On Mable, there are thousands of independent support people offering services to clients in innovative, creative and inspiring ways. We spoke to independent support worker Lisa to learn why she made the switch from a 25-year career in hairdressing to support work. We also talked about the surprising similarities between the two careers!
Meet Lisa
Lisa grew up on a small hobby farm an hour east of Melbourne. In her spare time, she enjoys upcycling old furniture, cooking in the kitchen, camping and hanging out with her family and nieces.
From hairdresser to support worker
Deciding school wasn’t for her, Lisa left when she was 16 and was a qualified hairdresser by 18. She immediately loved it! When she had her first daughter, she enjoyed the flexibility of running her home-based salon, which gave her the ability to juggle the responsibilities of being a single parent and also the sole breadwinner.
Although enjoying her career in hairdressing, after 25 years, Lisa decided it was time for a career change.
“I found the last few years hard on my body and I also felt a little isolated working from home and not enjoying it as much. I needed a change in my life,” she said.
Initially, Lisa found it difficult to decide what she wanted to do instead of hairdressing.
“It took me so long to decide what I wanted to do and how to start to change my career and passion in life because hairdressing was all I knew from 16,” said Lisa.
However, Lisa knew what her passions were and wanted a new career where her passions could be used.
"I knew I loved people, and I found I did a lot of psychology in the salon with clients...I wanted to do something that would give me as much joy and job satisfaction," she said.
Lisa eventually decided to enrol in a Cert III in Individual Support and quickly fell in love with it:
“Once I started, I pretty much knew after one month that I had found my new passion in life. I loved the study and I surprised myself at how well I went and when it came to do placement, I loved it. I just couldn’t wait to meet new people and support them in whatever they needed me to,” Lisa said.
A second career in support
Lisa heard about Mable from her friends and decided to give it a go. Since signing up to Mable, she has enjoyed being her boss and running her own small business and has had many memorable sessions.
“Recently, I had a shift where I met a young lady who just wanted a companion and someone to support her with mental health. We had an awesome time together,” she said.
Some surprising similarities
In her new career, Lisa has found many similarities between support work and hairdressing, saying both roles are alike because they involve caring for people, listening, giving sound advice and sharing experiences.
Lisa says both roles also feature job satisfaction and an overall feeling of making people happy.
She is excited about what the future on Mable will bring, saying she is looking forward to meeting more and more clients and supporting them.”
