Steve is a great Aussie mate of ours former personal training client of Brad's. He is quite the entrepreneur and has been involved in and owned several businesses. Setting up wine cellars in peoples homes, tree farming, co-owning the merchandising for a worldwide sporting tournament, property development in Hong Kong, Sydney and Brisbane, co-owning a cattle business that exported highly prized wagyu cattle to Japanese buyers, and lately he has the patent in Australia for developing a specialised freshwater fish.

Steve's start came from hairdressing. He is originally from Bathurst in the west of the Australian state of New South Wales and moved to Sydney to pursue his career. He completed his apprenticeship and then opened his own hair salon in the affluent area of Pymble. After many years he sold the salon, but because he loves the job and has plenty of clients that have become great friends, he still continues to cut hair part time, even with everything else he has been involved in. Steve is an awesome hairdresser (he's been cutting our hair for years) and has plenty of good information for anyone wanting to be a hairdresser in Australia.

"It's a 4-year apprenticeship (in Australia)... in other countries are shorter apprenticeships and they're trying to bring that into Australia... so if someone comes overseas, they are not necessarily going to be able to work in Australia." TAFE (vocational school) in Australia is required once a week for two years and is a great way to learn the theory behind hairdressing before applying it on the job. Your employer pays the schooling fees.

Expat packages are not common place, but are possible in the case of an exceptional overseas stylist wanting to work in Australia. However, if you are coming from overseas, are qualified enough and want to continue your profession as a stylist and think you can get cash work, think again. The introduction of the GST (General Service Tax) has made it a lot harder for any business in Australia to cut corners. Steve says that in the case of someone getting a job that's paid 'under the table', you can usually do it for around 6 months then have to move on. If you do decide to come to Australia to work, he says Christmas and Easter time are always the busiest times of year and you'll find it easier to get a job then. "If you can bring a few photos of your work (or portfolio) and walk into a hair salon and just literally say, 'I'm a great hairdresser' and do a free haircut in the salon, nine times out of ten they (an employer) will go 'wow!'. If they can't give you a job, they will usually be able to refer you on to someone who will be able to." Australian skills are of the highest in the world for hairdressing, which makes it all the more enticing to come and start your career here.

Keen to come to Australia? Why not continue the profession you love or start a new career in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Email Steve for more information. He is opening a new barber shop in the city in June or July and is looking for employees. Don't want to work as a hairdresser? Go and get a haircut from Steve in Mosman. You won't be disappointed. We'll vouch for him as well, when he says, "Trust me, I'm a hairdresser."