Grow My Salon Business Podcast

I have the pleasure of working with many salon owners all over the world. As a result, I am very fortunate to have inspiring and insightful conversations about the changes that are happening in the salon industry.   But, perhaps, more importantly, I get an insight into how forward-thinking salon owners are evolving their business approach to accommodate the never-ending changes to succeed in the s...

One of the things I love about this industry is the opportunities that there are for people to evolve into different areas of hairdressing if they wish to. Don’t get me wrong; there is absolutely nothing wrong with being 100% focused behind the chair as a stylist or a colourist and building up a salon clientele. Or maybe even opening up your own salon. But for some people, their journey takes them...

I consciously go out of my way to interview a diverse range of people for the podcast. But, the one thing I know that they all have in common is that they are building successful, profitable businesses, regardless of where in the world they are.   My goal is to interview a range of people at all stages of their careers in various areas of the salon industry to bring you a mixture of inspiration, e...

I’m sure that like me, you get inspired by people for lots of different reasons. Sometimes it might be because of what they have achieved. Other times it may be the journey they have had to get there, or maybe how they’ve handled adversity and overcome challenges. Or maybe you get inspired by how they think. How they think about people, how they think about life, and how they think about hairdress...

Over the last few years, there have been many changes in the hairdressing industry. One of those changes has been the continual evolvement of ‘all things hair colour’, and inevitably hand in hand with that has been the rise of the ‘Hair Colourist'!  I would never say that colourists were the poor cousin to stylists, but stylists were more likely to be the rockstars of hairdressing. However these d...

Over the years I have seen many big-name salons in capital cities with high profile locations, expensive fit-outs and celebrity stylists. But sometimes those businesses don’t actually make any profit! They might generate a lot of revenue but the high overheads and often transient populations of both clients and staff create problems of their own.    Then I see other salons, all over the world, tha...

“Can you imagine expanding your brand beyond your wildest dreams?” If that is something you think about, listen as Antony and his guest, Denis McFadden, founder of the Just Cuts group, chat about how he did just that. Denis shares with us how he went from having only a full-service salon to also opening up four Just Cuts salons in a matter of years, and the growth after that has been astounding.  ...

“What is marketing?” If that question makes you stop a second and think you need to listen as Antony discusses all things marketing on this episode of the Grow My Salon Business podcast. There are three significant areas he will focus on with many other ideas surfacing along the way.  Listen in as we discuss: What is marketing meant to do? Why it is essential to understand who your target market o...

On today’s episode of the Grow My Salon Business podcast, Antony speaks with Sam Villa. Sam is known in the industry for his passion, authenticity, humility, and for being a great educator because teaching is his passion.  Listen in as we discuss: The changes that are happening in education. The role of social media in continuing education. The personal skills of success. Sam talks about his backg...

Welcome to the Grow My Salon Business podcast with host Antony Whitaker. In today’s episode, Antony is speaking with Martha Lynn Kale. Martha Lynn is the owner of the award-winning salon Mirror Mirror based in Austin, Texas.  Listen in as we discuss: The importance of finding balance in your life. What it takes to succeed as a woman in business today, especially while balancing a young family. The...

In this episode of Grow My Salon Business with host Antony Whitaker, Antony is talking with Eric Taylor. Eric is the founder of the Salon Republic, salon suite business in California. Salon Republic is booming with 21 locations and a total of over 2000 individual suites. On top of that, Eric is also a fantastic podcaster and has a podcast called The Hair Game.  Listen in as we discuss: Why the sal...

Welcome to this episode of Grow My Salon Business with host Antony Whitaker. Antony’s guest today is Vivienne Mackinder, she is a hairdresser, educator, innovator and industry leader. She talks to us about training, leadership, awards, and succeeding as a woman in business. Vivienne says she is still a student and still learning after all of these years, and she finds it delicious. Her most promin...

This year I've spent a lot of time in the United States with John Paul Mitchell Systems presenting one of my favourite seminars that I call ‘GROW MY COLOR BUSINESS' which is something we should all be focused on.   As hairdressers, it’s essential that we know how to consult and design and apply a colour. But it’s equally important that we know how to make money from it.   I'm currently sitting in...

I love it anytime I meet someone successful, and especially so, ‘when they are successful hairdressers’. I travel a lot and I meet many hairdressers who complain about the industry, the millennials, gen Z, the competition, Amazon and whatever else they can use as an excuse to blame and justify their lack of success. But then occasionally you meet someone who defies all the reasons as to why you ca...

The Hairdressing industry means different things to different people, but when all's said and done ‘it’s a business’ and yes businesses are about people and creativity and creating opportunity… But businesses are also about numbers!   And although in many ways as an industry we are often slow to embrace technology, it is technology that gives us easy access to the numbers and information that allo...

In today's Podcast I am talking with Derek Hull who has a wealth of knowledge in many areas of the hairdressing industry.   Amongst other things, we will discuss  The salon memberships business model The changing employee business models The legal definitions that determine whether someone is an employee or an independent contractor The laws around employee ’deductions’, service charges or ‘produc...

On today's Podcast we are talking about hair colour, my guest is Skyler Hanna owner of ‘Skyler London’ a specialist ‘colour only salon’. She is a passionate hair colourist and savvy business woman who has some groundbreaking approaches to running a colour salon. So let’s get into it!   On today's podcast amongst other things we talk about;  The concept behind a ‘colour only salon’ Some of the uniq...

For an industry that is probably 80% female and 20% male there is often a disparity between the recognition and high profile that the male hairdressers get against what the leading female hairdressers achieve. One notable exception is today's guest on the Grow My Salon Business Podcast, London based Hairdresser Sally Brooks.   On today's podcast we will discuss:  The hairdressing documentary by Sa...

On today's Podcast, I am talking with a young lady by the name of Natalie Anne who is amongst other things is an Australian social media superstar! Her business is growing exponentially and includes ‘being a digital creator, a salon owner, her own hair products, online education, seminar work and I get the feeling she is just getting started. On this podcast amongst other things we discuss Whether...

Hairdressers everywhere often speak about the ‘role of the councillor’ that many hairdressers have with their clients. Mental health is a subject that has risen up the list of things that are not only acceptable but essential to talk openly about.   Unfortunately though, for a range of reasons many people today suffer from poor mental health. As a result suicide rates in many countries - particula...

My guest today is Geno Stampora a hairdresser, author, speaker, business guru, consultant, entertainer and general all-round industry expert and nice guy. Geno has a passion and a level of enthusiasm for learning and sharing information that is infectious and rare to find. I think it’s fair to say that he has devoted most of his professional life to helping hairdressers ‘grow’. Very few people lov...

One of the biggest challenges that the salon industry faces everywhere is ‘Recruitment’. So why isn’t there an online recruitment platform that specialises in the hairdressing industry, a sort of linked-in for hairdressers? Well now there is.   In today's Podcast, I have the pleasure of speaking with Jen and Matt Martinelli who are the founders of a new startup website recruitment platform called...

On todays podcast I talk with Chris Nedza founder of ZeeZor which is a hairdressing Productivity App. Although not a hairdresser Chris is a serial Entrepreneur and creative thinker and he developed ZeeZor as a real time mobile reporting tool so that his wife could better manage her chain of 43 salons. Although ZeeZor is currently only available in the US the thinking behind the technology is unive...

My guest today is Taelor Pleas hairdresser, presenter, salon industry coach and director of recruitment, hiring and training at the Cutting Loose Salon Group in Florida. In todays PODCAST we will cover: How much you want to earn isn’t a percentage, it’s a $ value. Finding balance in a family run business. Making 6 figures in a 4 day week.

On todays Podcast I am talking with Linton Husbands. Who although not a hairdresser has spent a life time in the hairdressing industry, primarily working with product companies. Now days he's very much on the salon side of things managing a group of 22 salons for Group Momentum which is the brand name for a collection of hairdressing salon chains in the South East of England. On this podcast we wi...