Heal The Industry

What if the biggest thing standing between you and the life, career, or business you want isn't your skill… but the story you've been believing?

In this episode of Heal The Industry, I'm joined by my dear friend, Layne, who brings a unique perspective from working alongside salon owners and stylists across the country. Together, we unpack the mindset traps that quietly keep so many people stuck—from fear of what others will think, to limiting beliefs, worst-case scenario thinking, and the stories we create that keep us from taking the next step.

We talk about:

• Why talent isn't usually the thing holding people back.
• How to separate feelings from facts when making decisions.
• The difference between solving symptoms and solving the real problem.
• Why growth always requires discomfort.
• How the people around you shape the way you see yourself.
• The simple mindset shifts that can change the trajectory of your career and your life.

Healing doesn't begin when your circumstances change.

It begins when your thinking does.

If you've been feeling stuck, second-guessing yourself, or waiting for confidence before taking action, this conversation is for you.

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What if the aches, stiffness, numbness, and exhaustion we've accepted as "part of the job" were never supposed to be normal?

In this episode of the Heal The Industry Podcast, I sit down with Renee Petersen to have a conversation every hairstylist, salon owner, and beauty professional needs to hear. Together, we uncover one of the biggest conversations our industry has been avoiding: the physical toll behind the chair.

For years, we've been taught how to perfect our craft—but rarely how to protect the body that makes our career possible. The result? Countless talented professionals leaving the industry because their bodies simply can't keep up.

Renee shares her journey of discovering the root causes of occupational pain in hairdressers and how she and her partner, Ty, created practical methods to help stylists prevent injury, recover from years of repetitive strain, and build careers that last.

This isn't just a conversation about pain.

It's a conversation about changing what we've accepted as normal.

Because healing the industry doesn't just mean creating better businesses—it means creating healthier people.

If you've ever ended a day behind the chair wondering how much longer your body can do this... this episode is for you.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why pain has become so normalized in the beauty industry
• The hidden causes behind repetitive strain injuries
• How posture and daily habits impact career longevity
• Practical ways to protect your body before injuries become permanent
• What it looks like to build a career that doesn't cost you your health

It's time to stop surviving your career and start building one your body can sustain.

Because we've normalized broken.

Now it's time to heal.

Follow Renee on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/hairbyreneekatina

20% off Prevention Project for HTI Community Listeners!

Use code: HEAL at check out

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Everyone gets excited about Quarter 1.

Fresh goals. Big vision. New motivation.

But then Quarter 3 arrives... and for many salon owners and stylists, the momentum starts to fade. Summer schedules get busy, vacations fill the calendar, and before you know it, you're reacting instead of leading.

In this episode, Ashlee shares why Quarter 3 is one of the most overlooked opportunities of the year—and how the habits you build now will determine how you finish the year.

This isn't another motivational episode. It's a tactical conversation packed with practical steps you can implement immediately to create momentum, protect your time, and prepare your business for a strong finish.

Inside this episode, you'll learn how to:

• Conduct intentional Q3 one-on-ones with your team
• Review your goals and KPIs with consistency
• Build a "content bank" to stay consistent on social media
• Start planning holiday promotions before the chaos begins
• Identify tasks you can delegate, automate, or systemize
• Use the slower season to create more freedom instead of more stress

The leaders who thrive in Quarter 4 aren't the ones who hustle harder—they're the ones who prepared better in Quarter 3.

If you're ready to stop reacting to your business and start leading it with intention, this episode is for you.

If you want to go even deeper into these conversations, come join us inside the Heal The Industry Community. We'd love to welcome you with a complimentary 7-day trial and help you build a career—and a life—you don't have to recover from.

Leaders Community:

https://heal-the-industry.circle.so/checkout/heal-the-industry-leaders

Industry Community:

https://heal-the-industry.circle.so/checkout/heal-the-industry-community

What if the thing you’ve been trying to overcome is actually the thing you were meant to use?

In this episode of the Heal The Industry Podcast, Ashlee Vance opens up the conversation around turning pain into purpose — how the hardest seasons, the moments that stretch us, and the things we never would have chosen can become the very things that shape our calling.

So often we want to rush through the uncomfortable seasons, but growth happens when we’re willing to look at what those moments are teaching us instead of letting them define us.

This episode is a reminder that your story still has value, your experiences can create impact, and sometimes the thing you thought was breaking you was actually building something within you that could help someone else.

Your pain doesn’t have to end with you — it can become purpose.

Follow us @ http://www.instagram.com/heal.the.industry

Leaders: https://heal-the-industry.circle.so/checkout/heal-the-industry-leaders

Community: https://heal-the-industry.circle.so/checkout/heal-the-industry-community

Somebody did the thing. And instead of going to them, you went to everybody else — the group chat, the chair next to you, the conversation you won in the shower that never actually happened out loud. Right?

That's whisper culture, and it's quietly costing our industry teams, trust, and peace.

In this episode we get honest about why beauty pros would rather assume than ask — and how the story we tell ourselves does more damage than the thing that actually happened. Then I'm handing you a framework you can carry into any hard conversation: CLEAR — Come to the person, Lead with facts, Eliminate assumptions, Aim for the solution, and Repeat it back.

Because clarity isn't cold. Clarity is kindness. And the conversation you've been avoiding? This is the week you have it.

Stop rehearsing it. Say the thing.

http://www.instagram.com/heal.the.industry

What if the biggest risk isn't betting on yourself... but spending your life waiting for someone else to?

In this episode, Ashlee shares a deeply personal journey through the moments that shaped her career—from choosing beauty school when others questioned her decision, to building a clientele from scratch, launching a salon during uncertain times, and learning to trust God's leading even when the path didn't make sense on paper.

This isn't a conversation about confidence. It's a conversation about faith, obedience, and learning to trust what God has placed inside of you before you have all the answers.

Through stories of setbacks, pivots, opportunities, and hard decisions, Ashlee unpacks what it really means to bet on yourself—not from a place of self-reliance, but from a place of believing that God wouldn't have called you to it if He wasn't going to walk with you through it.

If you've been waiting for permission, certainty, or the perfect timing before taking your next step, this episode is your reminder:

You don't need to know how.
You need to know Who.

Because every breakthrough in your career, business, leadership, and life begins with a decision to believe that what's been placed inside of you is worth betting on.

In this episode:
• Why perfectionism can keep you from obedience
• The mindset shift that changed Ashlee's career
• How betting on yourself builds confidence through action
• What salon ownership taught her about faith and risk
• Why your next level may require trusting God before you see the outcome
• Learning to rise to the opportunities placed in front of you

Sometimes the most important investment you'll ever make is believing in the person God created you to be.

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In this episode of the Heal The Industry podcast, Ashlee sits down with Brigette Sobus, founder of Power and Joy Coaching Academy, to talk about the deeper work salon owners and leaders need in order to truly lead well.

From people-pleasing and money mindset to nervous system regulation, NLP, self-worth, and having the hard conversations — this conversation opens the door to what so many leaders are missing: the internal tools that make systems, leadership, communication, and growth actually sustainable.

Because healing the industry doesn’t just happen through better strategy.
It happens when leaders become emotionally healthy enough to lead.

@coachbrigettesobus

@heal.the.industry

Everyone says they want better boundaries.

More freedom.
Less burnout.
A stronger mindset.
A business that doesn't depend on them every minute of every day.

But when we recently polled salon owners, something surprising happened.

The overwhelming majority chose mindset, boundaries, and balance as their biggest needs—while systems and automation landed at the bottom of the list.

The problem?

Systems are the very thing that create the boundaries, freedom, and stability everyone is searching for.

In this episode, Ashlee Vance and Abigail Lacey unpack the paradox that keeps salon owners stuck in overwhelm. They discuss why so many leaders avoid systems, how emotional leadership creates unnecessary stress, and why structure is actually one of the most caring things you can provide for your team.

You'll learn:
• Why burnout is often a systems problem, not a motivation problem
• How data removes emotion from leadership decisions
• The connection between boundaries and business structure
• Why stability feels uncomfortable for entrepreneurs
• How to begin implementing systems without becoming overwhelmed

If you've been chasing freedom but still feel tied to your business, this episode will help you understand what may be missing.

Because boundaries aren't created by working harder.

They're created by building better systems.

www.instagram.com/heal.the.industry

www.instagram.com/ashlee.n.vance

www.instagram.com/abigail.ellesociety

This week, I’m getting real with you about something I don’t hear talked about nearly enough — staying connected to your body, and what happens when you spend years ignoring what it’s trying to tell you.

For the first time since 2020, I finally stopped. No move, no new salon build, no flying back and forth across time zones, no constant fight-or-flight. And in that stillness, my body finally let me feel everything I’d been pushing through: waking at 2 and 3 a.m., bone-deep exhaustion by mid-afternoon, eating clean and staying active with nothing to show for it, and zoning out mid-conversation no matter how hard I tried to stay present.

I’d blamed it on everything — time zones, caffeine, the season I was in. But a friend kept telling me to get my hormones checked. So I did. Turns out my testosterone (yes, women need it too) was so low it wasn’t even measurable. One treatment in, I felt like me again — present at my daughter’s softball game, sleeping through the night, dreaming again. I just wish I’d listened sooner.

I also share what our family is walking through with my son — years of being told his pain was “just growing pains” until we pushed for answers and learned he has a rare autoimmune condition called CRMO. Both stories taught me the same two things, and they’re what this whole episode is about: stop treating the symptom and get to the root of the problem — and trust your instincts, because that intuition was put inside you for a reason.

Whether you’re a stylist, a salon owner, a mom, or someone who’s quietly been pushing through — this one’s for you. Above all else: heal.

DM me on Instagram @heal.the.industry to tell me what came up for you. If it spoke to you, share it with a friend who needs to hear it, and leave a rating or review. Want to be a guest? The application link is in our IG bio.

Technology is changing the beauty industry fast and for a lot of stylists and salon owners, it feels overwhelming. In this episode, Abigail Lacey joins us to have an honest conversation about AI, leadership, and what it really means to adapt without losing the heart behind your brand.

We talk about the fears so many people have around technology replacing authenticity, and why AI is actually becoming one of the most powerful tools for creating more freedom, efficiency, organization, and impact inside your business.

From content creation and onboarding systems to leadership support, data analysis, SOPs, and education, Abigail shares real ways she is integrating tools like Claude and Otter AI into everyday salon operations to save time and reduce overwhelm while still keeping the human connection at the center.

This conversation is not about replacing people.
It’s about equipping leaders.
It’s about working smarter.
And it’s about helping the industry evolve without burning out the people inside of it.

If you’ve ever said “I’m not a tech person,” this episode is for you.

Because the future of the beauty industry won’t belong to the people who avoid change.
It will belong to the people willing to learn, adapt, and lead well through it.