Our First Year

I think any business owner would agree that your first year in business is anything but easy....

The ups and downs you go through are enough to test even the most prepared entrepreneur, in a lot of cases you have to learn on the fly what type of business owner you will be. Are you proactive? Are you organised? Will you be the one running the day to day business? There are so many questions and little details you have to try and figure out even before you contemplate your actual business!

There are a lot of hurdles you have to be willing to face.

We went into our venture willing to learn on the fly, and looking back we are glad we did.

The minute we decided to go out on our own and open Harris & Co. we knew it wouldn’t be easy and there would be highs and lows, but we knew we could get through our first year in business by being open, making sure we kept remembering our business plan and achieving the goals we had set for our first year.

Setting goals for us was massive. Every month. Every week. You need to set goals whenever you can as they keep you motivated and on track.

One week it might be posting on social media more often, another my be building on your retail sales, choosing another advertaising advenue... Whatever they are they are key to helping you feel like your are moving farword and in the times we flat like things were at a stand still or moving slowly we set little goals that helped pull us out of that rut, and we noticedced that the small goals we were achieving were leading us to the big ones we had planned.

Business is like a roller coaster, you hit the highs which feel great but then you must also be well prepared for the lows. There are many road blocks you have to be willing to conquer to move to the next level. Moving forward in any little way was what made us feel better in those slow times.

Our big goals in our first year with the salon was to build a brush salon that could support bring in other talented stylist to work and grown with us, this is the reason we came up with the name Harris & Co. meaning Co Op of creatives, be it Julie Phillips with her art studio upstairs creating art using energy work, or our amazing team downstairs doing beautiful hair day in day out who all have helped us create the good vibes you feel as soon as you walk in to our space.

Sharing our space was always important to us, and there is something really special when you get a bunch of talented peers all working together that brings those positive creative energy into a space and transforms it into a dynamic work atmosphere.

We have been lucky enough to team up with some great companies that match up with our ethics and morals on sustainability such as Davines Australia, Sustainable Salons, Afterpay and many more.

We have learnt a lot this year, like don’t give up when the chips are down just try to regroup and move forward.

The other thing is how amazing your community support can be and how much we appreciate all the support we have been given in this new and exciting venture, not only the wonderful clients that put a smile on our faces every time they come in but the support we have gotten from other business and family and friends near and far.

We are so proud of what we have achieved in our first year on this amazing journey, but not only for us but also for our wonderful Harris & Co. family. We cannot wait to smash out another year with bigger ideas and goals to take Harris & Co to the next level!

We are so blessed we get to do what we love and are passionate about and that we bet to share it with so many amazing people.

We are excited for what to future holds for us and hope to see our little family business take off!