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 Blind Ambition
Being registered blind is no barrier to exceptional salon owner Seema Flower's business vision. Running a successful salon is a hard enough task for anyone but imagine having to deal with limited sight on top of the many and varied demands that come with the territory. This is just what extraordinary Registered Blind businesswoman Seema Flower does on a daily basis. As Managing Director of successful independent Covent Garden hair salon ColourNation Seema, 39, is responsible for the smooth running of the business and the work ethic and welfare of her team of dedicated staff. Although not trained in hairdressing, Seema has a great sense of style and has always enjoyed being pampered in cutting edge salons offering a high standard of customer service. In fact on honeymoon before she founded the salon she stayed at the seven star Berj Al Arab hotel in Dubai, and the service experienced there inspired her ethos. Her brand of easy glamour challenges any pre-conceptions of partially sighted women as being disinterested in their appearance that we might have. As ambitious as any other salon owner, Seema's ColourNation is the first London salon to embrace the Colour Factory mixing system, an amazing piece of technology producing two hundred and seventy unique hair colours with potentially millions of variations. Probably because of Seema's unique view of the world ColourNation is a highly client motivated salon, with everyone treated as individuals. Just one example of this is private salon facilities where Muslim women and other more shy clients can have their hair styled in complete conclusion and thus their religious beliefs are respected. Seema, who doesn't let the fact that she walks with a white stick and requires a DWP supplied personal reader to peruse the letters in her in-tray and complete the paperwork restrict her ambitions, first began to experience problems with her sight at the age of 5-6. Despite this she still tried to get 'normal' jobs like working in a restaurant by not telling her bosses how much she could see - this was before discrimination on the basis for disability was outlawed by the Disability Discrimination Act. At 21 she studied for a combined degree in business studies and computing at what is now London Metropolitan University, going on to qualifty and work as a Careers Advisor and then work for the RNIB for seven years spending some time in the role of student advisor. All the while her sight was deteriorating, despite the fact that there was nothing in her family history to indicate that this would be her fate. Seema's personal experiences and her professional dealings with the partially sighted and blind through her work with the RNIB has prompted her to set up Access and Beyond Ltd, a consultancy which specialises in the Disability Discrimination Act and how it should be implemented in the workplace. Her clients to date include Marks & Spencer and UCL, Greenwich Leisure and others. Seema's plans for ColourNation involves opening another salon in Manchester and as if all this was not enough she has recently given birth to her first baby, India, much to her and her husband?s delight, further evidence if needed that this potentially tragic tale is in fact one of triumph. "I'm completely comfortable in my own skin and this gives me the confidence to constantly challenge myself," comments Seema. "Yes the decor of my salon environment has to be about contrast, currently white walls and black furniture, so as to make it easier for me to navigate the space, but in every other respect I am just like any other salon owner. Queen of my own little kingdom... and I bet it gives me an identical buzz." For appointments at ColourNation call 020 7836 8883 or check out www.colournation.com
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