JANE BRADLEY HE might not have exclusive access to what is going on inside Sir Fred Goodwin's head, but he is certainly responsible for what happens on top of it.
Jon Macleod, who has recently opened the fourth branch of his hair salon chain Paterson SA at the Royal Bank of Scotland's £350 million Gogarburn HQ, tries to play down his high-flying banking client, but his excitement is obvious.
Chief executive Sir Fred has already twice visited the salon for a cut and blow dry and is apparently pleased with the results.
A middle-aged financial whiz may not seem to be the most glamorous of customers for a team of hair designers who have attended to celebrities such as Gail Porter, Carole Smilie and Danni Minogue, but for Mr Macleod, Sir Fred's business is a seal of approval for his new venture.
Mr Macleod joined Paterson SA 15 years ago as a business adviser to his friend and salon co-owner George Paterson, who tragically died of cancer last year.
Since then, the chain of upmarket salons, which employs 70 people, has gradually expanded and turnover, according to Mr Macleod, is set to hit the £2m mark in the coming year.
"I said to George, who'd had the business for two years and was struggling, that I'd go in for three days to see what was going on and give him some advice," says Mr Macleod, who was working as a hairdresser at another city salon at the time.
"But I got engrossed and gave up my job to work there full-time, even though I earned almost twice as much where I was.
"Every day we were just a couple of hours away from being closed down."
But as a fresh pair of eyes and with a natural intuition for what makes a business tick, Mr Macleod, who has just been named Business Director of the Year at the prestigious British Hairdressing Business Awards, was able to turn Paterson's into a thriving chain.
Within a year, the company had added a second branch on George Street to its Lothian Road salon, and just months later, bought out Dalkeith business Class Hair Design, complete with a full staff.
Mr Macleod recalls: "A few years ago, we reached the £1.4m turnover mark and I was delighted with that, it was my target. I told everyone that the next year's targets would be exactly the same and I wasn't looking to push them further - and that's what happened, we reached a plateau and stayed there for a couple of years. Getting to £2m would obviously be great - it's a real benchmark, and there's the psychological effect of the company getting bigger, but that's not what is important to me."
He adds: "Business doesn't interest me in the same way that people do. I like being able to pay my team good salaries of as much as £40,000 for what they do.
"I like seeing them happy that they have achieved their goals because the money they've earned has enabled them to do that.
"Since George died, I'm the only company director and I don't need a whole load of money - I've only got a modest lifestyle."
The firm's smallest branch yet, the Gogarburn salon - which joins a Tesco supermarket and Starbucks coffee shop as a "street" of facilities on offer for RBS workers - was launched after bank bosses approached Mr Macleod and asked him to become part of the venture. "They first mentioned it to us around spring 2004, but last year was a very difficult time after George's illness," says Mr Macleod.
"I explained to them what was going on and said I wasn't in a position to make a decision."
But as a well-known Edinburgh brand, RBS was keen to make sure the company got on board.
"They were very understanding and said the unit was ours as long as we wanted it," he adds.
"Obviously, they eventually had to put a date on us making a decision, which coincidentally, fell on the day George died.
"Suddenly, from nowhere, I got the feeling this new salon would be a good thing."
The nine-strong team launched the new salon in July this year, and it has already proved to be popular among the 3200-plus Gogarburn workforce.
"We can only look after the hairdressing needs of around 750 of their workers, but they have more than 3000 employees," says Mr Macleod.
"We told them the unit should be bigger - it could be double the size and still be successful, but RBS said they had only allocated a certain size of shop unit for hairdressing and that's that."
Apparently, even Sir Fred has had to be turned away during busy periods.
"He did phone up once and there were no appointments," says Mr Macleod. "But I think he was quite pleased about that, because it's only a good sign."
But he is remaining tight-lipped about the trendy new style of Scotland's highest profile businessman.
He laughs: "I can't comment on Sir Fred's haircut or the direction his hair might be taking, but all I will say is that we are making him into the new David Beckham - he's going to be the man everybody is following when it comes to hair fashion."
Celebrity clients aside, Mr Macleod is delighted with Paterson's brand reputation among Capital customers.
"It's a real Edinburgh brand and I think that's why RBS liked it," he says. Branding is an important factor for the hairdressing boss.
"Throughout my time here, I have tried to concentrate on the Paterson's SA brand and make it so the experience the customer gets is great and is the same no matter which salon she goes to.
"A lot of my work over the last couple of years has been about securing the brand and organising the training so the whole team work to the same standards. It's a difficult thing to do, but we've got there."
And plans for further expansion are already on the cards - in a variety of shapes and forms.
"The next thing I'm looking for is to open a learning centre," says the salon group's director.
"The challenge we're having at the moment is that young people want things to happen more quickly - and stay at school longer - so we need to be able to train them quickly and efficiently.
"We need a place that looks like a hairdressing salon, where assistants at our other salons can go one day a week to train. Traditionally, a trainee would get to do a blow dry at the end of the day and that would be it."
He continues: "We are looking to open it in a student area, as they would be our key market as models. It's a great deal, because you get the same haircuts, under strict supervision, but for half the price.
"We're considering obvious places like Marchmont, but also areas where students pass regularly, such as around the university. It will still feel like a Paterson's SA salon - I want the customers to get the same level of service."
The training centre is set to open in the next year, while a fifth salon is in the offing, probably within three years.
"I think managing five salons is my limit," says Mr Macleod. "So, after this next one - which will probably be somewhere in the suburbs of Edinburgh - and the training centre, franchising seems like the next obvious step.
"I have already been approached by people wanting to take on a franchise and I'm interested in the idea. It would have to be people who have worked with me for a long time, are brand-aware and are the right people to take Paterson SA forward.
He adds: "I'm not adverse to new people taking some control - the business is creative, after all, and needs people with a fresh vision and who are at the cutting edge of fashion. It's not like we work in a static area like accounting or banking.
"I see what some of these young hair stylists can do and it is something that I can only admire. They're much more up-to-date than some 40-year-old man like me."
Source from business.scotsman.com
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