Dec 26, 20212 min read

Member's Spotlight: Innovations Advanced Skincare & Beauty

Updated: Feb 16, 2023

In this month's Member's Spotlight we celebrate Jolene Rees and her award winning clinic; Innovations Advanced Skincare & Beauty based in Stockton-On-Tees' town centre.

With her team of expert practitioners Innovation provides high quality results driven treatments. Customer service lies at the forefront of the business, providing not only exceptional treatments but also an unforgettable experience.

Jolene started her journey with The Delforge Group through the Leadership Training programme, as her goals were to provide encouragement and growth to her management team.

As we progressed in this aspect, we also started to work on implementing a positive retail culture, business structure and systems which resulted in growth of profitability, as well as ensured smooth operations.

We focused on improving the function of her reception team and together with her management team we worked on creating an individual development plan for each staff member.

Jolene is a training and mentoring driven person and ensured everything we worked on was implemented with a focus on how to develop and train her management team, which was very inspiring to see. We were delighted to see that Innovation went on to win Large Salon of the Year at the 2021 Professional Beauty Awards in London. It makes us truly proud to have been part of their journey. The best piece of business advice you've ever received that you'd share with another salon owner Get your SOP in check: ensure you have policies and procedures all documented, this will ensure a smooth, streamlined operation of your business. If you could go back and change anything or give your younger self some guidance for your business journey, what would it be? Invest in professional services and training such as HR and leadership to progress yourself and your company. Don't compare or get caught up in what other salons are doing around you, just focus on your own business and your vision. Your favourite thing about being a business owner?

Freedom to choose my working hours. Developing staff and seeing their progress is very rewarding too.

What do you find most challenging – and how do you overcome it? Staff can sometimes prove to be the biggest challenge. We continuously and successfully work to overcome issues through our company policies which treat everyone fairly and with compassion. 'Give and take' approach is a key to get the best out of staff. Someone or another brand or business in the industry who inspires you and why? I love City Retreat in Newcastle. I had my hen pamper party there almost 10 years ago and I loved the salon layout, decor and how we were treated. The owner Lesley, I met on a training course, seemed very pro-active and knowledgeable which was inspiring to me. I always hoped I'd have something similar myself one day and fortunately through hard work and determination I do. What do you love about being a Delforge Member, would you recommend us to other salon owners and why? I love Valerie's expertise in leadership, she has taught me to be a better manager and leader, helped to develop me personally into the business owner I am today. She guides with a wealth of experience alongside her knowledgeable team.