A Sydney salon owner finds extra time with Timely
For this experienced hair stylist, it's taken 18 years to find enough time to spend with his clients. And it’s not because he has more staff members, more coworkers or a larger space. In fact, it’s the opposite.
Mario’s salon, MPC hair, is located in the heart of Sydney’s CBD. The small, welcoming space is filled with plants and warm woods. It feels like walking into a modern, funky meditation garden.
MPC hair stands for his motto, More Personal Care. It references his experiences working at salons in Spain, where the level of service they were encouraged to provide was closer to personal care than the usual cut and colour.
Working in Barcelona was in many ways a dream for a young man from a town of 800 in Spain. However, by the end of his 10 years in Barcelona, Mario was burnt out working 16 hour days. “It was crazy! Life was just a spiral, and you need to stop and get out.”
Mario was ready for some time to himself. He came to Australia on a gap year and never left!
“I have worked for 3 companies, so then I decided to open my own business because I didn’t quite fit into the hairdressing industry. We have a different mindset. Probably because of my background, the way I do things didn’t match the culture. So it was a bit of a culture shock.”
Although he had worked at several salons before opening MPC hair, he always felt like he needed more time with his clients.
“I know time is money, but I prefer spending more time delivering a more quality service. You cannot deliver good things in a short amount of time.”
Mario knew that his success would lie in working in his business more, not on it. “They wanted more people through the doors, in less time. It was the opposite of all of my training. And so far this approach is going really well for me.”
One of the keys to his successful Sydney salon is Timely. Outsourcing his admin and bookings to Timely allows his to focus on his passion.
“Timely has saved me a lot of time, and time is money! It gives me and my customers flexibility, 24/7.”
Mario’s philosophy is entirely customer-centric, meaning that if it takes him 5 hours to finish a service, that’s how long it takes! There’s never any question of rushing his craft or taking shortcuts.
It’s something that has earned him a loyal following – he grew from 45 clients to 300 in 8 months – but he says it can be tricky in terms of growing business, which is why Timely is a life-saver.
“It’s saving time, customers are happy, plus I don’t have to pay a reception person. It is a win-win.”
If he was to expand, Mario would want a bigger space, somewhere his clients will feel comfortable without losing the intimacy of MPC hair. A new space would also allow him to hire a second stylist.
However, he’ll wait until the time is right. Mario says he’s always tried to not have expectations, instead trusting his instincts. “I think the basically follow what your inner soul says to you. You have to believe in yourself, and if your inner soul says go for it – you have to go for it!”
In the meantime, it looks like the balance Mario’s been seeking – more time with his clients, more time to himself – has finally been achieved. It’s a joy seeing our customers finding their happiness, and we can’t wait to check back in with Mario and see MPC hair grow!
