The Australian Hairdressing Council

Feedback is one of the most undervalued and under utilised tools that a business leader has at their disposal. It's something that most of us dread - either receiving or providing feedback - and usually makes us tense up as we worry about what's coming.  Today we'll be talking about how to flip those negative connotations associated with feedback and instead create an effective &apo...

The Australian Hairdressing Council and Cherrypicka Legal Docs have collaborated to provide salon owners with a suite of easy to use legal docs to help overcome some of those tricky every day situations; to minimise your chance of disputes or bad reviews and to improve your customer experience.   Cherrypicka believes that everyone deserves access to quality legal docs irrespective of your budget. ...

With the current cost of living being a challenge for many small businesses, some salon owners are finding it a struggle to maintain a consistent cashflow and have enough money left over for bills, especially big ticket items such as tax. On today's podcast we catch up once again with AHC member and business coach Neil Osborne, who has a passion for all things to do with finance, budgeting an...

Gary Strachan is a remarkable and inspirational human who is using his experience as a hairdresser and lawyer to bring opportunity and education to remote communities in outback Australia.  He is the face behind 'Deadly Hair Dude', a unique program that was born out of a clear need for hairdressers in remote parts of the Northern Territory. Over 35,000 Indigenous people live across 150+...

The payments landscape has changed a lot over the last few years. There has been a dramatic increase in card and digital transactions, as we move towards a predicted cashless society. In fact, nearly all payments these days are done by card or the digital wallet on our phones. What does this mean for small business? A big increase in transaction fees.  Today on the AHC podcast we chat with AHC mem...

When it comes to social media, as creative, visual people, hairdressers are natural content creators. But sometimes managing your socials can be a little overwhelming, prompting you to wonder whether all this effort is actually bringing clients through the door. Today we chat with social media expert and AHC member Ashleigh Bailey, who is a social media coach for hairdressers, and will be sharing...

Today most small businesses use email pdfs to send or receive invoices. This means that when you receive an invoice, it takes you or your business bookkeeper time to manually key or re-scan that invoice data into your business accounting software. Sounds familiar, right? Did you know that those email pdfs are also vulnerable to hackers, who can intercept and change the banking details so that they...

The end of financial year is fast approaching... So what does that mean for you as a business owner? There have been a lot of changes of late, especially when it comes to HR, so you can't afford not to be on top of things so your business is doing the right thing. Today's special guest is Annie Cross, who is the manager of the AHC HR Connect team, a group of 8 specialised HR experts who...

Have you got your tickets for Hair Festival?  We can't wait! From education, inspiration, shopping, networking, and of course, partying - there's so much to do at this year's event. And to give us the complete rundown on what you must-do at Hair Festival this year,  we caught up with Instyle Editor-in-Chief Cameron Pine for a quick chat.  This June long weekend, make sure Hair Festi...

On today's podcast we are talking about managing expectant employees - that's mums and dads who are expecting a child - and the importance of supporting their mental health and wellbeing, from the pregnancy announcement through to the return to work. Our special guest is Vanessa Miles, Psychologist and head of Perinatal Workplace Wellbeing, from Transitioning Well, who chats to us all ab...

The June long weekend has always been a 'hairy' weekend for many of those in the industry... And this June coming is no different! 🤩 Here we chat with with wonderful Jo Cowan from Hair Festival about all the goings on at this year's event, taking place at Carriageworks in Sydney on Sunday 11 and Monday 12 June. From the free marketplace, education sessions, business seminars, look&...

No matter how experienced a business owner you might be, it can be tricky navigating all of the elements required if you decide you want to sell your business. To help you through every step of the way, today we chat to AHC Associate Member Ian Jones from Merchant Business Brokers. Ian leads an experienced team of business broking specialists with over 50 years combined experience in all aspects o...

Hair Aid Inc. is an Australian non-profit organisation that works globally to make a difference and create change by teaching people living in poverty the skill of hair cutting. On today's podcast, we welcome founder of Hair Aid, Selina Tomasich, to explain what Hair Aid does and the international projects that hairdressers can join to help teach impoverished communities around the world basi...

Do you consider yourself a counsellor as well as a hairdresser? There is no doubt that there is a hidden skill gap when it comes to doing a client’s hair, then being prepared to handle and deal with what they tell us or offload onto us. Cancer, depression, grief and loss, anger, suicide, abuse, mental health issues… and so the list goes on. As hairdressers, we love our clients - well many of them...

We are now four years post the start of the pandemic, and whilst it's not 'back to usual', things are certainly more routine and easier to manage. But there are still things that Covid has left us with that we need to be mindful of when negotiating a business lease. For example, some businesses didn't make it through Covid, so you might have noticed more vacant shop fronts than...

These days cybersecurity is a concern for everyone, particularly small businesses. We've all heard about the elaborate scams where people have lost a lot of money, or had their personal or business data compromised - and it shows no sign of slowing down. In fact, small businesses are being aggressively targeted now more than ever. So how can you keep your business safe? Today we chat to Rosem...

Today on the AHC Podcast we are launching our next episode of The Schmooze with two very special guests and also long time AHC members, Emily and Ily Cardiello, co-founders of Foil Me  🌈 Despite neither being hairdressers, Emily and Ily quickly fell in love with the industry when they collectively made the decision to career change into entrepreneurs by launching Foil Me. Both from very different...

Are you familiar with the term ‘managing people, not things’? This is something that is super important in our industry, because if your salon business doesn’t have a happy productive team, then you basically have no business. On today’s AHC podcast, iconic business coach Faye Murray is back to share her thoughts on this very topic. “I work with many managers who are very good at their jobs, but s...

oday on the AHC Podcast we are launching our next episode of The Schmooze, where we get up close and personal with some of the hair industry’s most famous and colourful personalities, discussing their stories, journeys and ideas to inspire, educate and entertain, and most importantly, to help grow your business.  Our guests today need no introduction and are definitely two of the industry’s most i...

Welcome back to the AHC podcast. Today we are chatting with our resident employment guru Keira Maloney from HeadHunter Recruitment about employment trends for 2023. The biggest trend - and no surprise here - is not just unique to the hair and beauty industries. It’s a sought after benefit by job seekers across all industries around the world. We’re talking about work/life balance and job flexibili...

Today on the AHC Podcast we welcome AHC member and industry business coach Fiona Beamish, who has created 5 simple steps to successfully planning for 2023. Can you believe it’s that time of year already? Your salon is flat out, your body aches, the team are getting tired and sometimes clients can be a bit prickly. They say Christmas brings out the best and worst in people right? We hope for you al...

Today on the AHC Podcast we are launching our next episode of The Schmooze with a very special guest, Tina Winchester. Tina is from the Career Development Centre and is also a mental health director for Mentally Well Workplaces. Today we’ll be talking about a subject that’s very relevant to a large part of our audience in the hairdressing world - menopause. Menopause is often a taboo topic which i...

It's almost that time of the year...Christmas! Are you ready? 🌲🌲🌲 We don't mean are you fully booked - we mean ARE YOU READY? 🤔 In today's Business Snips video + podcast, we've invited back our very own AHC angel Faye Murray to share some of her many ideas on how to get your salon ready for the busiest time of the year so you and your business can thrive! 😍 "If you do...

Welcome back to the AHC podcast. Today we’re talking about a fantastic program for small businesses that was created as a response to the pandemic - Partners in Wellbeing. Unfortunately - or fortunately for those down south - this program is just for Victorians, and to give us a rundown on all the different areas that Partners in Wellbeing can support business owners is mental health consultant Ka...

Spendsuasion… Do you know what it means?  If you guessed it’s a combination of two words - Spending and Persuasion - then you guessed right! Basically, Spendsuasion is a new way to help your clients spend money. So if you or any of your team members struggle with recommending retail or upselling services, and securing a sale, this is the perfect session for you.  This podcast is the second and fin...