We met Shimon at his beautiful central London home, and it was lovely Fred that greeted us at the door. He’s quite the character! Running around like a little puppy, darting in and out of the rooms, and then calm. Staring at his dad.
It was evident from just a minute with these two that they are best friends. Shimon is a Freelance Brand Consultant, and offers up some amazing advice on how to make it. He also tells us how the beauty industry has changed over the years, and lets us into a secret about himself. Keep reading to find out more!
On life with Fred: Fred is my better looking shadow - he goes everywhere with me and never moans (especially if treats are involved). He is in fact an angel in a furry disguise; he loves a lazy lie-in and slots into whatever schedule I have. Thanks to Fred I know every park in London and spend a lot of time in green open spaces. Thanks to Fred I also spend a lot more time talking to random strangers on the street; I thought I would hate this part of having a dog as I’m quite anti-social deep down but some people are actually quite nice! Fred is pure unfiltered joy and my life is ten times richer now compared to ‘life before Fred’.
On his favourite Fred ‘tail’: Fred has a thing for bare legs and feet, especially if the person has applied any body lotion or cream, Fred just can’t resist giving them a little lick. At a party recently, he met a well known influencer who was wearing a beautiful short skirt and freshly spray-tanned legs. He started licking her deliciously smelling legs and left her with an attractive white patch on her shin. Thankfully, she’s a dog lover and owner and saw the funny side of this(!). He also once surprised Dame Maggie Smith at a posh London restaurant with same leg licking greeting, which nearly knocked her off her seat and prompted a hilarious scene that could easily have been taken directly from Downton Abbey.
On work: My career in the Beauty industry started as a Christmas temp on the shop floor at Harvey Nichols, spraying people with Calvin Klein’s latest fragrances. I was completely clueless but found that I loved the buzzing store vibe and the people around me. This encouraged me to seek a full time position with CK, which saw me work across different department stores before getting the opportunity to move into their Head Office and discover the world of beauty PR.
Over the years I got to work with some amazing people such as Jo Malone and Roja Dove from whom I learned so much about building a brand, as well as entrepreneurial brands such as L’Occitane, which is where I really became a fully formed marketer. Today I advise different brands (beauty, fashion, lifestyle) on a variety of strategic topics from developing a product line to marketing, launching and promoting it across a multi-channel world. I love the beauty industry because it is constantly evolving and innovating.
There are so many opportunities for young people to grow and develop – it is not about degrees or what school you went to but all about your drive, determination and hard work. This is an industry that really relies on a mix of skills from the highly creative flair of a make-up artist or a graphic designer to the number crunching skills of demand planners and database analysts. There’s a world of opportunity in this industry and oh, and did I mention the staff discounts?
On career advice: 1. Apply for work with brands that you truly admire – you need genuine passion to succeed in this industry and loving the product you’re selling is the first step. It’s OK to start at the bottom: I’ve seen interns and shop floor assistants become directors at some of the industry’s leading brands; those early years are so important in terms of experience.
2. Whatever role you have, try to make yourself invaluable to the team around you. Listen to what your boss says about their biggest challenges and make those your daily priority.
3. Bring positivity, energy and a smile to work with you every day – people love working with an energy ‘radiator’, not so much a ‘drain’.
4. Stay curious – look around you for interesting ideas and ways of doing things and share what you see with your team.
5. Figure out where you want to go long term and set that as your destination – but know that it’s what you learn along the way that really matters and that it is OK to change direction if it feels right.
“Fred likes to actively participate in office days by working the room and presenting his belly for endless rubs.”
On the changing industry: I think the industry is becoming much more focused on the consumer – what they want, how they think, where they shop, how they communicate, share etc. In the past designers and brands used to dictate the trends for consumers to follow – these days the consumers are leading the way with social media being a massive player and the industry is mostly trying to keep up and deliver on those. The industry is also addressing important global trends such as sustainability, self image, mental health and support of small local producers, which is wonderful to see.
On his daily routine: My days really vary depending on the clients I work with and what projects and campaigns I’m working on. On admin days I work from home, which means I get up at 8am, take Fred out for a nice walk and grab a coffee along the way. I get back home and fire up the laptop. I’ll take a break around 2pm for another quick ‘walkies’ and a bite to eat.
Office days are mostly for team meetings and planning reviews. Fred likes to actively participate in those by working the room and presenting his belly for endless rubs. And then there are ‘out and about’ days working at certain events, giving talks at conferences or meeting journalists and clients. I love that my week is so varied and no day is ever the same. I think loves the variety as well - seeing lots of different people and places.
On dog-friendly London: Fred is obsessed with squirrels. I like to go to St James’s Park to give Fred his fix once a week – he just freezes and watches them like it’s Eastenders or Love Island. We once found a baby squirrel that came right up to Fred and snuggled up to him. Fred was very gentle with it and besides himself with joy.
On amazing advice: Assume positive intent - sometimes it might not be obvious, but even when people are unhelpful, they are probably not actively trying to make your life a misery. Learn to recognise different personality types and understand that people digest information differently - being able to adapt your communication style and behaviour is a useful skill. And finally, always remember what it is you bring to the table; focus on your strengths and be generous with them.
One thing people should know: Before my beauty career, I was a professional ballet dancer. During a production of Sleeping Beauty, I actually managed to catch fire on stage one evening when a firework went off and caught my costume sleeve. I ran off stage with second degree burns and was lucky not to set the whole scenery on fire. That was a fun night.
