Dylan Bradshaw – Hairdresser – Brand Ambassador – Entrepreneur
Career Profile
Dylan Bradshaw is a multi-award-winning hairdresser who has achieved many accolades since opening his own salon in 2000.
A strong presence in the fashion world, Dylan and his creative team are regularly requested for magazine editorials, fashion shows and industry advertisements with their work gracing the pages of international and Irish publications including Vogue UK, Vogue US, Bazaar, Rolling Stone Magazine as well Irish Tatler, Image, VIP and U Magazines to name but a few. His remarkable career and signature approach has received impressive critical acclaim winning countless industry awards for artistic and technical skill.
Ireland’s only hairdresser to be appointed an International ‘K-Stylist’ Ambassador for the Kerastase brand and the only Irish Judge on the panel for the UK L’Oréal colour trophy Grand Finals, Dylan’s vision and talent is ever-evolving. Working with an exceptional team of experienced, highly trained and artistic hairdressers, their talent and drive keeps the salon at the forefront of Irish hairdressing.
With Over 60 accolades already achieved some of the most recent Awards are: Winner Creative Head Magazine MOST WANTED Awards 2016, 2017,2018, and 2019 Exceptional Stylist, London – meaning he joins the Hall of Fame with top industry names like Sam Mc Knight and Errol Douglas MBE.
We chatted to Dylan about his fantastic personal branding, career highlights and heard some of his funny stories from over the years. He also shared some of his best entrepreneurial tips that have helped him succeed and he kindly shared with us.
Creativity
“I’m the kind of guy that’s the pain in the arse. If somebody is doing something, I’ve got the finger in the air, ‘but why can’t we do it this way?’. I spend most of my life dreaming, daydreaming about things and what I’m going to do. I’ve always had that, and that’s the creative thing with me. I always have a very clear thought of the product that I want at the end of the day. Some people probably say I’m a control freak, but you know, I’ve got to think about my business for the next 10 years and what it says to people when they come through the doors.”
Personal branding
“It’s very funny when you first open a business and people start talking about your brand. You’re so paranoid and conscious going ‘My brand? What does that mean?’. It makes you sound like you’re big headed or whatever, and that was the same about my name. But branding yourself as a person is timeless, it’ll never age.”
Don’t dilute the brand
“We’re not here to open 20 shops. We’ve never had any interest in it. I’m just happy to have one big store and that we’re a destination space. I don’t want to manage and have hundreds of staff. I’m just happy to have a place that I can call home from home, but I go to work and that I can control the environment. It’s important that we have a good space that doesn’t dilute the brand in any way.”
It’s about the balance
“There’s always trade offs, but in life it’s about that balance. What do you want? Do you want to be the best one thing which is great, and then suck at another thing? Or do you want to have an equal balance? I like the idea that we work hard but we don’t have to work ridiculously hard. If you keep thinking that the destination is success, then you’re leading yourself a failure.
It doesn’t matter about the destination at the end of it, like ‘I’ve made all this money’. But it’s about – are you happy in your life?”
Focus on the right people
“Spend time and concentrate on the guys that are really up for it. Sometimes you let them down because you’re too busy trying to put out fires. So that’s what I have learned in business, that you just concentrate on the good guys, because they’re loyal, they work hard and they believe in what you do. That’s something that we spent a lot of time on these past few years is just looking after the good guys.”
Listen to people and to podcasts
“The most important thing is listening. You know, it’s important to learn to listen because you can pick up all this free advice and information. So from people that are in business or who have families, people that have failed at something and that have succeeded in things. You just pick all this information up.
I love listening to people just talking about experience. It doesn’t have to be like a clear message at the end of it. I got completely addicted to desert Island discs over the lockdown because it’s just personalities. You can listen to an academic and what floats their boat. You can listen to a musician, an actor. I love listening to people.”
Be prepared for the fall
“Charlotte, who’s a huge part of the business, says that we ‘jump off a cliff and build the wings on the way down’. I think you have to enjoy what you’re doing, but also be prepared for the failures as well and for the fall – just so long as you bounce back from it.”
Keep pushing forward
“I’d say to people just to have faith in themselves, that’s it. Because a lot of times people aren’t going to have faith in you, you know? It’s something that we kind of bang around a bit, but you’ve just got to believe and keep pushing forward.”
What about you?
Dylan’s down-to-earth approach towards life and his brand is motivating for us all. Check out his brilliant services on his website.
Has Dylan inspired you to make things happen in your life? Get in touch with Self Makers to explore your options.
If you have a question you would like Conor to answer on the Self Makers Show, send it to us here in audio.
Self Makers Show – Video
Self Makers Show – Podcast
Listen to the Self Makers show on Spotify or iTunes
Homework
Assess yourself and your business potential with the Self Makers Radar.
Share
Enjoy and share some of the best quotes from this interview!
By Conor Lynch and Erin Gaiger
