.
Movement 1: Started off with everyone getting to catch up outside and have coffee and juice. Once everyone had found their seats, phase two of the movement began with Djembe rhythmic drum session. Designed to get everyone moving, stomping their feet and in a mindset of awakening.
Movement 2: Cass Donnelly and Lisa Conway were the first speakers.
With plenty of time to plan and orchestrate this forum, Cass didn’t want this to be a ‘one off’ moment, so he and the team have created a 12 month aftercare program called ‘Holistic Salon Service’ which was being launched here first. The Holistic Salon Service is a one stop shop program for CPR salons to have access to business support, resources and classes, plus a growing space to connect external specialists to come into the curated network and offer their skillsets to the business owners and managers.
Lisa Conway, the founder of The Zing Project, could have spoken on budgets, and maximising profits but decided to share about something a little less talked about. How to avoid burnout. Her section was titled ‘How to fill up your Cup’. When asking the audience what one of the main takeaways from her session was – they said ‘just learning how to say NO, and being ok with that’. It was an empowering phrase for a lot of people because so many are caught in a place wanting to give their clients and staff all of them but leaving nothing left over for themselves.
After a voluntary crowd dance off with bags of lollies as rewards, it was time for the next movement.
Movement 3: Sandra, owner of Scruples Salon in Nowra, took the team on a journey through history. Highlighting that after 30 years in business, there is still so much we can do. Growing and investing in the next generation is a key for the success of the industry.
This flowed into a fashion runway lead by Paul Graham from Paul and Paul Salon. The runway showed off the newest CPR campaign with 6 models, bringing to life what was on the cover of everyone’s brochures. The campaign was shot and ready to go but the team wanted everyone at the conference to see it in 3D.
The Salon Forum was not disappointed by The Island Hotels hospitality. There was great food, delicious drinks, coffee and sugar to help all the attendees focused and ready for the next movement.
Movement 4: Natalie Henry (CPR Creative and Digital Sales Coordinator) and Casey Parsons (leading digital marketing) had the audience on their feet and transported to a vertical salon space. Thanks to the team at Comfortel who had organised a mirrors, basin, front desk, shelving bench chairs – the attendees got a step by step guide on how to capture content with a live model and an iPhone. Natalie and Casey shared practical tips to elevate and simplify the sometimes-daunting process of social media.
Keeping in the spirit of practical tools for the business owners tool belt, Shakira Jade was up next. She was chosen for a few obvious reasons. She is a CPR salon, she owners 3 salons in Queensland, she has a hair extension company ‘Hair Candy’ and is a business mentor.
She got people excited about processes and how they can be the key to freedom. Her piece of the day left the room excited and challenged about their own business procedures.
Movement 5: By two o’clock, there had already been enough insight, inspiration, challenges, and enthusiasm that if the day stopped there, everyone’s cup would have been filled. That was not the case. Julie Gillespie professionally focuses on ‘Strategic Connections’ in the corporate world. When connection is authentic, leaders can lead with a team that trusts them. The cherry on the top in this movement is that Julie is Cass’s sister. Strategically bringing a more emotional level to movement 5.
Following on from Julie, was Cass and Natalie again, celebrating what CPR is doing to help create career pathways for the more creative minds. They shared about the Mane Event, and Mane Gala which is the photographic competition that launched last year.
Movement 6: This was the last key of the day. Its focus was to slow down the mind and body. Create a space to pack all their thoughts and inspirations into a place where they wouldn’t get lost. Dario Cotroneo, Founder of DCI Education, shared about the power of your mindset with his title of the session being ‘You can’t be what you can’t see’. Knowing that the ability to lift your eyes and look up is sometimes all you need to keep going.
A big part of Dario’s strength comes from his ability to be consistent in his meditation. Just 10min a day – and that’s what he got everyone to do. A practical and tangible guide on how to stop and be still before the day begins.
Cass had one final surprise up his sleeve. A new experience for many people in the room – a Gong Sound Bath. Cass brought in a professional to take the whole room through this truly unique experience.
For content – a Gong Sound Bath is where a large symbol (a Gong) is played and the frequencies vibrating from the gong helps to inspire the new shapes and patterns for the next chapter in someone life.
Seeing this the dream come alive was truly a moment in time for the CPR story. It was also a moment for those who has travelled near and far to be part of this authentically passionate community.
You will be able to see the CPR team at Hair Festival this year and don’t forget to look up The Mane Event for all the competition details.
