Client Story
Growing Together with GP Hair Experience
Some success stories begin in unexpected ways. For years, I was simply a client at GP Hair Experience, drawn in by the salon’s creativity and the sharp wit of its Founder and Creative Director. Over time, our conversations moved beyond styles and colors. With his usual forwardness, he began sharing some of the “growing pains” of running a busy, expanding salon.
It clicked immediately. He had the vision, the energy, and the drive. I had the tools and experience to bring structure and support to those ambitions. That’s how Step Up’s journey with GP Hair Experience began.
The Challenge
Like many growing mid-sized businesses, GP Hair Experience had reached the point where passion and informal ways of working were no longer enough. With more people joining, services expanding, and bigger opportunities on the horizon, the questions became:
How do we make sure everyone knows their role and future possibilities?
How do we hire the right people and keep them?
How do we strengthen leadership to support a growing team?
How do we share knowledge and give back to our people and the profession?
The stepUp Approach
Step Up came in not to change the essence of the salon, but to help tidy and formalize what was already there. Working closely with the Founder and Creative Director and the team, we have been:
Shaping the mission, vision, and values into a shared identity that reflects the business at its best.
Building an organizational structure and clear job descriptions to support both daily work and future hiring.
Designing a career progression path and a structured guide for growth, so contributors can see their place now and the possibilities ahead.
Developing the salon’s training school focusing on both technical and soft skills training, turning expertise into a way to grow talent internally and raise standards in the wider industry.
Supporting the Founder and Creative Director with hands-on leadership coaching, strengthening confidence and management skills for the road ahead.
The Ongoing Journey
What makes this partnership special is that GP Hair Experience already had what it takes, as the creativity, the care and the passion. stepUp is helping bring in the structure and formality that growing businesses eventually need to keep moving forward.
And this is not a finished story. With stepUp’s continued follow-up, GP Hair Experience is laying the foundations step by step: making hiring more structured, giving contributors clear growth paths, and unlocking new opportunities, all while keeping people at the heart of the business.
What’s the takeaway?
Many mid-sized businesses reach a point where what once worked informally no longer keeps pace with growth. This story shows how stepUp helps unlock the next stage by putting the right structures in place for people, processes, and leadership, while honoring the unique spirit that made the business successful in the first place.