From hair salon to business consultant and MD

What can managers learn from hairdressers? Quite a lot, as it turns out. Business consultancy owner Robert Milford CMgr FCMI still uses the skills he developed in his first job in the family salon, which he joined after leaving school. 

“I’ve used those skills right the way through my career,” he says. “It’s about listening to what other people are saying and how they’re saying it – and identifying what’s a need and what’s a desire.”

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Robert progressed to running the salon before moving into local authority auditing, eventually becoming head of audit for several local authorities and public sector organisations. In 2016, he founded Milford Research and Consultancy. It specialises in collaborative management, particularly in helping public sector organisations, businesses and charities maximise the efficiency of shared services and partnerships. 

“Local authorities are under massive pressure financially, but if you find a way for them to share services, such as a payroll department, rather than do it all themselves, it reduces costs and shares best practice.”