Sammy Kennedy

Beauty Industry Leaders

Business EN ↓ 108 episodes

Welcome to the no-BS podcast for beauty entrepreneurs who are here to lead. This is for the ones raising the standards - not just in their own business, but for the entire industry. Not for hobbyists or side hustlers. This is for those who are all in. Each episode brings together raw, unfiltered conversations with beauty business owners - from service providers and product creators to educators and consultants, plus guest experts who are leading in their field. You’ll hear the real stories behind their success, the mistakes they’ve made, and the lessons that helped them evolve. Hosted by Sammy...

Author

Sammy Kennedy

Category

Business

Latest episode

Jul 5, 2026

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Episodes

Six Things That Took Me From Struggling to Half a Million Dollars in My Personal Brand 05.07.2026

Send us Fan Mail Most people think success comes from one big moment. It does not. I made over half a million dollars in my personal brand. I helped build a multimillion dollar business with my family. I turned $1,800 of ad spend into $81,000 in ticket sales from a single conversation most people would have never thought to have. None of it happened by accident. It came down to six specific things...

The New Financial Year Reset: Five Habits Every Beauty Business Owner Needs Before 1 July 28.06.2026

Send us Fan Mail If you worked for another company and every single year you worked harder, took on more responsibility, and never once received a pay raise, you would quit. So why are we doing it to ourselves? This is the final episode of the 2025/26 financial year, and I am not sending you into the new year with another motivational pep talk. I am giving you five habits that will actually change...

"Will My Clients Leave?" The Price Increase Question Every Beauty Business Owner Is Scared to Answer 21.06.2026

Send us Fan Mail IMPORTANT UPDATE *Please note that some of the stats from Fresha will be incorrect as their surcharge fees have changed since the time of recording. Fresha have changed their fees from In-person  Previously: 2.29% + $0.20 per transaction (plus additional $0.10 tap to pay authorisation)  TO NOW: 1.29% + $0.26 per transaction (plus additional $0.10 tap to pay authorisation). Online...

The Messy Middle: What Business Really Looks Like When Nobody's Watching 14.06.2026

Send us Fan Mail It is 9:00 PM on a Friday night and I am sitting in the podcast studio. I am supposed to be packing for Bali. But I need to talk to you first. The last six months have been the hardest season I have gone through in business. A retreat that barely broke even. A podcast studio that cost ten times what I budgeted for. A $7,000 credit card balance just to cover wages. Months of $20K r...

Your Story Is Already Worth Telling. You Just Don't Know How to Pitch It Yet. 07.06.2026

Send us Fan Mail She applied for Big Brother ten times. Ten rejections. Ten "not this time." Ten times she came back anyway. And she eventually got on. That is the entire PR philosophy in one story. Keep going. Stay in the room.  Your no is someone else's not yet. In this episode, I sit down with Heidi Anderson: PR strategist, keynote speaker, author of Drunk on Confidence, and one...

The Business Was the Barrier: Tamika Sharp on IVF, Burnout, and Rebuilding on Her Terms 31.05.2026

Send us Fan Mail She built a salon she was proud of. She hired a team. She signed a lease. She showed up to treat clients the morning after egg retrievals. Then she ended up in hospital with a heart rate she couldn't bring down. And she was still thinking about work. In this episode, I sit down with Tamika Sharp, founder of Skin and Beauty Collective in Perth, for one of the most raw and hone...

WA Finally Has Its Own Beauty Awards — Here's the Story Behind WASSABA 24.05.2026

Send us Fan Mail She applied for awards twice and went home with nothing. No trophy. No feedback. Just the bill. Then she won Australian Clinic of the Year, only the third WA business in history to ever take that title. And now? She's building an entirely new awards program so nobody else has to go through that process blind. In this episode, I sit down with Rachel Diaz from Love Beauty Skin...

100 Episodes In. $500 in My Bank Account When I Started. Here's the Full Story. 17.05.2026

Send us Fan Mail 100 episodes. $500 in my bank account when I started. A $25,000 contract I had no idea how I was going to pay for. And a rebrand I've been sitting on for over 12 months. This is it. The full, unfiltered story of how Beauty Industry Leaders went from a post in a Skool community to 25,000 downloads across 1,247 cities, and why the next 100 episodes are going to look very differ...

My 79-Year-Old Grandma Taught Me More About Business Than Any Course Ever Could 10.05.2026

Send us Fan Mail She came to Australia from Hong Kong with nothing familiar. No friends. No family nearby. No safety net.  She built a business with my grandfather and ran it for decades.  👉 And she never once paid herself a salary. This episode is different from anything I've ever done on the show. I'm sitting across from my grandma, Julia Lau. I call her Po Po. She's turning 80,...

I Got Approached by One of the Biggest Brands in the World — and Turned It Down 03.05.2026

Send us Fan Mail A big brand  offered me $985 a month to promote their products. Free samples. Commission. Cash incentives. 👉 I said no. And in this episode, I explain exactly why. I've invested over $80,000 into this podcast and $30,000 into the studio. So when one email from one of the biggest brands in the world landed in my inbox, it nearly tested everything I'd built. Not because t...

He's Raised $60 Million and Says Most Beauty Businesses Are Marketing Wrong — Here's Why 26.04.2026

Send us Fan Mail He's raised over $60 million in capital, built an agency from scratch over 20 years, and his brand strategy breakdowns have been seen by hundreds of thousands of people online. But when Sammy asked Es Chandra what advice he'd give his younger self, his answer wasn't about funnels or ad spend. 👉 It was, "Just chill the fuck out." In this episode, Sammy sit...

A $50K Loan, a Surprise Pregnancy & the Fitout From Hell — How Isla Grace Built Her Empire Anyway 19.04.2026

Send us Fan Mail Her first employee was ready to leave the day after she went on maternity leave. She was 38 weeks pregnant. The stress was so severe her doctor induced her early. And that was just the beginning. In this episode, Sammy sits down with Isla Grace MacPherson — beauty salon owner, mum of two, and the woman behind one of Perth's fastest-growing brow and lash studios. But this isn&...

The Story I Tried to Hide Built the Life I Have Today 12.04.2026

Send us Fan Mail I don't talk about this much. And honestly, I'm embarrassed by most of it. But when I was interviewed for a book about my family, I was asked about my high school years — and I realized just how much I've been avoiding. The rebellion. The self-destruction. The complete breakdown of my relationship with my parents. The shame I carried when I moved from Albany to Pert...

No Room for Failure: Maria Enna-Cocciolone’s Rise to Building 3x Multi-Million Dollar Brands 05.04.2026

Send us Fan Mail She put $600,000 of her family's savings into a skincare brand at 42 years old. Her husband said the budget wouldn't stretch to 13 products. Her response? "Then the budget is wrong. Fix it." Three weeks after winning the ABIA Hall of Fame — the highest honour in the Australian beauty industry — Maria Enna-Cocciolone lost her mum. She still hasn't celebrate...

How To Develop An Offer That People Will Buy 29.03.2026

Send us Fan Mail Most beauty professionals don’t have an offer problem… they have a clarity problem. In this episode, I’m breaking down one of the biggest mistakes I see when service providers step into education, coaching, or courses, trying to teach everything instead of selling a clear, specific result. If your offer feels hard to explain, difficult to sell, or overwhelming to deliver, this wil...

The Craziest 72 Hours of My Life (And the Business Lessons I Took From It) 22.03.2026

Send us Fan Mail The past 72 hours were some of the craziest I’ve had in both life and business. What started with speaking on an International Women’s Day panel in Perth quickly turned into a last-minute trip to Sydney for BitchCon… all sparked by a coaching call, a very specific “green frog” sign, and a decision to just back myself. From there, it was chaos, losing my house keys, calling a locks...

The Power of Personal Brand with Brooke Vulinovich 15.03.2026

Send us Fan Mail Brooke Vulinovich joined me back in the Beauty Industry Leaders Podcast studio and this conversation felt extra special. Brooke has been a mentor and supporter through some of the most challenging seasons in my business, including a time when I was navigating near-bankruptcy, so it was incredible to sit down and reflect on how far things have come. We kicked things off with a rapi...

The Hidden Tax of Self-Doubt in Business 08.03.2026

Send us Fan Mail After returning from our Beauty Industry Leaders retreat in Vietnam, I found myself reflecting on something I know so many women in business quietly carry: self-doubt. Even after receiving incredible feedback and seeing the impact the retreat had, I caught myself questioning whether I deserved to be in the room. That experience reminded me that imposter syndrome doesn’t disappear...

Grief, Grit and Growing a Global Brand with AMPERNA® 01.03.2026

Send us Fan Mail I’m recording the very first episode inside our new Beauty Industry Leaders Podcast studio, and I’m joined by husband-and-wife founders Kiri and Wesley of AMPERNA® - the topical postbiotic, microbiome-friendly skincare brand created for sensitive and reactive skin. Kiri shares the deeply personal journey that led to building the brand, from pustular acne and rosacea to topical ste...

The Three Traits Every Sustainable Business Has 22.02.2026

Send us Fan Mail I’m breaking down what actually makes a business sustainable long term and why popularity or fast growth isn’t enough. Drawing from my experience across multiple family ventures, from bowling alleys and arcades to festivals and Wild West Bowling - alongside my own journey in the beauty industry, I share the three important traits I believe every sustainable business must have. In...

The Rooms You Sit In Shape the Life You Build 15.02.2026

Send us Fan Mail In today’s episode, I’m sharing a personal reflection on how the rooms you sit in shape the life and business you build. At 19, during Miss Universe, I was navigating a cancelled university degree, a scoliosis diagnosis, and the physical strain of running a lash business that was hurting my body. Through a pageant sponsor, I stepped into a contractor role applying protective film...

The One Mistake Most Business Owners Make When They Want to Scale 08.02.2026

Send us Fan Mail In today’s episode, I’m sharing a behind-the-scenes look at a hectic week while preparing for our upcoming Beauty Industry Leaders retreat, and using it to highlight the biggest mistake most business owners make when they want to scale. I talk through everything from last-minute travel prep and investing in new videography equipment, to onboarding calls, creative marketing inspire...

Things I’d Tell You If We Were Having This Conversation Over Coffee 01.02.2026

Send us Fan Mail Today I’m sharing some honest reflections - the kind of things I’d tell you if we were sitting down together over a coffee. I start with a personal update on what’s been happening behind the scenes lately, from juggling projects and staying consistent with updates, to the progress of building out a new podcast studio. I also share where things are at with preparations for the upco...

How to Start Investing Without Having Lots of Money 25.01.2026

Send us Fan Mail Today I’m talking about how to start investing, even if you don’t have lots of money. I’m sharing a few reflections from my stay at the 1 Hotel in Melbourne, and what stood out to me about their customer experience and sustainable approach. I also give you an update on the Beauty Industry Leaders Business Retreat in Vietnam , including some of the incredible attendees and guest sp...

Marketing Series Part 6: How to Structure Any Piece of Content for Impact and Conversion 18.01.2026

Send us Fan Mail Today we’re wrapping up the Marketing Series with Part 6 - and this episode brings everything together. I’m breaking down how to structure any piece of content so it not only lands with your audience, but actually drives action and conversion. I also reflect on the lingering challenges coming out of 2025, the delayed setup of my podcast studio, and the wider sense of uncertainty I...

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