Salon owner reveals secret of her success

LARA Johnson has proved to be a cut above her rivals.

The 39-year-old salon owner has been crowned the winner of the Swansea Marriott and Evening Post Business Award.

She received this month's gong, which is also supported by the West Wales Chamber of Commerce, Swansea University's School of Business and Economics, and Swansea Bay Partnership, at the Swansea Marriott yesterday. Lara returned to Swansea to set up the Lara Johnson Lifestyle Salon in Newton Road, Mumbles, 13 years ago, after working on the QE2 and running a group of top salons in London.

Despite the credit crunch, business is booming.

Lara has won numerous awards, including British Hairdresser of the Year and Welsh Woman of the Year, and has just witnessed the salon's most successful start to a year in its history. "We've had a rise of 18 per cent growth in January and February,"� she said.

"It's our most successful start to a year since the business started 13 years ago."

Lara employs a team of 30 at the salon and is planning to expand the business further.

"We are growing all the time," she said. "We are looking at taking on between six and eight apprentices in June."

So what's the secret of Lara's success?

"We concentrate on hair and serve a broad spectrum of clients from all over Wales,"� she said. "All of the team that we take on board we train from day one.

"That's a massive part of our success story."