“We have more than 1,000 five-star reviews – that says it all!”

He opened his first salon Jakata on Rylands Street nearly 20 years ago after completing his training working with some of Warrington’s best hairdressers.

Paul Kemp Hairdressing and Base Hairdressing opened their doors in 2011 and 2019 and the 46-year-old oversees all three salons with apprentice turned manager Jimmy Sharpe.

Here, Paul tells us about the ethos behind each brand and why the future of his business lies in the hands of the trainee apprentices he works with in the academy.

What’s the name of the salon/business?

We have three salons in Warrington - Jakata, Paul Kemp Hairdressing and Base Hairdressing

Jakata on Rylands Street

What’s the address?

Jakata: 27 Rylands Street

Paul Kemp Hairdressing: 83 Sankey Street

Base Hairdressing: 90/92 Bridge Street

Are you the owner?

I’m the owner and director of all three but I have managers looking after each site.

Jimmy Sharpe is my right-hand man overseeing the running of the businesses. He joined as an apprentice 11 years ago and his passion for the industry together with his hands on approach quickly launched him to manager level.

How many employees do you have?

We have seven Stylists at Jakata, eight at Paul Kemp Hairdressing and eight at Base.

When did you open the salon?

Jakata opened in November 2003 - 20 years next year - and PK opened 11 years ago. Base opened in July 2019.

The salons are a hive of creative activity

Has it always been in the same location?

Jakata started out on Bridge Street where Base is now. When we outgrew the premises we branched out and opened Paul Kemp Hairdressing, which has always been on Sankey Street. This gave us space to grow at each site. Jakata needed a major refit so we decided to relocate to Rylands Street and then renovated and relaunched the Bridge Street site as Base Hairdressing. This is also our academy.

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Are you local to the area? Did you grow up here?

I was born in Warrington and grew up in Stockton Heath and Walton. I currently live close to Warrington town centre.

Tell me a bit about your salon/business

Jakata is a fashion forward salon aiming to provide a warm, friendly environment where we use cutting edge techniques to create an amazing experience. Paul Kemp Hairdressing opened to offer an ultra-relaxing atmosphere with first class customer service, alongside the highest level of hairdressing expertise. Base Hairdressing is a creative space for upcoming hair stylists, created to centralise our training and offer the best learning experience for anyone who wants to embark on a career in hairdressing, while honing the skills of current stylists.

Paul Kemp on Sankey Street

What do you do? What services do you provide?

We carry out a full array of cutting edge hair services, from creative cutting and colour to extensions and specialist hair treatments.

What’s your hair and beauty background?

After scraping through my A-levels I realised academia wasn’t for me. I was always more into creative things and thought hairdressing would be fun. I did some work experience and Saturday work at Johnsons in Stockton Heath and once I finished my NVQ I got taken on by Callaghans. I had eight amazing years working with Stuart and the Callaghans team.

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Why did you decide to open your own salon?

During my last few years at Callaghans, I started to think about the future and realised I wouldn’t want to be working behind the chair forever. As much as I loved hairdressing, I wanted to explore other avenues of creativity and stretch my learning potential. I knew opening a salon would be the ultimate creative outlet so I set about putting some plans into action.

The three salons offer a whole host of treatments for their clients (Image: Reader pic)

How did the Covid-19 pandemic affect your business?

Lockdowns kept us on our toes. Once I got over the initial shock of having to close, we tried to adapt as best we could. The salon managers, teams and our incredibly loyal clients were amazing, willing to help us get through it. Having a solid handle on cashflow and strong channels of communication with both staff and clients were crucial.

What makes your business different to others in the same area/field?

I don’t focus too much on the competition. We focus on progressing and evolving each salon to keep up with changes in the industry. We invest in the training of new apprentices in our academy and keep up with ever changing fashion trends.

The salons are stylish with a warm and friendly vibe

Why do loyal clients return to your business?

We’ve built up incredible, loyal client bases at each salon thanks to the warm, friendly experience they get from our super talented team. I think every one of our team exudes a real passion for hairdressing and they’re all willing to bend over backwards for our customers. We have more than 1,000 five-star reviews on Google across the three salons. That says it all really!

What’s next? What do the next few months hold for you and your salon?

Jimmy and I are working hard at fine tuning all aspects of the business. A key focus is on maximising staff utilisation and reducing product use to ensure we keep our head above water, without having to increase our prices. We’re also looking at some innovative new approaches that we’re going to start trialling soon. We’re going to continue to recruit more apprentices and train them to an exceptional standard. Having three salons is a challenge, but it’s very rewarding.

If you want to appear in our Meet The Salon Owner feature, email heidi.summerfield@newsquest.co.uk