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Salon Rising

Samara Scott-Hunter & Jen Veivers

Introducing Salon Rising: The Podcast - your personal business BFF in the world of hair and beauty! Hosted by the incredible duo, Samara Scott-Hunter and Jen Veivers. This podcast brings real-talk and heart-to-heart conversations. It's your go-to space for navigating the wild journey of being a woman, a mother, and a business owner. And how to blend those all together.

Join Samara and Jen as they spill the tea on their own business escapades. Share the highs, lows, and everything between. It's like catching up with your besties, swapping stories, and debriefing about the rollercoaster of business life. It's where authenticity meets entrepreneurship. Offering a raw and honest peek into the challenges and triumphs of badass women in the industry.

Salon Rising is the safe, supportive space you've been craving. Whether you're a seasoned pro or starting your business adventure. Tune in for a dose of realness, laughter, and the camaraderie of women who've been there and get it. 💪💖 #SalonRisingPodcast #WomenInBusiness #RealTalk

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August 23 · 17 min
Mini Moment #28 - Stop being the weakest link in your own business – with Simone from Apotecari
There is usually one part of your business you avoid looking at. The numbers, the ads, the software, the thing you pay someone else to handle. You are not avoiding it because you are lazy. You are avoiding it because you do not understand it, and it has been easier to hope than to learn. That gap is where most owners get stuck. Not in the work they are brilliant at. In the bit they handed over and never checked. Simone from Apotecari has nine years of this behind her. Staff who left and set up down the road. A house on the line to fund something she had no business running. Agencies on big monthly retainers doing work she had no way of judging. The turn came when she admitted she was the weakest link in her own business, and then did something about it. She is more profitable now than she was when she was paying other people to do all of it. What we cover The highs and lows of nine years in business, said out loud Why every industry loses people to the person they trained, not just salons What it actually feels like to put your own house on the line The part of the business you have been avoiding, and what that avoidance is costing Why you should never hand over something you do not understand yet Knowing enough to ask the right questions, without becoming the expert Building the skill inside your team instead of renting it every month Where the growth came from once she stopped guessing You do not have to know how to do it. You do have to know what good looks like. Frequently asked questions Should salon owners outsource their marketing? Yes, once you understand the basics of what you are handing over. Plenty of Australian salon owners pay a monthly retainer for a long time before anyone checks whether the work is bringing people through the door. How do you know if the person doing your marketing is any good? You have to know enough to ask a real question and understand the answer. If you cannot tell the difference between a good month and a bad one, you cannot manage the relationship. What do you do when a staff member leaves and opens up nearby? It happens in every industry, and it is not a sign you did something wrong. Some people are there to build with you and some are there to build off you, and you rarely know which until they go. Mentioned in this episode: https://www.salonrising.com 💛 A Limited Time Offer From Our Amazing Sponsor, Timely 💛 ➡ Timely is the easy to use booking and payments system that puts salon owners in control of the whole client experience from the first booking to final payment. ➡ Salon Rising listeners get a 14 day free trial plus 50% off their first 3 months. ➡ And when you activate with Payments, you'll also get a free Touchscreen terminal, worth $349 + GST. Use the code SALONRISING at checkout or click the link below to get started. Once you're set up, your Timely contact will take care of the rest. 👇 Timely 💖 Celebrating Our Podcast Partner – Christophe Robin, proudly distributed by McM Imports We’ve partnered with Christophe Robin and MCM Imports to bring you something beautiful: ➡ Experience the Christophe Robin Discovery Box — curated by pro ambassador Monique McMahon. ➡ Inside, you’ll find her handpicked favourites — the hero products she swears by in the salon. It’s your invitation to explore the range and discover why Christophe Robin has become a quiet obsession among stylists who know their craft. Click the link below to request your FREE Christophe Robin Discovery Box, exclusively through McM Imports. 👇 MCM
- Transcript
#87
August 16 · 44 min
What the other side of a hard season actually looks like – with Sam and Jen
Some seasons you do not get through gracefully. You just get through them. And then one day it is over, and you are standing on the other side wondering why it feels so quiet. This one is just Sam and Jen. No guest, no plan, no idea where it was going to go. Sam opens up about the end of a chapter that ran almost three years and cost a quarter of a million dollars, and what it actually took to come out the other side of it still standing. Not the tell all version. The honest one, from a woman who is finally regulated enough to talk about it. It is also a conversation about what a business has to do for you when everything else is falling over. Sam is blunt about it. If she had not known how to work her numbers, she would not have lasted. Seventeen years in, booked out, still not sure about hiring again, and finally choosing stillness over the chase. Jen brings the other half of the picture, a first six months of the year that tipped everything upside down, a business that has been genuinely hard, and why the changes she has made were measured ones rather than panicked ones. What we cover Why knowing your numbers is what actually carries you through a hard season The real cost of a long legal chapter and how a salon absorbed it Building a team of people around you who tell you the truth, not what you want to hear Seventeen years in business and why staying still is a decision, not a lack of ambition Being booked out and still unsure whether to hire again The Monday spent filling the book and what it does to your nervous system Protecting your peace online, and knowing when it is safe to open back up Making measured changes in a hard six months instead of erratic ones Why no relationship, personal or professional, is a failure Scars not wounds, and why the timing of your story matters There is hope on the other side. Sometimes it just arrives quieter than you expected. Do you need to be good with numbers to survive a hard season in business? You need to know your numbers well enough to see what your business can carry. Sam is clear that her financial literacy is the only reason her salon supported her family through three years of legal costs. Is it a bad sign if you do not want to grow your salon right now? No. Choosing to stay still, keep your book tight and protect your energy is a legitimate business decision, not a step backwards. How do you make big business decisions when everything feels uncertain? Make them slowly and on the information you actually have, not on fear. Measured changes you have sat with beat reactive ones every time. Mentioned in this episode: https://www.salonrising.com 💖 Celebrating Our Podcast Partner – Christophe Robin, proudly distributed by McM Imports We’ve partnered with Christophe Robin and MCM Imports to bring you something beautiful: ➡ Experience the Christophe Robin Discovery Box — curated by pro ambassador Monique McMahon. ➡ Inside, you’ll find her handpicked favourites — the hero products she swears by in the salon. It’s your invitation to explore the range and discover why Christophe Robin has become a quiet obsession among stylists who know their craft. Click the link below to request your FREE Christophe Robin Discovery Box, exclusively through McM Imports. 👇 MCM 💛 A Limited Time Offer From Our Amazing Sponsor, Timely 💛 ➡ Timely is the easy to use booking and payments system that puts salon owners in control of the whole client experience from the first booking to final payment. ➡ Salon Rising listeners get a 14 day free trial plus 50% off their first 3 months. ➡ And when you activate with Payments, you'll also get a free Touchscreen terminal, worth $349 + GST. Use the code SALONRISING at checkout or click the link below to get started. Once you're set up, your Timely contact will take care of the rest. 👇 Timely
- Transcript
August 9 · 12 min
Mini Moment #27 - Nervous system resets that actually work for salon owners – with Sharelle from Miss Lash
You can be off the floor, home, sitting still, and your body still behaves like something is about to go wrong. The phone buzzes and your heart goes before your brain does. That is not you being dramatic. That is a nervous system that has been running on alarm so long it has forgotten there is another setting. Sharelle from Miss Lash The Studio is back in the Inner Sanctum, and she, Sam and Jen have all been working on the same thing this year, from very different directions. This is a short, honest conversation about what actually brings you back down. Yin yoga for one, prayer for another, a Sunday morning at the markets before it gets busy. None of it is complicated. Most of it is free. All of it starts with deciding you are allowed to give something back to yourself after a day of giving it all away. There is a lot in here you could start this week, and none of it asks you to add another thing to a life that is already full. What we cover What a nervous system reset actually means when you are the one giving all day Yin yoga, prayer, movement, and finding the thing that regulates you rather than the thing that works for someone else Why a busy supermarket can tip you straight into overwhelm, and what Sharelle does instead Buffer time between appointments and how a spare half hour changes the shape of a whole day Rushing woman syndrome and why cramming wellness in does not help your nervous system Your phone as an invitation, not an obligation Turning off notifications and getting free of that little red number Five tasks on the list instead of fifty, and why ticking things off actually works The 90 second rule, and why you never reply to a one star review while you are heightened Calm is not a personality type. It is a handful of small decisions you keep making. FAQs What is a nervous system reset? It is anything that moves you out of fight or flight and back into rest and digest. For Sharelle that is yin yoga, for Samara it is prayer, and the point is finding the one that works for your body rather than copying someone else's. How do salon owners get out of fight or flight during the working day? Small resets built into the day work better than one big fix at the end of it. Buffer time between appointments, notifications switched off, and a shorter task list all lower the load before it builds. Why should you wait before replying to a bad review? A strong emotion runs its chemical course in about 90 seconds, so anything you send inside that window is written by the heightened version of you. Australian salon owners deal with reviews and client messages constantly, and waiting until you feel steady almost always gives you a better reply. Mentioned in this episode: https://www.salonrising.com 💛 A Limited Time Offer From Our Amazing Sponsor, Timely 💛 ➡ Timely is the easy to use booking and payments system that puts salon owners in control of the whole client experience from the first booking to final payment. ➡ Salon Rising listeners get a 14 day free trial plus 50% off their first 3 months. ➡ And when you activate with Payments, you'll also get a free Touchscreen terminal, worth $349 + GST. Use the code SALONRISING at checkout or click the link below to get started. Once you're set up, your Timely contact will take care of the rest. 👇 Timely 💖 Celebrating Our Podcast Partner – Christophe Robin, proudly distributed by McM Imports We’ve partnered with Christophe Robin and MCM Imports to bring you something beautiful: ➡ Experience the Christophe Robin Discovery Box — curated by pro ambassador Monique McMahon. ➡ Inside, you’ll find her handpicked favourites — the hero products she swears by in the salon. It’s your invitation to explore the range and discover why Christophe Robin has become a quiet obsession among stylists who know their craft. Click the link below to request your FREE Christophe Robin Discovery Box, exclusively through McM Imports. 👇 MCM
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#86
August 2 · 1 hr
The hair catastrophe that launched a brand – with Simone from Apotecari
Shiny scalps. Sparse hairlines. Clients who used to have a mane and now don't. You're having these conversations every week and you need better answers than the ones on the shelf. Simone from Apotecari has them. She's a naturopath, twenty years qualified, with a career spent formulating supplements for brands already sitting in your bathroom cabinet. She also had a hair catastrophe of her own, went looking for something that would fix it from the inside, and found nothing worth taking. So she built it. These are clients you already have. The one whose hairline is quietly moving back. The one on a weight loss injection who hasn't thought to mention it. The one who's oily by day two and blames your shampoo. Simone explains what's happening in each of them, and why the answer is almost never another bottle on the shelf. What we cover The bond builder era and what a lot of stylists were really doing with it Why hair is the first thing your body stops feeding when nutrients are short Perimenopause hair loss and why nobody connected the dots for so long Shiny scalps, receding hairlines and what is actually happening in the follicle Oily scalps, dandruff and why washing more often changes nothing Why your scalp ages seven times faster than the skin on your face The difference between hair shedding and hair loss, and why the word you use changes everything Why the hair industry is not great at doing its own research What a proper ninety day product trial looks like, with data instead of feelings She hid her hair for six months. Then she went and fixed it for everybody else. Frequently asked questions Why does hair fall out during perimenopause? Hormonal change alters how follicles behave, which is why thinning often shows down the centre part and around the hairline. It rarely happens alone, and it sits alongside other perimenopause symptoms that are just as real and just as connected. Does washing your hair more often make it less oily? No. Washing removes the sebum already on the scalp but does nothing to the rate your body produces it. Balancing oil production happens internally and usually takes two to three months. How long should you take a hair supplement before judging it? Give it ninety days minimum, because that tracks with the hair growth cycle. Take before photos and test porosity and elasticity first, so you are working from data rather than a feeling. Mentioned in this episode: https://www.salonrising.com 💖 Celebrating Our Podcast Partner – Christophe Robin, proudly distributed by McM Imports We’ve partnered with Christophe Robin and MCM Imports to bring you something beautiful: ➡ Experience the Christophe Robin Discovery Box — curated by pro ambassador Monique McMahon. ➡ Inside, you’ll find her handpicked favourites — the hero products she swears by in the salon. It’s your invitation to explore the range and discover why Christophe Robin has become a quiet obsession among stylists who know their craft. Click the link below to request your FREE Christophe Robin Discovery Box, exclusively through McM Imports. 👇 MCM 💛 A Limited Time Offer From Our Amazing Sponsor, Timely 💛 ➡ Timely is the easy to use booking and payments system that puts salon owners in control of the whole client experience from the first booking to final payment. ➡ Salon Rising listeners get a 14 day free trial plus 50% off their first 3 months. ➡ And when you activate with Payments, you'll also get a free Touchscreen terminal, worth $349 + GST. Use the code SALONRISING at checkout or click the link below to get started. Once you're set up, your Timely contact will take care of the rest. 👇 Timely
- Transcript
July 26 · 8 min
Mini Moment #26 - Who is going to cut your hair when you are 70?
Ask a salon owner in Australia whether she is taking on an apprentice this year, and listen for the pause before she answers. It is not that she has gone cold on young people. Jen has been training apprentices since she was about 21 and still loves it. Sam has had apprentices who became some of the best people she has ever worked with. The pause is about everything sitting underneath that. A wage that climbs on a timeline while the skill is still building. Eighteen months of your time before any of it comes back. Support that used to exist for owners and quietly stopped. And a salon floor that, with a smaller team, no longer needs the person who once kept the whole thing moving. So the industry has ended up somewhere strange. Owners who genuinely want to train are turning young people away, week after week, because they cannot see the landscape they would be sending them into. Which leaves the question this episode opens on and never quite answers. If nobody is training them, who is cutting your hair in twenty years? What we cover Why Australian salon owners are turning apprentices away The support that used to exist for training and does not anymore Wages rising while the skill set is still building What a Cert II at TAFE is delivering, and what it is not The myth that owners are getting kickbacks that cover the cost Why apprentices worked in a big salon and stopped working in a small one Uni students do unpaid placement, hairdressers pay for theirs Committing to three years when you cannot see your own next three What happens to the young people knocking on the door Neither of them has the answer. Both of them would really like one. FAQs Why are salon owners not taking on apprentices anymore? The cost is front loaded and the return has moved. Wages rise on a set timeline while the skill set is still building, and the first 18 months are almost entirely the owner's time. Is there an apprentice shortage in the Australian hairdressing industry? Fewer salons are taking apprentices on, so fewer are coming through and fewer are staying. Owners are turning young people away because they cannot see the industry they would be sending them into. Do salon owners get paid to take on an apprentice? Not in any meaningful way in hairdressing. Incentives have grown in other trades, mostly construction, and those employers also pay a much higher apprentice wage. Mentioned in this episode: 💛 A Limited Time Offer From Our Amazing Sponsor, Timely 💛 ➡ Timely is the easy to use booking and payments system that puts salon owners in control of the whole client experience from the first booking to final payment. ➡ Salon Rising listeners get a 14 day free trial plus 50% off their first 3 months. ➡ And when you activate with Payments, you'll also get a free Touchscreen terminal, worth $349 + GST. Use the code SALONRISING at checkout or click the link below to get started. Once you're set up, your Timely contact will take care of the rest. 👇 Timely https://www.salonrising.com 💖 Celebrating Our Podcast Partner – Christophe Robin, proudly distributed by McM Imports We’ve partnered with Christophe Robin and MCM Imports to bring you something beautiful: ➡ Experience the Christophe Robin Discovery Box — curated by pro ambassador Monique McMahon. ➡ Inside, you’ll find her handpicked favourites — the hero products she swears by in the salon. It’s your invitation to explore the range and discover why Christophe Robin has become a quiet obsession among stylists who know their craft. Click the link below to request your FREE Christophe Robin Discovery Box, exclusively through McM Imports. 👇 MCM
- Transcript
#85
July 20 · 56 min
She had staff, now she's solo and it's the best thing ever – with Sharelle from Miss Lash
Sharelle is back in the Inner Sanctum for the third time, and she is almost unrecognisable. Last time she was here she had staff, an education arm, a big space on the Gold Coast Highway and a to do list that never ended. This time she walks in and Sam asks her who she is, and she cannot answer straight away. Because the woman who built that salon at 21 is gone. Sharelle says it plainly. That girl is dead. She wanted the team and the education and the big version of it all because she wanted to feel good about herself, and somewhere in there she stopped being able to sit still with her own clients. Now it is just her, she is on the floor full time, she is booked out months ahead without posting, and she says it is the best thing that has happened to her business. This one gets honest fast. Sharelle did not want to talk about her tax debt again, and then decided it would be worse not to, because there are women listening who are sitting in exactly the same spot and think they are the only one. So they talk about it properly. The payment plan, the cycle, the ego of pretending you are not on one, and what Sam actually does about it. What we cover Going from a full team back to solo, and why it felt like relief rather than failure The ego trap of headcount, and who you are really trying to look successful for Why hiring to work less usually means working more Sam's numbers a year on from seven staff, and how little the revenue actually moved Tax debt, payment plans and the one habit that gets you out of the cycle Why your future tax matters more than the debt you already have Being present with clients again, and what changed for both of them on the floor Staying booked out without living on social media Flexibility over income, and what owning a business is actually for The dream you built at 21 is allowed to die, and the woman who replaces her usually knows better. Should I hire staff for my salon? Only if you have checked why you want them, because most owners hire hoping to work less and end up working more. Sam's honest test is whether the decision is about the business or about how the number of staff makes you feel. What should I do if I owe tax debt in my salon business? Keep the payment plan as low as you can manage and pay it off slowly, but start putting your future tax aside from this week. Paying the old debt fast while ignoring the new bill is what keeps Australian salon owners stuck in the cycle for years. Can you actually make good money as a solo salon owner? Yes, and often more of it lands in your pocket. Sam compared her numbers with seven staff to her numbers with a team of two and a bit, and the difference across the year was about three thousand dollars, with retail up sharply. Mentioned in this episode: 💛 A Limited Time Offer From Our Amazing Sponsor, Timely 💛 ➡ Timely is the easy to use booking and payments system that puts salon owners in control of the whole client experience from the first booking to final payment. ➡ Salon Rising listeners get a 14 day free trial plus 50% off their first 3 months. ➡ And when you activate with Payments, you'll also get a free Touchscreen terminal, worth $349 + GST. Use the code SALONRISING at checkout or click the link below to get started. Once you're set up, your Timely contact will take care of the rest. 👇 Timely https://www.salonrising.com 💖 Celebrating Our Podcast Partner – Christophe Robin, proudly distributed by McM Imports We’ve partnered with Christophe Robin and MCM Imports to bring you something beautiful: ➡ Experience the Christophe Robin Discovery Box — curated by pro ambassador Monique McMahon. ➡ Inside, you’ll find her handpicked favourites — the hero products she swears by in the salon. It’s your invitation to explore the range and discover why Christophe Robin has become a quiet obsession among stylists who know their craft. Click the link below to request your FREE Christophe Robin Discovery Box, exclusively through McM Imports. 👇 MCM
- Transcript
June 28 · 11 min
Mini Moment #25 - Finding an accountant who gets you, not just your numbers – with Paris from Group One Accounting
Most of us treat our accountant like a stranger who happens to know our numbers. Someone we email at tax time, brace ourselves for, and quietly hope is not judging us. But what if that relationship could feel like the complete opposite? In this Mini Moment, Sam sits down with her own accountant, Paris from Group One Accounting, to talk about what it actually looks like to work with someone who gets you. Not just someone who lodges your BAS on time, but someone you can be honest with, lean on, and yes, even cry to about tax. Because here is the part most salon owners never get told. Your accountant is not there to be your business strategist, and expecting that will only leave you let down. The real shift comes from knowing what the job actually is, asking for exactly what you need, and finding the person who fits the way you work. What we cover What an accountant is actually responsible for, and what they are not The real difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant The questions to ask before you take someone on, from communication style to fees and response time Why Sam pays her accountant a set amount each week, and how that protects her cashflow How to find an accountant who feels personal, not just professional Why you should never feel judged by the person doing your books The right accountant does not just know your numbers. They make you feel safe in your own business. FAQs What is the difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant? A bookkeeper handles the day to day reconciling, data entry and the quarterly BAS that Australian businesses lodge for GST. An accountant usually comes in at the end of the financial year to tidy everything up and do the tax level work, though plenty of accountants can cover both. What should you ask before hiring an accountant? Ask how they communicate, how quickly they respond, and how they charge, including whether phone calls are billed. Being clear about what you need up front is what stops you feeling disappointed later. Should I do my own bookkeeping as a salon owner? For a lot of smaller salons, basic reconciling and paying wages is simpler than it looks, and learning it first keeps your head in your own business. You can always hand it over once you understand what is involved. Mentioned in this episode: 💛 A Limited Time Offer From Our Amazing Sponsor, Timely 💛 ➡ Timely is the easy to use booking and payments system that puts salon owners in control of the whole client experience from the first booking to final payment. ➡ Salon Rising listeners get a 14 day free trial plus 50% off their first 3 months. ➡ And when you activate with Payments, you'll also get a free Touchscreen terminal, worth $349 + GST. Use the code SALONRISING at checkout or click the link below to get started. Once you're set up, your Timely contact will take care of the rest. 👇 Timely https://www.salonrising.com 💖 Celebrating Our Podcast Partner – Christophe Robin, proudly distributed by McM Imports We’ve partnered with Christophe Robin and MCM Imports to bring you something beautiful: ➡ Experience the Christophe Robin Discovery Box — curated by pro ambassador Monique McMahon. ➡ Inside, you’ll find her handpicked favourites — the hero products she swears by in the salon. It’s your invitation to explore the range and discover why Christophe Robin has become a quiet obsession among stylists who know their craft. Click the link below to request your FREE Christophe Robin Discovery Box, exclusively through McM Imports. 👇 MCM
- Transcript
#84
June 21 · 1 hr 3 min
The real PuraU story, from her own acne to a brand that actually works – with Founder, Acacia
Everyone's starting a side business right now. A product, a brand, a little something on the side that might just take off. Acacia actually did it. She and her partner built PuraU, a natural skincare and gut brand, out of her own years of struggling with acne. And in this episode she tells the real story, not the highlight reel. It started with her own skin. Years of the pill, antibiotics, Accutane, naturopaths she could barely afford, and nothing that lasted. So she set out to build the thing she wished she'd had. What she's honest about is everything that came after. They launched to crickets and didn't make a sale for two weeks. They cold called journalists themselves when the expensive PR agency did nothing. It took three years before the business turned a profit, and three years before they paid themselves a wage. If you've ever sat on an idea waiting until you had enough money, or felt behind watching everyone else online look like an overnight success, this one will land. Acacia is proof that the unglamorous version is the real one, and that the people who make it are simply the ones who stick it out. What we cover Building PuraU from Acacia's own years of acne and trying everything Launching the website and not making a single sale for two weeks Cold calling journalists herself instead of paying a PR agency Why a great product means nothing if nobody can find it Learning Facebook ads herself to stop relying on one off PR spikes The three years it took before breaking through, making a profit, or paying themselves Comparison, social media, and the false reality of replacing your income in four weeks Knowing your customer because you were your customer Pushing into chemists and skin clinics, and the setbacks that nearly broke them She built it from nothing, on persistence not luck, and she's only just getting started. You'll find the whole range at purau.com.au, plus there's a quick skin quiz to find your own starting point. FAQs How long does it really take to build a successful business? For Acacia and PuraU it took three years before the business made a profit or paid them a wage. The overnight success stories you see online usually hide years of work that happened before the launch. Do you need money and business experience to start a brand? Acacia was a nurse with no business background and sold her car to help fund the brand. What carried them was resilience and a willingness to learn each part themselves rather than pay someone else to do it. What is PuraU? PuraU is an Australian made skincare and gut health brand, formulated with microbiologists to treat the root cause of acne rather than the surface. It was created by Acacia and her partner out of their own experience with skin and gut issues. Mentioned in this episode: 💛 A Limited Time Offer From Our Amazing Sponsor, Timely 💛 ➡ Timely is the easy to use booking and payments system that puts salon owners in control of the whole client experience from the first booking to final payment. ➡ Salon Rising listeners get a 14 day free trial plus 50% off their first 3 months. ➡ And when you activate with Payments, you'll also get a free Touchscreen terminal, worth $349 + GST. Use the code SALONRISING at checkout or click the link below to get started. Once you're set up, your Timely contact will take care of the rest. 👇 Timely 💖 Celebrating Our Podcast Partner – Christophe Robin, proudly distributed by McM Imports We’ve partnered with Christophe Robin and MCM Imports to bring you something beautiful: ➡ Experience the Christophe Robin Discovery Box — curated by pro ambassador Monique McMahon. ➡ Inside, you’ll find her handpicked favourites — the hero products she swears by in the salon. It’s your invitation to explore the range and discover why Christophe Robin has become a quiet obsession among stylists who know their craft. Click the link below to request your FREE Christophe Robin Discovery Box, exclusively through McM Imports. 👇 MCM https://www.salonrising.com
- Transcript
June 14 · 15 min
Mini Moment #24: The AI Hacks for Busy Salon Owners – with Renee from Salon Society
You already know AI can tidy up a caption. Most salon owners stop right there. Renee from Salon Society and Jen do not. In this Mini Moment the two of them fall down a happy little rabbit hole on all the other ways AI quietly takes the load off a busy owner. Not the marketing stuff. The day to day stuff that clogs up your head and steals your day off. Renee, who is in salon in Perth every week, shares the exact thing she did after a five hour client meeting. One voice note, dropped into Claude with a bit of context, came back as a full action list of who does what. If you want to go deeper on this kind of thing, Renee teaches the whole system in her online course, How to Market Your Beauty Business Online. Jen then talks through how she runs her admin days now, from sorting her inbox to building apprentice training plans, so the mental load stops living rent free in her head. This one is for anyone who has ever sat staring at a to do list with no idea where to start. Especially the neurodivergent owners, who Jen speaks to straight here. AI does not replace you. It just clears the path so you can actually get going. What we cover Why AI is for so much more than checking your captions Turning a long staff meeting into a clear action list in a minute The voice note habit that writes your client content for you Giving AI proper context so it sounds like you, not generic Using AI to sort and triage your inbox on admin days Building apprentice training plans that are easy to actually follow AI as a way past analysis paralysis and the never ending list Why it buys back time without ever doing the work for you Dip your toe in. The water is warm, and your next day off will thank you. FAQs How can salon owners use AI for more than writing captions? AI can turn a long staff meeting into a clear action list, sort your inbox, and build training plans for your apprentices. The trick is giving it context about your salon so the output sounds like you, not generic. How do you use a voice note to create salon content with AI? Record a quick voice note about a client's consultation on your phone, then drop the transcription into a tool like Claude or ChatGPT. Ask it to write the caption as a story about that client, and you get content in your own voice in seconds. Does using AI mean it replaces the salon owner? No. AI does not do the work or send your emails for you. It speeds up the planning and thinking you already do, so you take action Mentioned in this episode: 💛 A Limited Time Offer From Our Amazing Sponsor, Timely 💛 ➡ Timely is the easy to use booking and payments system that puts salon owners in control of the whole client experience from the first booking to final payment. ➡ Salon Rising listeners get a 14 day free trial plus 50% off their first 3 months. ➡ And when you activate with Payments, you'll also get a free Touchscreen terminal, worth $349 + GST. Use the code SALONRISING at checkout or click the link below to get started. Once you're set up, your Timely contact will take care of the rest. 👇 Timely 💖 Celebrating Our Podcast Partner – Christophe Robin, proudly distributed by McM Imports We’ve partnered with Christophe Robin and MCM Imports to bring you something beautiful: ➡ Experience the Christophe Robin Discovery Box — curated by pro ambassador Monique McMahon. ➡ Inside, you’ll find her handpicked favourites — the hero products she swears by in the salon. It’s your invitation to explore the range and discover why Christophe Robin has become a quiet obsession among stylists who know their craft. Click the link below to request your FREE Christophe Robin Discovery Box, exclusively through McM Imports. 👇 MCM https://www.salonrising.com
- Transcript
#83
June 7 · 48 min
The Client Landscape Has Changed And No One Is Talking About It – With Rach From Halo Hair and Beauty
You know the feeling. You post the last minute cancellation, the one that used to fill within the hour, and now it just sits there. The Monday DMs that used to be mental are quiet. The new client requests that used to roll in are a trickle. You are not imagining it, and you are not doing anything wrong. In this episode, Sam and Jen are joined by one of Sam's dearest friends and the final piece of her rat pack, Rach from Halo Hair and Beauty in Tweed. Fourteen years a salon owner, six years an educator, and refreshingly honest about what has actually shifted in this industry. Rach and the girls get into the thing most owners are quietly worried about and almost no one is saying out loud. The clients are not coming the way they used to, building a new column is harder than it has been in years, and the old playbook of post on Monday and fill by Friday does not work anymore. This is a real conversation about the new landscape of the Australian salon industry. Why younger clients are skipping colour altogether. Why the hate around pricing online misses what a haircut actually costs to deliver. Why a smaller team has quietly become the smarter, calmer, more profitable choice. And the slow shift that comes with time in the chair, when you stop chasing the bigger salon and start enjoying the one you already built. What we cover Why building a new client column is so much harder than ten years ago The new client landscape and why last minute spots no longer fill the way they did Younger clients going natural and skipping colour, and what that does to the books The online hate around salon pricing and the real cost behind a haircut Why a smaller team often means better culture, less tax and more profit Knowing your numbers and team targets so you are not paying people to do nothing Why going back to basics is the skill apprentices are missing Choosing to enjoy the salon you have built instead of always chasing more Some weeks the most powerful thing you can do is jump in, do what you need, and jump back out. FAQs Why is it harder to build a new client column now than it used to be? Demand has shifted, so the steady stream of new clients many salons relied on has slowed right down. More people are going natural or stretching out appointments, which means fewer new bookings and a slower build for newer team members. Is a smaller salon team better than a bigger one? For many owners, yes. A smaller team can mean stronger culture, less time spent managing people, and a lower wage, tax and superannuation load, which often leaves the business more profitable and far less stressful to run. Why do salon prices feel so high right now? A haircut or colour covers far more than the time in the chair. Rent, stock, insurance, superannuation and tax all come out of that price, and rising client expectations mean each service takes more time and skill than it used to. Mentioned in this episode: 💖 Celebrating Our Podcast Partner – Christophe Robin, proudly distributed by McM Imports We’ve partnered with Christophe Robin and MCM Imports to bring you something beautiful: ➡ Experience the Christophe Robin Discovery Box — curated by pro ambassador Monique McMahon. ➡ Inside, you’ll find her handpicked favourites — the hero products she swears by in the salon. It’s your invitation to explore the range and discover why Christophe Robin has become a quiet obsession among stylists who know their craft. Click the link below to request your FREE Christophe Robin Discovery Box, exclusively through McM Imports. 👇 MCM 💛 A Limited Time Offer From Our Amazing Sponsor, Timely 💛 ➡ Timely is the easy to use booking and payments system that puts salon owners in control of the whole client experience from the first booking to final payment. ➡ Salon Rising listeners get a 14 day free trial plus 50% off their first 3 months. ➡ And when you activate with Payments, you'll also get a free Touchscreen terminal, worth $349 + GST. Use the code SALONRISING at checkout or click the link below to get started. Once you're set up, your Timely contact will take care of the rest. 👇 Timely https://www.salonrising.com
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May 31 · 9 min
Mini Moment #23: The One Client Trick That Sorts Your Whole Brand – with Tegan from Moosh
Most salon owners think branding is the colours, the logo and the name above the door. Tegan from Moosh used to think that too. Then she realised her brand had quietly gone missing, not because she got the visuals wrong, but because she had stopped knowing who she was actually talking to. In this Mini Moment, Tegan joins Jen to pull branding apart in plain language. The thing that brought hers back was almost too simple. She stopped posting to everyone and started posting to one favourite client, a real person, as if she was talking only to her. From there the feeling, the team and the whole vibe of Moosh fell back into place. This is an honest, practical chat about why your brand is a feeling more than a colour, why your team is part of it whether you planned that or not, and why two salons right here in Australia can share the exact same palette and still feel like nothing alike. What we cover Why your brand is a feeling, not just your colours and logo The one client trick that makes your posts actually land How a busy salon quietly loses its brand without noticing Working out who you really want sitting in your chair Why your team and their personalities are part of your brand Posting to attract the right client instead of everyone The difference between the look of a salon and the feeling of it Your colours were never the brand. The feeling people walk into always was. What makes up a salon brand? A salon brand is the feeling people get from you, not just your colours, logo or name. It comes from who you serve, how your team shows up and how clients feel in your space. How do I find my salon brand? Start by picturing one favourite client and speak only to her, the way Tegan from Moosh did. Once you know who you are talking to, your colours, tone and team culture fall into place around her. Why does my salon brand feel off? Most brands feel off when the salon gets busy and the owner loses sight of who they are speaking to. The fix is rarely new colours, it is getting clear on your person again. Mentioned in this episode: 💖 Celebrating Our Podcast Partner – Christophe Robin, proudly distributed by McM Imports We’ve partnered with Christophe Robin and MCM Imports to bring you something beautiful: ➡ Experience the Christophe Robin Discovery Box — curated by pro ambassador Monique McMahon. ➡ Inside, you’ll find her handpicked favourites — the hero products she swears by in the salon. It’s your invitation to explore the range and discover why Christophe Robin has become a quiet obsession among stylists who know their craft. Click the link below to request your FREE Christophe Robin Discovery Box, exclusively through McM Imports. 👇 MCM https://www.salonrising.com 💛 A Limited Time Offer From Our Amazing Sponsor, Timely 💛 ➡ Timely is the easy to use booking and payments system that puts salon owners in control of the whole client experience from the first booking to final payment. ➡ Salon Rising listeners get a 14 day free trial plus 50% off their first 3 months. ➡ And when you activate with Payments, you'll also get a free Touchscreen terminal, worth $349 + GST. Use the code SALONRISING at checkout or click the link below to get started. Once you're set up, your Timely contact will take care of the rest. 👇 Timely
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#82
May 24 · 56 min
The One Thing Salon Owners Must Do in 2026 to Get Found by AI – with Renee from Salon Society
You have done everything right. The website is beautiful, the work is gorgeous, the reels go up. So why does it feel like you are shouting into a void while new faces still trickle in from who knows where? This episode answers the who knows where, and the answer has changed. Jen sits down with Renee from Salon Society, for a conversation that started over dinner and turned into a deep dive neither of them wanted to end. Renee has seen this industry from every side. A mature age apprentice who became a Kevin Murphy educator. Then a sales rep who built a territory on relationships. Then a social media agency owner running it all between nap times. And now someone who lives inside the world of AI marketing for salons. She is not teaching theory. She is in salon every week watching real new clients walk in and asking every single one of them how they found the place. What she is finding will change how you think about marketing in 2026. One woman booked a curly hair appointment after typing "best curly hairdresser south Perth" into ChatGPT. Renee shares the real numbers, the multi step path a client takes before they book, and the holes in the bucket that quietly cost you the clients you already worked hard to attract. There is also a tender thread running underneath all of it, about success, motherhood, and the day her son threw her phone across the room and she realised she had built the business but forgotten to pivot it. If this conversation lights something up in you, Renee teaches the full system behind it, building a digital presence that brings in bookings without posting more or chasing trends, in her own online course. What we cover How clients are now using AI tools like ChatGPT to find a salon, and what that means for you The one thing to become obsessed with in 2026, knowing exactly where your new clients come from Why a referred client can find you and still not book, and how to plug the holes in your bucket Optimising your socials, website and Google Business Profile so AI can actually find you Why your captions matter again, and the problem and solution story every caption should tell Building an evergreen content strategy so you can stop chasing trends and get off the hamster wheel Using AI to amplify your brand voice instead of replacing it Renee's own pivots, from the salon floor to education to agency to AI, and knowing when each season is over What success actually felt like, and the honest cost of chasing more This is the episode that makes the AI shift feel less like a threat and more like the most useful thing to happen to salon marketing in years. FAQs How do salon clients find a business using AI like ChatGPT? Clients type a plain question into an AI tool, such as the best hairdresser for a service in their suburb, and the AI answers by pulling from your socials, website, Google reviews and listed services. The more consistent and specific your content is across those places, the more likely AI is to recommend you. What is the one thing salon owners should focus on in 2026? Become obsessed with knowing where your new clients actually come from by asking every new client how they found you and whether that is when they booked. Once you know what is working, you can make more of that content instead of chasing new clients online for hours. Do captions still matter for salon social media? Yes, more than ever. AI reads the words in your captions and on screen text to understand what your content is about, so a caption that names the service, the client's problem and the solution is what helps you get found and booked. Mentioned in this episode: https://www.salonrising.com 💖 Celebrating Our Podcast Partner – Christophe Robin, proudly distributed by McM Imports We’ve partnered with Christophe Robin and MCM Imports to bring you something beautiful: ➡ Experience the Christophe Robin Discovery Box — curated by pro ambassador Monique McMahon. ➡ Inside, you’ll find her handpicked favourites — the hero products she swears by in the salon. It’s your invitation to explore the range and discover why Christophe Robin has become a quiet obsession among stylists who know their craft. Click the link below to request your FREE Christophe Robin Discovery Box, exclusively through McM Imports. 👇 MCM 💛 A Limited Time Offer From Our Amazing Sponsor, Timely 💛 ➡ Timely is the easy to use booking and payments system that puts salon owners in control of the whole client experience from the first booking to final payment. ➡ Salon Rising listeners get a 14 day free trial plus 50% off their first 3 months. ➡ And when you activate with Payments, you'll also get a free Touchscreen terminal, worth $349 + GST. Use the code SALONRISING at checkout or click the link below to get started. Once you're set up, your Timely contact will take care of the rest. 👇 Timely
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May 17 · 8 min
Mini Moment #22: You Are Not the Only One Asking That Question – with Sherri from Timely
The bravest thing you can do as a business owner is admit you do not have all the answers. In this Mini Moment, Jen sits down with Sherri from Timely to talk about why asking for help might just be the most underrated business move you make this year. Timely Answers is the new drop in session format that has been quietly booking out. A community of other business owners, and an open invitation to ask the questions you have been carrying around alone. Because the moment you hear someone else ask the thing you were too nervous to ask, everything shifts. The conversation then opens out into something equally valuable. How small sensory shifts in your service, a hand massage, a foot rub, a scalp moment, the smell of your salon, can move you from another appointment to a memorable experience your client will talk about. And how the energy you bring to your business is the energy your clients walk out with. What we cover The new Timely Answers drop in sessions and how they work Why community removes the loneliness of running a salon The power of realising someone else is asking the same question How to think outside the square with higher ticket offerings Why regulated business owners create regulated clients Bringing the passion back into your business When you stop trying to do it all alone, everything gets lighter. Mentioned in this episode: 💖 Celebrating Our Podcast Partner – Christophe Robin, proudly distributed by McM Imports We’ve partnered with Christophe Robin and MCM Imports to bring you something beautiful: ➡ Experience the Christophe Robin Discovery Box — curated by pro ambassador Monique McMahon. ➡ Inside, you’ll find her handpicked favourites — the hero products she swears by in the salon. It’s your invitation to explore the range and discover why Christophe Robin has become a quiet obsession among stylists who know their craft. Click the link below to request your FREE Christophe Robin Discovery Box, exclusively through McM Imports. 👇 MCM 💛 A Limited Time Offer From Our Amazing Sponsor, Timely 💛 ➡ Timely is the easy to use booking and payments system that puts salon owners in control of the whole client experience from the first booking to final payment. ➡ Salon Rising listeners get a 14 day free trial plus 50% off their first 3 months. ➡ And when you activate with Payments, you'll also get a free Touchscreen terminal, worth $349 + GST. Use the code SALONRISING at checkout or click the link below to get started. Once you're set up, your Timely contact will take care of the rest. 👇 Timely https://www.salonrising.com
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#81
May 10 · 39 min
Service or Sacrifice. Which One Are You In – with Sam and Jen
There is one question that quietly underpins every leadership decision a salon owner makes. Are you in service or are you in sacrifice? In this honest, reflective conversation, Sam and Jen sit down to unpack the difference, why it matters, and how the answer changes everything from your team energy to your retail numbers to the way you feel walking into your own business. This is not a leadership masterclass. It is a real conversation between two friends who are deep in the work themselves, examining the labels we attach to leadership, culture and ourselves. The word boss carries an ego. The word culture has become a buzzword. And the version of leadership most of us were taught, the one that sits at the top shouting orders down, is actually the opposite of what builds a business that lasts. Sam shares what she has learned from 14 staff down to three, why finance is the most important pillar of any small business, and why the targets document she has used for years has never felt more valuable. Jen reflects on capacity, glass balls and plastic balls, and the moment she pulled out of an event that would have broken her. Together they explore what it actually looks like to lead from below rather than above. What we cover The difference between service and sacrifice, and how to tell which one you are in Why resentment is the signal you have stepped into sacrifice Reverse engineering your leadership from the version you actually want Why the word boss does not sit right anymore Finance as the foundation everything else flows from Why your team needs financial literacy, not just targets Capacity, boundaries and protecting your glass balls Stripping the ego out of the decisions you make about your business Why your first priority is your team and theirs is your clients The labels we attach to ourselves, our businesses and the people in them When you lead from service, your business stops feeling heavy. It starts feeling like home. Mentioned in this episode: 💖 Celebrating Our Podcast Partner – Christophe Robin, proudly distributed by McM Imports We’ve partnered with Christophe Robin and MCM Imports to bring you something beautiful: ➡ Experience the Christophe Robin Discovery Box — curated by pro ambassador Monique McMahon. ➡ Inside, you’ll find her handpicked favourites — the hero products she swears by in the salon. It’s your invitation to explore the range and discover why Christophe Robin has become a quiet obsession among stylists who know their craft. Click the link below to request your FREE Christophe Robin Discovery Box, exclusively through McM Imports. 👇 MCM 💛 A Limited Time Offer From Our Amazing Sponsor, Timely 💛 ➡ Timely is the easy to use booking and payments system that puts salon owners in control of the whole client experience from the first booking to final payment. ➡ Salon Rising listeners get a 14 day free trial plus 50% off their first 3 months. ➡ And when you activate with Payments, you'll also get a free Touchscreen terminal, worth $349 + GST. Use the code SALONRISING at checkout or click the link below to get started. Once you're set up, your Timely contact will take care of the rest. 👇 Timely https://www.salonrising.com
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May 3 · 11 min
Mini Moment #21: 14 New Clients a Week and How She Got Them – with Tegan from Moosh
In this Mini Moment, Tegan from Moosh joins Jen to talk about something most salon owners are quietly stressing about...marketing. Specifically, what to actually spend money on, when to bring someone in to help, and what kind of return you can realistically expect. After years of consistent regulars, Tegan is in a rebuild season and marketing to brand new clients is now non-negotiable. She shares exactly what she has been doing, why she finally outsourced her paid ads, and how that decision is now bringing in 14 new clients a week. This is an honest, practical conversation about the chicken and egg of marketing spend, why you cannot build a business on Instagram posts alone, and why finding people who actually understand your brand is the difference between marketing that lands and marketing that makes you cringe. What we cover Why community Facebook pages are not the answer The real cost of trying to run paid ads yourself How to know when it is time to outsource your marketing What a proper marketing agency actually does for a salon Why understanding your brand has to come before outsourcing The chicken and egg of marketing investment when cash is tight One client a week from your team can fund the whole marketing budget Why patience is part of the marketing strategy Mentioned in this episode: https://www.salonrising.com 💛 A Limited Time Offer From Our Amazing Sponsor, Timely 💛 ➡ Timely is the easy to use booking and payments system that puts salon owners in control of the whole client experience from the first booking to final payment. ➡ Salon Rising listeners get a 14 day free trial plus 50% off their first 3 months. ➡ And when you activate with Payments, you'll also get a free Touchscreen terminal, worth $349 + GST. Use the code SALONRISING at checkout or click the link below to get started. Once you're set up, your Timely contact will take care of the rest. 👇 Timely 💖 Celebrating Our Podcast Partner – Christophe Robin, proudly distributed by McM Imports We’ve partnered with Christophe Robin and MCM Imports to bring you something beautiful: ➡ Experience the Christophe Robin Discovery Box — curated by pro ambassador Monique McMahon. ➡ Inside, you’ll find her handpicked favourites — the hero products she swears by in the salon. It’s your invitation to explore the range and discover why Christophe Robin has become a quiet obsession among stylists who know their craft. Click the link below to request your FREE Christophe Robin Discovery Box, exclusively through McM Imports. 👇 MCM
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#80
April 27 · 1 hr 4 min
The Salon I Always Wanted Was Smaller Than I Thought – with Tegan from Moosh
Sometimes the dream you were chasing is not the dream you needed. In this episode, Sam and Jen are joined by one of Sam's dearest friends and biggest cheerleaders, Tegan from Moosh. After 10 years in business, a team that grew to 11 and has since come back to two, Tegan opens up about what it has actually taken to come back to herself, her vision and the kind of salon she always wanted to build. This is a conversation about the slow, quiet realisations that only come from time in the chair. The grief of losing long term staff. The bittersweet beauty of regular clients moving on. The financial honesty most owners avoid. And the moment you walk into your salon, hear how peaceful it is, and realise this calm was the goal all along. Tegan is open, warm and full of the kind of gusto that makes everyone around her feel like they can do anything. But this episode shows another side of her too. The leader stepping into herself for the first time. The mother holding boundaries. The owner choosing service over sacrifice. And the woman who genuinely loves what she does and is finally ready to enjoy it. What we cover 10 years of Moosh, from 40 square metres to a commercial purchase Going from 11 staff down to two and what that has taught her The grief of losing long term team members and regular clients Why your business cannot be built on sacrifice Coming back to your vision and rebuilding from there Knowing your numbers as the antidote to fear Hiring for personality over skill The trap of panic hiring and why it never works Leading through different seasons of life and team Why being a hairdresser does not have to be the thing you outgrow She's back. And the salon she always wanted was here all along. Mentioned in this episode: 💛 A Limited Time Offer From Our Amazing Sponsor, Timely 💛 ➡ Timely is the easy to use booking and payments system that puts salon owners in control of the whole client experience from the first booking to final payment. ➡ Salon Rising listeners get a 14 day free trial plus 50% off their first 3 months. ➡ And when you activate with Payments, you'll also get a free Touchscreen terminal, worth $349 + GST. Use the code SALONRISING at checkout or click the link below to get started. Once you're set up, your Timely contact will take care of the rest. 👇 Timely https://www.salonrising.com 💖 Celebrating Our Podcast Partner – Christophe Robin, proudly distributed by McM Imports We’ve partnered with Christophe Robin and MCM Imports to bring you something beautiful: ➡ Experience the Christophe Robin Discovery Box — curated by pro ambassador Monique McMahon. ➡ Inside, you’ll find her handpicked favourites — the hero products she swears by in the salon. It’s your invitation to explore the range and discover why Christophe Robin has become a quiet obsession among stylists who know their craft. Click the link below to request your FREE Christophe Robin Discovery Box, exclusively through McM Imports. 👇 MCM
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April 19 · 17 min
Mini Moment #20: Your Salon Software Is Not Working as Hard as You Are – with Sherri from Timely
Most salon owners set up their booking software once and never go back. The descriptions are outdated, the services do not reflect the brand anymore, and there is revenue sitting quietly in the background that nobody is capturing. Sound familiar? In this Mini Moment, Jen sits down with Sherri from Timely to talk about why an annual audit of your salon software is one of the most underrated things you can do for your business. And why the new Timely add-ons feature might just be the thing that changes how you think about upselling forever. Because here is the thing. The best add-on conversation is the one you never have to have out loud. When your software is set up properly, it does the prompting for you. Your clients get the nudge at the right moment, they feel in control of their choices, and you get the revenue without the awkward middle bit. What we cover Why auditing your salon software once a year is non negotiable How misaligned service descriptions can disconnect your brand experience The new Timely add-ons feature and how it works for your business Letting technology do the upselling so you do not have to Why giving clients ownership of their booking increases add-on uptake How solo operators can use software to reduce overwhelm AI, social media and the future of working smarter not harder Why having fun on Instagram is actually a strategy Your software should be working while you are behind the chair. This episode will show you how to make that happen. Mentioned in this episode: https://www.salonrising.com 💛 A Limited Time Offer From Our Amazing Sponsor, Timely 💛 ➡ Timely is the easy to use booking and payments system that puts salon owners in control of the whole client experience from the first booking to final payment. ➡ Salon Rising listeners get a 14 day free trial plus 50% off their first 3 months. ➡ And when you activate with Payments, you'll also get a free Touchscreen terminal, worth $349 + GST. Use the code SALONRISING at checkout or click the link below to get started. Once you're set up, your Timely contact will take care of the rest. 👇 Timely 💖 Celebrating Our Podcast Partner – Christophe Robin, proudly distributed by McM Imports We’ve partnered with Christophe Robin and MCM Imports to bring you something beautiful: ➡ Experience the Christophe Robin Discovery Box — curated by pro ambassador Monique McMahon. ➡ Inside, you’ll find her handpicked favourites — the hero products she swears by in the salon. It’s your invitation to explore the range and discover why Christophe Robin has become a quiet obsession among stylists who know their craft. Click the link below to request your FREE Christophe Robin Discovery Box, exclusively through McM Imports. 👇 MCM
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#79
April 12 · 47 min
Permission to Be Exactly Where You Are – with Sam and Jen
Sometimes the most important conversations are the ones that happen between two friends who are deep in it themselves. In this episode, Sam and Jen pull back the curtain on where they are each at right now. In their businesses, in their teams and in their lives and give each other, and you, permission to just be in the season you are in. Sam is back on the floor full time and genuinely loving it. Jen is in the hustle, building her team and finding her rhythm. Neither of them is where they thought they would be. And both of them are okay with that. This episode is a honest, grounded and at times deeply personal conversation about what it actually looks like to run a small salon business in real time, without the highlight reel. From wage ratios and retail to radical honesty and gratitude, this one covers a lot of ground. But the thread running through all of it is the same. The season you are in right now is not a detour. It is the journey. What we cover Where Sam and Jen are each at in their businesses right now Sam's return to the floor and what that season has taught her Jen's hustle of building and filling her team's columns Wage ratios, what they should look like and how to check yours Retail as a tool for genuinely helping clients, not selling to them Training young team members consistently and why bite size beats once a week The difference between being in your business and running it from above The time is going to pass anyway. You may as well be in it. Timestamps 00:00 Episode Summary 02:29 Hospital Detour and Boundaries 04:50 Easter Break Reset Rituals 06:59 Back on the Salon Floor 09:00 Booked Out and Waitlist Systems 10:34 Jen’s Hustle to Fill Columns 12:24 Training Young Staff Fast 14:43 Offers Referrals and Memberships 16:37 Choosing Your Season in Business 18:27 38 Hours on Floor Plus Admin 19:42 Capacity and Wage Ratio Basics 22:23 Salon Cost Benchmarks 23:38 Tracking Wages Weekly 24:39 Team Targets and Performance 25:47 Retail Without the Ick 28:05 Owner Lessons and Expectations 32:09 Work for Yourself Myth 35:25 Quarter Two Focus 36:55 Gratitude and Seasons 46:04 Closing Thoughts Mentioned in this episode: 💛 A Limited Time Offer From Our Amazing Sponsor, Timely 💛 ➡ Timely is the easy to use booking and payments system that puts salon owners in control of the whole client experience from the first booking to final payment. ➡ Salon Rising listeners get a 14 day free trial plus 50% off their first 3 months. ➡ And when you activate with Payments, you'll also get a free Touchscreen terminal, worth $349 + GST. Use the code SALONRISING at checkout or click the link below to get started. Once you're set up, your Timely contact will take care of the rest. 👇 Timely https://www.salonrising.com 💖 Celebrating Our Podcast Partner – Christophe Robin, proudly distributed by McM Imports We’ve partnered with Christophe Robin and MCM Imports to bring you something beautiful: ➡ Experience the Christophe Robin Discovery Box — curated by pro ambassador Monique McMahon. ➡ Inside, you’ll find her handpicked favourites — the hero products she swears by in the salon. It’s your invitation to explore the range and discover why Christophe Robin has become a quiet obsession among stylists who know their craft. Click the link below to request your FREE Christophe Robin Discovery Box, exclusively through McM Imports. 👇 MCM
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April 5 · 7 min
Mini Moment #19: The Client Retention Conversation You Need to Hear – with Sara Briscoe
Retention. It is one of those words that gets thrown around a lot in this industry, usually tied to numbers, rebooking rates and revenue. But Sara Briscoe from Roca Verde has a different way of looking at it, and once you hear it this way, you will not be able to unhear it. Because retention is not just good for your bottom line. It is good for your nervous system. A column full of familiar faces means less anxiety, less tap dancing to impress someone new, and more of the kind of days that remind you why you love this job. That is what is in it for your team. And that is exactly the conversation most salon owners are not having. In this Mini Moment, Sara breaks down the why behind retention, the how behind building it, and why teaching your team to care about it starts with making it personal. What we cover Why retention is an emotional conversation as much as a financial one The real cost of a column full of new clients on your adrenals and your confidence How to teach your team the why so they actually care The power of a consistent consultation and giving clients a hair journey Social media as a retention tool, not just a marketing one Why a calm familiar column is one of the greatest gifts you can give your team When you and your team understand what retention actually does for you and them, everything shifts. Mentioned in this episode: 💖 Celebrating Our Podcast Partner – Christophe Robin, proudly distributed by McM Imports We’ve partnered with Christophe Robin and MCM Imports to bring you something beautiful: ➡ Experience the Christophe Robin Discovery Box — curated by pro ambassador Monique McMahon. ➡ Inside, you’ll find her handpicked favourites — the hero products she swears by in the salon. It’s your invitation to explore the range and discover why Christophe Robin has become a quiet obsession among stylists who know their craft. Click the link below to request your FREE Christophe Robin Discovery Box, exclusively through McM Imports. 👇 MCM https://www.salonrising.com 💛 A Limited Time Offer From Our Amazing Sponsor, Timely 💛 ➡ Timely is the easy to use booking and payments system that puts salon owners in control of the whole client experience from the first booking to final payment. ➡ Salon Rising listeners get a 14 day free trial plus 50% off their first 3 months. ➡ And when you activate with Payments, you'll also get a free Touchscreen terminal, worth $349 + GST. Use the code SALONRISING at checkout or click the link below to get started. Once you're set up, your Timely contact will take care of the rest. 👇 Timely
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#78
March 29 · 1 hr 10 min
The Answer Was Always Connection – with Brooke from Paper Rokk
Some episodes stop you in your tracks. This is one of them. Sam & Jen are joined by one of Sam's closest friends and hair besties, Brooke Wolf from Paper Rokk. For a conversation that is as honest, warm and real as it gets. Brooke has built her salon business over 12 years through some of life's most defining moments. Loss, burnout, single motherhood, a new build and now navigating the early days of a significant personal change. And through all of it, one thing has kept showing up as the answer. Connection. This episode explores what connection actually looks like in business and in life. The connection you have with your team, your clients, your closest friends and yourself. It is a conversation about showing up for people in ways that matter, about the salons that save us when everything else feels uncertain, and about what happens when you finally let yourself lean into the people around you instead of pushing through alone. Brooke's story is one of resilience, self awareness and grace. And her reminder that we are in the business of connection, even when we forget it, is something every salon owner needs to hear. What we cover Brooke's journey from heartbreak to building Paper Rokk over 12 years Opening a salon after loss and figuring it out as you go Running two salons, burning out and knowing when to let one go Navigating separation as a business owner and a mother Why grief doesn't stop, it just moves with you The difference between sending a text and actually showing up How your salon can save you in the seasons you least expect What connection really means for your team, your clients and yourself Why saying yes more often can change everything The glass balls and the plastic balls, what you let fall and what you don't The answer was always connection. It just takes the hard seasons to remind us. Timestamps: 00:00 Episode Summary 02:33 Meet Brooke Wolf 03:27 Friendship And Support Crew 06:27 Starting A Salon After Loss 09:27 Second Salon And Burnout 12:15 Closing Palm Beach Lessons 13:43 New Space Pregnancy Chaos 15:07 Group Chat Lifeline 19:20 Separation And New Chapter 25:43 Grief While Leading 28:49 Finding Joy In Small Moments 32:37 Saying Yes Again 34:31 Glow Up And Bucket List 35:44 Better Apart Realizations 36:45 Trauma And Overworking 39:13 New Hobbies And Joy 42:57 Friendship Web Story 46:13 Connection Over Everything 51:02 Salon As Safe Haven 56:21 Business Lessons And Team 59:03 Show Up For People 01:05:30 Grace In Breakups 01:08:30 Co Parenting And Closure 01:10:02 Final Connection Reminder Mentioned in this episode: https://www.salonrising.com 💖 Celebrating Our Podcast Partner – Christophe Robin, proudly distributed by McM Imports We’ve partnered with Christophe Robin and MCM Imports to bring you something beautiful: ➡ Experience the Christophe Robin Discovery Box — curated by pro ambassador Monique McMahon. ➡ Inside, you’ll find her handpicked favourites — the hero products she swears by in the salon. It’s your invitation to explore the range and discover why Christophe Robin has become a quiet obsession among stylists who know their craft. Click the link below to request your FREE Christophe Robin Discovery Box, exclusively through McM Imports. 👇 MCM 💛 A Limited Time Offer From Our Amazing Sponsor, Timely 💛 ➡ Timely is the easy to use booking and payments system that puts salon owners in control of the whole client experience from the first booking to final payment. ➡ Salon Rising listeners get a 14 day free trial plus 50% off their first 3 months. ➡ And when you activate with Payments, you'll also get a free Touchscreen terminal, worth $349 + GST. Use the code SALONRISING at checkout or click the link below to get started. Once you're set up, your Timely contact will take care of the rest. 👇 Timely
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