Phorest Marks its 20th Year Supporting The Industry by Hosting Salon Owners Summit
Irish-founded and global salon software provider Phorest, ushered in its 20th business anniversary with a special hosting of its 8th annual flagship event, the Salon Owners Summit.
Taking place in the Royal Dublin Convention Centre Dublin, the event attracted over 600 salon owners from the global salon business community across the US, Canada, UK, Ireland. Australia, Finland, Germany, and the Netherlands. Positioned as Europe’s premier growth-driven event for the hair, beauty, and medi-aesthetic industries, the two days were curated to be inspirational, educational, and immersive, bringing together a diverse group of speakers to talk about the latest industry trends, opportunities, and new Phorest technology innovations for salon owners across the globe.
Founder, CEO, and host of the event, Ronan Perceval said: “The Salon Owners Summit represents everything we are truly passionate about at Phorest and reinforces why I fell in love with this industry 20 years ago. To have our customers, partners, and industry speakers in one room, celebrating, sharing, and networking together is electric. We also invited over 100 members of our own Phorest team to be at this event, immersing themselves in the experience, spending quality time with our customers, and soaking up valuable customer insights, needs, and ambitions for 2024.
“Our mission is to empower and inspire our customers to grow fantastic businesses, whilst attracting and delighting loyal clients and talented staff. There is no better way to improve our product and customer experience that to stay connected to our customers, so we can remain laser-focused on continually innovating in our product and serving their business needs. This event celebrates the courage and camaraderie of this industry and promotes thought leadership. I am so proud of what we have achieved collectively to date – and excited for what’s still to come.”
The line-up of diverse speakers kicked off with David Meade, an award-winning researcher and speaker who delivered a high-energy and collaborative session on Growth Mindset, focusing on how soft skills like body language and implementing small changes to your business can help you succeed.
Sharmadean Reid MBE, Entrepreneur and Founder of WAH Nails and the women’s empowerment platform, The Stack World, delivered an impactful keynote on ‘Finding the Human Story in the Data’. Sharmadean focused on ensuring salon owners utilise their all-important data from clients and even set homework to create the ideal customer persona for teams to embrace.
US industry leader Geno Stampora and Nina Tulio, esteemed California-based salon business mentor, joined the stage to deliver motivational and inspirational talks to equip attendees with all the tools needed to kickstart the year ahead. Sharing their own journey of gender transition, PhorestFM host, Alex Bélisle-Springer calls for salon owners to reflect the supportive role their businesses can play for their clients, while Phorests’ own Rich Cullen and Verna Wall captured and shared ‘Success Stories from the Salon Floor,’ highlighting creative ideas and best practices from around the globe.
The celebrations wrapped up with a mind-blowing interactive performance by renowned TV hypnotists, mentalist, and brain hacker Keith Barry title ‘Beyond Words’ focusing on how NLP uses thoughts, feelings, and language to understand your team and customers.
The two-day programme also comprised workshops focusing on social media, Phorest Software Development, Medi-Aesthetics Software Developments, the Art of Getting Things Done, Salon Sustainability Solutions and Tipping Legislation Insights. Phorest also welcomed event partner Vish, the cutting-edge colour management software, to the 2024 show, while also raising awareness of the official industry charity, the Hair & Beauty Charity.
Guests also enjoyed networking evening programmes, including the high octane and hilariously fun, Bingo Lingo dance and games night. Plus, an event first, guests also got to enjoy the artwork from local Irish artist Amanda Jane Graham, which celebrates the rich and fantastic history behind the hairdressing profession.