Tracey Hughes不僅是位揚名國際的髮型師，她還同時擁有許多不同的頭銜 -- 演講者、教育家、專欄作家和經營者，縱橫這些頭銜的共通點，正是Tracey真誠、幽默和容易觸動人心的性格特質。在澳洲擁有兩家沙龍和一家美髮學院﹑並且四度獲得年度最佳教育者和傑出教育獎之殊榮，Tracey無疑是南半球美髮圈裡最傑出的教育家。

Tracey Hughes is an experienced global speaker, and 4 times Educator of the Year and 4 times Excellence in Education recipient, her approach is driven by transformation through education. Unique in her ability to bring out the best in others, Tracey’s expertise lies in her communication skills and education methodology.

As a keynote speaker, mentor, educator, columnist, business owner, hair director and stylist, Tracey presents professionally with integrity, humor and emotion.

Tracey自1986年踏入美髮界，在英國的髮廊Christopher Boyton擔任學徒，並於三年後成功考取證照，正式成為髮型師。然而，這並不是她原先的職業規劃。

高中畢業之際，Tracey的志願是成為律師，在法庭上守護委託人。因此她打算在學業結束後，進入大學主修法律，完成夢想。但她始終無法忽略自己內心的微小聲音，悄悄的告訴她也許靠著她天生的美感和藝術天分，能在不同的領域闖出一片天地。這一次，Tracey決定聽從這個微小的聲音，毅然決然踏上美髮之路。

Tracey began her career in 1986 as an apprentice at Christopher Boyton in the UK and became a qualified hairdresser in 1989. It wasn’t her plan to become a hairdresser, she initially had visions of becoming a barrister after her school studies finished and she was planning on going to university to study law. However, she was naturally artistic so she made up her mind to listen to her instincts and had a change of heart, which took her down the creative career path of hairdressing until now.

1991年時，Tracey獨自一人，把為數不多的個人財產丟進背包，跟媽媽kiss goodbye，揮別家鄉英國來到澳洲背包旅行，如同所有定居當地的異鄉人，Tracey愛上了澳洲的陽光、生活和當地美髮產業的蓬勃生機，心一橫，便決定移民澳洲。「直到現在，我都認為自己能稱澳洲為家是一件很幸運的事！」Tracey說道。

Like many of those who end up in Australia, Tracey went backpacking in 1991. “I quit my job, packed up my worldly possessions, waved goodbye to my mum and got on a plane-and here I am!” She recalls, “I fell in love with Australia, the sunshine, the lifestyle and the passion I discovered within the hairdressing industry and decided to make my home here. And now I consider myself very fortunate to call Australia home.”

移民澳洲後，Tracey在1997年成立了自己的沙龍Mieka Hairdressing，「決定自己開髮廊，是因為我想建立一個夢想團隊，一個兼俱精湛技術與文化涵養的團隊，讓每個人都能保有各自獨特的想法，共同分享共同的目標。」

她深刻的體會到「好的領導人」對創造一個以顧客為中心的團隊是多麼的重要，「我想要好好磨練自己的領導力，學習全方位的經營技巧，努力挑戰自我。」Tracey深信，是經營Mieka Hairdressing的經歷給予她這麼豐富的人生歷練，更提供了她經營講座的最好教材。

In 1997, Tracey opened her first salon – Mieka Hairdressing brand, winner of 10 times Salon of the Year. “I initially chose to open a salon because I wanted to build a culture based upon technical excellence, teamwork and a strong education philosophy. “ After running her own salon, she realized that creating a great team that has an outstanding customer focus needs great leadership. “I wanted to develop my own leadership ability and challenge myself to learn all aspects of business. This in time has given me great knowledge, which I now share with many others.”

Tracey認為，經營沙龍的最大挑戰便是建立穩定且忠誠的客群，她建議經營者們可以嘗試各樣的宣傳手法，以增加沙龍知名度和曝光率，只要這步棋下的好，很快就能開發新的客群，提升沙龍的潛在競爭力。

The biggest challenge is building a clientele. When starting from scratch you need to generate as much publicity as possible to create brand awareness. If you get this right you can ultimately establish new clients and increase your business’s potential

時間管理也是許多經營者常面臨到的難題，「沒有人說經營沙龍或是任何事業是一件簡單的事，它的確會佔去你很多時間、體力和金錢，更多的事需要你投入超凡的心血在其中。」Tracey說。

成功的事業來自良好的規劃、強健的結構和組織，加上聰明有效時間利用，當然，也要懂得知人善用，「這麼多年下來我最深刻的體悟，就是不要自己包辦一切事情！」Tracey笑著表示。她建議經營者們可以訂下每件事的先後順序，照著自己的規畫一步一步的執行，不要受到他人干擾，並且永遠確保自己留下足夠的時間給開創新事業和教育學習，此二者正是讓事業快速又穩健成長的不二法門。

Also look at what tools you can use to help achieve better time management. No one ever said running a business was easy. It does occupy tremendous amounts of time, energy and money and more importantly it requires unwavering dedication. Prioritize wisely and don’t be distracted by other people’s agendas. Allocate time to spend on business innovation and never overlook education or marketing, as they are the key factors of business growth. “Good management comes down to great planning, structure and organization to utilize my time effectively. I’ve learnt over the years that you can’t do everything yourself.”

Mieka Hairdressing在她的帶領下，已獲得10次的年度最佳沙龍獎項，Tracey坦言她從未料到Mieka Hairdressing能有如此了不起的成就，而正是這番成就帶她踏上國際教育的舞台，展開另一段始料未及的生活。

When she first established Mieka Hairdressing she could never have anticipated how successful her new enterprise was going to be. Since then she has gone on to have a flourishing career educating across the globe.

Tracey現在主要的身份是教育家，已經鮮少在沙龍內服務客人的她，深深受到學生頓悟的那瞬間吸引，「那個剎那總是提醒著我，我們身為髮型師的人，其實都有相同的需求，這讓我不再定睛於眼前的事物，看到更廣闊的未來。」

善於溝通和她獨一無二的教育風格，造就了Tracey善於引導出他人最棒一面的獨特天賦，讓她得以透過教育翻轉美髮界。

「擔任教育者讓我了解，這不是我一個人的旅程，而是我跟這些人一起經歷的過程，我認為這是擔任教育者最大的回饋。」這麼多年下來，非常多學生都曾滿懷感激的告訴她，透過她的教導，他們獲得了自信，而這樣的信心讓他們人生有了180度的轉變！對Tracey來說，這樣的回應永遠比起任何獲獎時刻更要激動人心。

Tracey enjoys being an educator because of the “light bulb” moments her students get. “I love giving to others as it makes me realize that we all have the same needs in life, and it makes the picture so much bigger than just you.”

She has been told by many students that the confidence they have achieved has been life changing.

It’s always the most special moments for Tracey to see how many differences the students have and seeing someone she has mentored has achieved an unforgettable moment that she has had the privilege to be part of. “Being an educator is about someone else’s journey not your own and that’s the most rewarding aspect of being an educator.” she said.

Tracey在美髮產業裡的影響和貢獻是眾人有目共睹的，她多次獲得各大獎項，包括全南半球的美髮人最垂涎的Honouree Australian Masters殊榮。Tracey也將這個獎項是為生涯中最亮眼的里程碑，她形容Honouree Australian Masters「不是一個你贏得的獎項，而是對於你的貢獻，給予最大肯定的尊榮！」

Tracey’s commitment and dedication to the hairdressing industry has been acknowledged through many awards including the coveted Honouree Australian Masters. She considered it as her career high-light, “This title, which was very humbling as it is not an award you win, it is one that is given to you for your contribution to industry growth.”

問起究竟是什麼激勵她投身教育界，Tracey表示，她最大的熱忱，是幫助其他的教育者擁有更多的自信，並且在未來授課時能夠以淺顯易懂的方法將美髮知識傳遞下去。她堅信，從教育「教育者」們做起，能在美髮界激起美麗且持久的漣漪。

Tracey has received numerous awards in Education. Asking about what motivates her devoted herself to education, she said that her passion is to assist training other educators to be confident in their education delivery and facilitations skills. She thinks that will have a ripple effect on the whole industry by having more confident trainers and it’s her way of contributing to sustainability in hair industry.

有鑒於網際網路的普及，髮型師們只消動動滑鼠、打打字，隨隨便便就找到成千上萬關於髮型教學的影片，然而Tracey認為，網路學習無法完全取代面對面教學，它充其量只是一個折中的補強辦法，千萬不要過度依賴網路影片。「少了面對面的互動，網路教學在記憶強度與品質上都大打折扣，這類速成的方法多偏向商業髮型，沒辦法提供創作時良好的基礎以及創意性！」不過Tracey隨後也補充表示，網路教學仍然有其優勢，能作為在家複習時好幫手，更能提供偏遠地區的髮型師或助理學習的機會。

Due to the scope of the Internet, it’s easy to find videos teaching “hair how-to”, inspiration and free education can also easily be found through many sources. However, Tracey thinks on-line learning is just an added training tool which cannot and will not replace real hands-on education. “I believe we need to stay mindful that this ultimately can drop the quality standards of work, as the engagement is lost so the memory retention of the knowledge won’t be as strong. No matter what education you choose it needs to be real and relevant to every salon environment. Quick fixes of inspiration don’t provide results and super creative looks are often non-wearable and don’t tend to be commercial viable.” But Tracey also admitted that there’s no doubt on-line learning is especially great for those in remote regions.

教育佔了人生很重要的一部分，它是一個發掘自我的旅程，投資自己的好處不僅只是能夠獲得更強健的技術基礎，更能在生活和創作中激盪出美妙的火花，Tracey更深深相信，最大的好處是在教育的過程裡體認自己的價值，「成為最好的自己」。

“Education is such an integral part of life; it’s an ongoing journey of self-discovery.” She said. “The benefits of investing in further education are a stronger skill set, increased motivation, greater knowledge and a growing confidence.” Education is not just about keeping stylists inspired, Tracey believes the greatest benefit is the feeling of self-worth and pride to become “the best version of yourself you can be.”

「只要有人想學，或是我有東西能分享，我就會一直教下去。」Tracey堅定的說，雖然未來說不準會怎樣，但只要我是健康、開心並享受生活就值得了！

At the end, Tracey shares her future goal, “I will continue to educate for as long as someone wants to learn or as long as I feel I have something to share. In five years’ time, as long as I’m happy, healthy and doing something I enjoy then who knows what the future might hold.”