Advertise on podcast: PhorestFM: Stories From the Salon Floor

[339] A Salon Today 200 entry is more than a chance to earn recognition. The process can help you take a step back, see what’s working in your business and spot where you want to grow next. In this episode, past honorees Lou DeCola, Stacey Steffes and Danielle Moniz share what it's really like to submit an application. They delve into how to choose the story and category that fit your salon, bring data into your essays, and move past the feeling that your business isn’t “special enough” to apply. From Stacey and Danielle’s 48-hour application sprint to Lou’s many years of entries, you're left with a reflection on the growth that gets uncovered in the process and a reminder that honest, heartfelt storytelling matters. The 2027 Salon Today 200 application deadline has been extended to November 15, 2026, and 46% of last year’s honorees were first-time applicants! Want help building your entry? Watch the on-demand webinar, From Stats to Story: Building a Strong Salon Today 200 Entry, for practical application advice, Phorest reports to explore and a weekly action plan. Apply for the 2027 Salon Today 200 Connect with Lou DeCola, Stacey Steffes & Danielle Moniz Learn more about DeCola Salon and connect with Lou on Instagram @lou.decola Learn more about Envy Studio / Drift Spa and connect with Stacey & Danielle on Instagram @stacey_steffes @danimonizmua All things Phorest Find out how Phorest helps top salons & aesthetic clinics steer their businesses toward happier clients, more productive teams, and greater growth. Say hello to life with Phorest! Learn more about the Phorest Summit & secure your tickets: https://www.phorestsummit.com/ Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Click here to subscribe to the PhorestFM email newsletter. This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed. Great music makes great moments.

[338] Michelle Tanner is an Australian multi-salon owner, business coach and international speaker based in Switzerland. Driven by an appetite for learning, problem-solving and building better systems, she’s turned lessons from growing her own businesses — from profitability and team development to leadership and life in and out from behind the chair — into tools to help other owners build stronger, more sustainable businesses. Through the lens of her ambition and evolution as a business owner, this unfiltered, meandering conversation, underpinned by an understanding that every “yes” has a cost, explores what it means to build a business in service of the life you want. A business that can eventually carry you, rather than one you have to keep carrying. Connect with Michelle Tanner Learn more about Tanner Consulting: https://michelletannerconsulting.com/ Connect with Michelle on Instagram @michelle_tanner_consult and check out her podcast, The Shift (on pause indefinitely, but still available on all podcast platforms)! All things Phorest Find out how Phorest helps top salons & aesthetic clinics steer their businesses toward happier clients, more productive teams, and greater growth. Say hello to life with Phorest! Learn more about the Phorest Summit & secure your tickets: https://www.phorestsummit.com/ Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Click here to subscribe to the PhorestFM email newsletter. This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed. Great music makes great moments.

[337] When Phorest announced the 2027 Summit earlier this year, it marked a major shift for the brand: next January 24th and 25th, the flagship event moves from its long-time home in Dublin to the breathtaking landscapes of Killarney, County Kerry. Formerly known as the Salon Owners Summit, the transition to the Phorest Summit marks a milestone in the event’s identity, reflecting the inclusive community Phorest serves and bringing together hair, beauty, and clinic professionals under one unified banner of innovation. Both a look back and a look at what's next, this episode revisits the event's origin story, all the while featuring stories from the people who've shaped it along the way. Learn more about the Phorest Summit & secure your tickets: https://www.phorestsummit.com/ All things Phorest Find out how Phorest helps top salons & aesthetic clinics steer their businesses toward happier clients, more productive teams, and greater growth. Say hello to life with Phorest! Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Click here to subscribe to the PhorestFM email newsletter. This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed. Great music makes great moments.

[336] From the salon floor to industry leadership, Scott J Buchanan has been a dream builder for over 35 years. He is the president and owner of Scott J Salons and the current president of Intercoiffure America/Canada, but he’s held leadership positions in other industry organizations, such as the Professional Beauty Association, and is also recognized for his philanthropic support for numerous charities, in and outside the hair and beauty industry. Throughout his career, he has built businesses, teams and industry relationships around a belief that what we make possible for each other is ultimately more powerful than what we build for ourselves. In this open and warm conversation — and through the lens of what Scott calls one of the most underutilized business strategies available to business owners — we discuss creating salon cultures rooted in communication and care, having the conversations fear sometimes keeps us from having, developing people through opportunity, and raising the industry through service and collaboration. Connect with Scott J Buchanan Connect with Scott on Instagram @scottj_dreambuilder_ Learn more about Intercoiffure USA/Canada: https://intercoiffure.com/ All things Phorest Find out how Phorest helps top salons & aesthetic clinics steer their businesses toward happier clients, more productive teams, and greater growth. Say hello to life with Phorest! Learn more about the Phorest Summit & secure your tickets: https://www.phorestsummit.com/ Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Click here to subscribe to the PhorestFM email newsletter. This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed. Great music makes great moments.

[335] Jordan White, known on Instagram as The Murse Injector, is a pioneering leader in aesthetic medicine and the founder and owner of URBAN Medical, a practice that has earned an impeccable reputation for delivering safe, natural, and effective results. A highly sought-after provider with a celebrity clientele, Jordan is renowned for his expertise in advanced injectable techniques and cutting‐edge laser modalities. He serves as an international trainer and speaker, sharing his innovative approach with aesthetic professionals around the globe.  Through the lens of his background in critical care and trauma, and his holistic approach to medical aesthetics, this conversation explores what med spas must get right to build high-patient-satisfaction, sustainable businesses that deliver on trust, safety and results. Jordan also shares candid reflections on navigating unrealistic expectations in the age of social media and AI, raising industry standards through education and mentorship, and reveals what he loves most about the sector. Connect with Jordan White BSN, RN, LSO, CNI Click here to submit a provider training request. Follow Jordan @the_murse_injector and URBAN Medical @urbanmedicalgroup on Instagram. All things Phorest Find out how Phorest helps top salons & aesthetic clinics steer their businesses toward happier clients, more productive teams, and greater growth. Say hello to life with Phorest! Learn more about the Phorest Summit & secure your tickets: https://www.phorestsummit.com/ Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Click here to subscribe to the PhorestFM email newsletter. This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed. Great music makes great moments.

[334] Ildi Arlette is a business consultant, certified coach, and former clinic owner with 24 years of experience working with over 450 medical aesthetics clinics, spas, salons and wellness businesses across Canada and the US. She's known for helping owners go from second-guessing and making it up as they go to building profitable, in-demand businesses with strong systems and confident, service-driven teams. In this conversation, we explore the quiet erosion of trust that’s changing how people make decisions, the danger of all-or-nothing thinking, the power of simple human gestures, and what it actually looks like to build capacity — for uncertainty, discomfort, leadership, service, and growth.  Connect with Ildi Arlette Learn more about Results Continuum Inc: https://www.resultscontinuum.com/ Connect with Ildi on Instagram @ildi_arlette and/or book your 30-Minute Clarity call with her: https://calendly.com/ildi-arlette/30-min-clarity-call All things Phorest Find out how Phorest helps top salons & aesthetic clinics steer their businesses toward happier clients, more productive teams, and greater growth. Say hello to life with Phorest! Learn more about the Phorest Summit & secure your tickets: https://www.phorestsummit.com/ Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Click here to subscribe to the PhorestFM email newsletter. This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed. Great music makes great moments.

[333] Hair, beauty and aesthetics businesses are built on the promise of transformation, and today, the industry at large is being asked to evolve in ways that more than just grit, demand creativity, collaboration, community and intention. In this episode, we explore the foundational shifts occurring across hair, beauty, and aesthetics in the UK and Ireland. Together with industry voices Nicky Pope (@nickytribute), Ellen Cummings (@ellen_cummings), Jennifer Paxton (@jenpaxtonevo), and Sophia-Fai Roche (click here to reach out), we unpack the challenges facing our markets today. But more than just a breakdown, I hope it feels like an invitation: to lean into collaboration, to expand our horizons, redefine what growth and success look like, to trust the unknown and what we weave into it! We can choose to live in someone else's vision of the future or take an active role in shaping it. What role, in this changing landscape, are you feeling called to step into? Stay up to date (and/or subscribe) with the industry bodies/magazines/media mentioned in this episode: Professional Beauty Group Aesthetics Journal Salon EVO & Barber EVO Tribu-te Magazine British Beauty Council All things Phorest For all sources that made this episode possible, click here. To watch the Lessons From the Salon Floor video series, click here. Find out how Phorest helps top salons & aesthetic clinics steer their businesses toward happier clients, more productive teams, and greater growth. Say hello to life with Phorest! Learn more about the Phorest Summit & secure your tickets: https://www.phorestsummit.com/ Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Click here to subscribe to the PhorestFM email newsletter. This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed. Great music makes great moments.

[332] Jules Molina — Guest Experience Team Leader, Consultant, and Shareholder — and Ashley Prowell — Phorest North America Education Specialist — share a deep passion for operational systems developed over years of hands-on experience in the hair and beauty sector. In this episode, they stand united in a philosophy that treats this part of a business’s operations as a high-value, dedicated profit center with its own distinct goals, KPIs, and clear career trajectories. If the conversation begins with the early-2020s deskless salon trend, it moves through time, addressing common myths that keep business owners stuck, touching on coaching, verbiage and accountability, and lands on present-day realities and shifts, exploring how AI is beginning to impact this area of business. This is a passionate, gracious, no-BS conversation meant to propel you forward with confidence, levity, clarity, and momentum for what’s next in this part of your business operations. Connect with Jules Molina Learn more about The Summit Immersive & reserve your spot: https://summitsalon.com/the-summit-immersive Connect with Jules on Instagram @molina.jules or set up time with her: https://calendly.com/jmolinassbc Get your complimentary diagnostic here and connect with the Summit Salon Business Center on Instagram @summitsalon Connect with Ashley Prowell Connect with Ashley on Instagram @_lady_ashley_ Learn more about Ashley’s Phorest-related education sessions & save your spot here All things Phorest Find out how Phorest helps top salons & aesthetic clinics steer their businesses toward happier clients, more productive teams, and greater growth. Say hello to life with Phorest! Learn more about the Phorest Summit & secure your tickets: https://www.phorestsummit.com/ Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Click here to subscribe to the PhorestFM email newsletter. This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed. Great music makes great moments.

[331] Raquel Merlini is the founder of R SKIN Aesthetics in Michigan. As a seasoned Registered Nurse and Certified Aesthetic Nurse Specialist with over 14 years of experience in the plastics industry, she offers a real-world model of collaborative care and ethical practice for those who, like her, seek to educate, listen to, and guide patients toward treatments that transcend fleeting trends and instead align closely with their most authentic self-expression goals. In the context of rising calls for tighter regulation, greater transparency, and stronger safety standards, this episode is a warm, grounding conversation about Raquel’s philosophy and approach, as much as it is about what it takes to build trust and one’s responsibility as a practitioner. Her insights cover what a consultation informed by her worldview and life experience entails, how she holds patient vulnerability with integrity as people face increasingly unrealistic standards, and how she balances it all with business growth. Connect with Raquel Merlini (RN-CANS) Learn more about Raquel and R SKIN here and apply or contribute to the Raquel Merlini Pay it Forward Scholarship here. TikTok: @rskinaesthetics Instagram: @rskinnurseraquel, @rskinadmission, @rskinaesthetics LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raquel-m-14947b21/ All things Phorest Find out how Phorest helps the top salons & aesthetic clinics steer their business toward happier clients, productive teams and bigger growth. Say hello to life with Phorest! Learn more about the Phorest Summit & secure your tickets: https://www.phorestsummit.com/ Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Click here to subscribe to the PhorestFM email newsletter. This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed. Great music makes great moments.

Greg and Joanne Starkman started Innersense Organic Beauty out of a genuine concern for people's health, hair, and the planet. Built on a shared belief that beauty could be both high-performance and deeply intentional, her work as Chief Visionary Officer is a natural extension of Joanne's lifelong commitment to clean beauty and holistic wellness, and the healing potential of the hair industry. Following her time in Ireland at the Sacred Spiral Retreat, where she studied indigenous practices of the wise women of Ireland, this conversation moves through reflections on land, lineage, responsibility, presence and the inner work required to lead with intention. This episode is an invitation to reflect on what it means to honour the traditions that shape us, care for those around us, return to self, create space for transformation in business and a reminder that growth is not always about pushing harder, but rather to keep re-aligning with our values and truths. Connect with Joanne Starkman and Innersense Organic Beauty For Joanne’s podcast, check out Trust Your Innersense with Joanne Starkman, and EP58 for her interview with Louise Keane or EP59 for her solo cast unpacking her experience at the Sacred Spiral Retreat. For Innersense Organic Beauty, learn more about the brand and mission here and here (salon pros) Connect with both Joanne and Innersense on Instagram @trustyourinnersense, @joannestarkman, @innersensepro, @innersenseorganicbeauty All things Phorest Learn more about the Phorest Summit & secure your tickets for 2027: https://www.phorestsummit.com/ Learn more about Phorest Software. Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Click here to subscribe to the PhorestFM email newsletter. This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed. Great music makes great moments.

[329] AI is soon coming to Phorest, and this serves as officially non-officially the first conversation in a string of ones to be sprinkled into the podcast’s schedule during Season 10. A version of this conversation could easily live in extremes, but this one does not. Rather, it asks a valid and core question of our time: How do you adopt new technology, AI & automation more precisely, without losing what makes your business human? In this episode, joined by guest co-host Rich Cullen (Principal Product Designer at Phorest), we sit down with Jennifer Jade Alvarez, founder of Naperville, Illinois’ Refined Beauty, to discuss what it has been like to bring AI and automation tools into various areas of her business. And beyond discussing tools, we also spend time discussing decisions: what to automate, the trust factor, and what should perhaps never be automated in a beauty and wellness business. We unpack the opportunities, the trade-offs, the real-world lessons—including what happens when AI gets it wrong—and the paybacks. All of it, with a deep belief that the businesses that win in the future won’t be the ones to remove the human touch. They’ll be the ones who remove friction around the craft and care. Connect with Jennifer Jade Alvarez Download Jennifer’s Top 50 Ways Salon Owners Buy Back Their Time: A free checklist using AI, automations, and virtual assistants Learn more about the Salon CEO Method™ coaching program, listen to the Beauty Business Game Changer Podcast, and connect with Jennifer on Instagram @JenniferJadeAlvarez All things Phorest Learn more about the Phorest Summit & secure your tickets for 2027: https://www.phorestsummit.com/ Learn more about Phorest Software. Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Click here to subscribe to the PhorestFM email newsletter. This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed. Great music makes great moments.

[328] Thinking about change can often bring up questions about readiness. Are we ready to move into this bigger space, to move cities, to grow the team? Juliann Upton, the founder and driving force behind Mesh Hair Studio, Nail Bar & Head Spa, would probably tell you the distinction between change that lands at your doorstep and change that you initiate matters less than what you do once it's standing in front of you. That's when, with some curiosity, perhaps the more intimidating questions emerge: Are we willing to honor the pull toward something more? Are we willing to let this rearrange ourselves, or a part of our identity? As we trace the pivotal moments of her 20+ year career in roughly 60 mins — a challenge in itself — Juliann shares the key lessons she’s learned along the way. And if you pay attention, you’ll find that each meaningful chapter she seems to have begun when she met her future self halfway, in the unknown. If you’ve been looking for a sign or a gentle nudge to trust yourself in whatever decision or change is waiting on you, perhaps this is your invitation to recognize and act on the moments that invite you to grow. Connect with Juliann Upton To learn more about Mesh Hair Studio, Nail Bar & Head Spa, click here. Instagram: @meshhairstudio, @juliannikki References On Martha Graham: Smithsonian Mag, Biography, Martha Graham History. For Kitty Knorr's Reel on creativity and change, click here. All things Phorest Learn more about the Phorest Summit & secure your tickets for 2027: https://www.phorestsummit.com/ Learn more about Phorest Software. Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Click here to subscribe to the PhorestFM email newsletter. This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed. Great music makes great moments.

In this second (and final) bonus episode from the Salon Owners Summit 2026, more on-the-floor reactions from salon, spa, and clinic owners attending the event, an overview recap of the 2026 lineup and a candid conversation with Davina Devine, one of Ireland’s most recognizable drag queens and cabaret showgirls (@davina.devine on Instagram). Briefly stepping away from her hosting and emcee duties of the day, the discussion explored Davina's flavour of drag, how she goes about warming up a crowd, and her relationship to the industry. For more about Davina Devine and to inquire about bookings, click here. For her podcast, Petty Little Things, click here. Learn more about the Phorest Summit & secure your tickets for 2027: https://www.phorestsummit.com/ Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Click here to subscribe to the PhorestFM email newsletter or here to learn more about Phorest Salon Software. This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed. Great music makes great moments.

[327] You’re booked and busy; what every business owner wants. But has over-functioning ever felt safer (or at the very least more familiar) than to say, “I feel like I’m drowning”? If the answer is yes, you’re not alone. In fact, Heather Harris — nationally recognised stylist, salon owner, business leader, and celebrated speaker — knows this all too well. This week’s conversation focuses on delegation. At its heart, though, it focuses on the emotional experience of the shifts you are forced to make when you start delegating:  Renegotiating with yourself what success actually looks like Letting go of that part of your identity that ties success and/or value to how much you output Shifting from being an owner-operator to becoming a CEO Shifting from being a firefighter to becoming an architect in your business Because at the end of the day, delegation is an identity renegotiation, and it’s about choosing where your care actually belongs. As the Founder/CEO of Spark Pro Global—an agency providing trained executive assistants—Heather’s here to tell you that you can, in fact, build a business that doesn’t require you to lose yourself in the process. To avail of the complimentary consultation to implement strategic delegation in your salon, graciously offered by Heather, visit Alchemy Salon Consulting and leave a note in the form saying you heard about it through the PhorestFM podcast! Otherwise, learn more about Spark Pro Global / Spark Pro Salon, listen to Heather's podcast here, and connect with her on Instagram @heather.tantrumsalon @sparkproglobal Click here to read Brittany Dennison's "Delegate to Elevate" blog, and here for the "10 PhorestFM Podcast Conversations That Quietly Said the Loudest Things" Learn more about the Phorest Summit & secure your tickets for 2027: https://www.phorestsummit.com/ Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Click here to subscribe to the PhorestFM email newsletter or here to learn more about Phorest Salon Software. This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed. Great music makes great moments.

Calvin Stovall, customer experience and leadership keynote speaker, joins the show live from the Salon Owners Summit 2026, shortly after his main-stage talk on the art of the 'WOW' experience. In this conversation, Calvin shares the story behind his own “why,” how his book Hidden Hospitality: Untold Stories of Black Hotel, Motel, and Resort Owners from the Pioneer Days to the Civil Rights Era came to be, and connects lessons from historic Black hoteliers to practical customer experience and leadership principles. Plus, on-the-floor reactions from salon, spa and clinic owners attending the event, and a look ahead to the Phorest Summit 2027. Connect with Calvin Stovall on Instagram @iconicspeaker Learn more about the Phorest Summit & secure your tickets for 2027: https://www.phorestsummit.com/ Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Click here to subscribe to the PhorestFM email newsletter or here to learn more about Phorest Salon Software. This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed. Great music makes great moments.