Sunday 16th September 2018
By Michelle Hammond
Q1 - How did your childhood influence your work ethic and attitude towards business?
My dad played a huge part of this, he was the owner of a plastics recycling business in the early days of the industry, he was a salesman first & foremost so i know where I got that gene. He was hard working & came from a very humble background growing up in south London during & after WW2.
Q2 - What do you believe the principles of a successful business are today?
Treat people how you wish to be treated yourself, be honest with yourself, reinvent & evolve often & never take your eye off the sales pipeline & cashflow.
Q3 - Looking back, what was your best business decision?
Deciding to not be a tennis coach anymore, although it was & remains a great love of mine, it opened lots of conversations & doors. Being able to play ultimately led me on a path into spa & wellness.
Q4 - Who has influenced you the most through your career?
I've been lucky to work with some great leaders of business over the years, my dad shaped my character & a number of these people along the way have helped shape my career.
Q5 - What was your most difficult / worst business decision?
As a sales director over the years there has always been some requirement to assess team performance and suitability, and sometimes people are just in the wrong job (many don’t even know or acknowledge this fact), dealing with peoples livelihoods needs to be sensitively managed I hope those situations over the years I've handled with empathy.
Q6 - What would you say was the single most advantageous character trait for
success?
Glass half full in every situation however challenging.
Q7 - What happens when you’re stressed or overwhelmed?
I become quiet & internalise everything too much.
Q8 - How do you invest in your own wellbeing. How do you look after yourself?
I regularly have a massage & still play tennis competitively. I also like to read to switch off.
Q9 - If you could change one thing about the spa and wellness industry what would it be and why?
Attitudes to wellness - in that the general populous view that it's not just about pampering - but gives real tangible results and improves wellbeing.
Q10 - Finally, What’s your favourite quote or the best advice you’ve ever been
given?
Failure is simply an opportunity to start again just more intelligently this time around- Henry Ford.
FLASH FACTS - FOR FUN SECTION
1. What’s your favourite book
The Moonstone – Wilkie Collins
2. What’s your favourite film of all time
All The Presidents Men
3. If you could have dinner with anyone, past or present, who would it be and why?
Winston Churchill
4. You get taken to your favourite place to be, where are you taken?
Loch Muick in the Cairngorms
5. Your perfect dinner is?
Home on a winter evening with my lovely wife.
6. Your go to drink is?
Rioja
7. Your favourite sweet treat is?
A double decker
8. What’s your favourite essential oil / scent?
Wild orange
9. You go for a treatment - what do you have and why?
Massage with scalp treatment
10. What’s your favourite flower?
Daffodils
11. You want to sleep deeply, what do you do?
Gym session, hot shower, bed.
12. You want to energise fast, what do you do?
If at work a quick walk, water and a sniff of lemongrass essential oil
13. The theme tune to your life is?
Aretha Franklin - Good times
14. What makes you laugh to your belly?
My mates on a pub night out
15. What’s your favourite season?
Autumn
16. What’s your favourite colour?
Blue
17. Your favourite time of day is?
3.30pm when my girls get home from school and I hear about their day.
18. If you could have been anyone or anything else, what / who would you be?
Roger Federer
19. What’s your current TV guilty secret?
Line of Duty
20. Magic dust - you can learn one new skill instantly, what is it?
To speak good French
Ian has been an Operator, Sales & Commercial Director & Consultant in the Spa & Salon sector for over 25years. He started life as a tennis professional and was lucky enough to travel the world before joining a golf & country club that offered him a career path outside of the tennis court. Health club management and a new spa gave him an insight into the world of spa and he hasn’t looked back.
Fortunate to work with leading industry brands in ESPA, Elemis & L'oreal. He is passionate about commerce and creating growth in businesses. Ian’s management consultant business Bailey Creative Ltd launched earlier this year.
Learn more about Bailey Creative
Connect with Ian:
Instagram: ianb1966
Twitter: @ian92851140
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/ia
