From a party in Amsterdam to a global sustainability movement 🌍 - partners in life and business, Paul Frasca and Ewelina Soroko, share the incredible 10-year journey behind Sustainable Salons.

Discover how their vision turned one of the most high-waste industries into a powerful force for good - transforming how salons think about recycling, community impact, and the future of beauty.

In this inspiring episode, we dive into the highs, the hurdles, and what’s next for Sustainable Salons as they continue to lead the eco-revolution in hair and beauty.

💚 Listen now on your favourite podcast platform.

In this episode, we sit down with legendary educator Sharon Blain OAM, the visionary behind HAIR The Movement, a groundbreaking new event set to reshape the future of hair education. Taking place 14–16 September in Sydney, this first-of-its-kind, 3-day powerhouse event brings together more than 35 global educators and artists for an unparalleled celebration of craft, creativity, and community.

HAIR The Movement is on a mission: to return high-quality, technical training to the forefront of the industry. Across three action-packed days, attendees will refine their skills, explore emerging trends, and gain access to world-class insights from local and international leaders. From colour and cutting to styling, texture, and artistry, the program is designed to futureproof hairdressing and empower stylists with the tools they need for sustainable success.

Sharon shares the story behind creating this event, why now is the time for change, and how HAIR The Movement is set to unite, inspire, and master the next chapter of our industry. Whether you’re a salon owner, educator, or emerging stylist, this is the episode - and the event - you don’t want to miss.

Learn more and see the full lineup at hairthemovement.com  ✂️✨

In our latest episode of the AHC Podcast, we dive deep into the art of motivating and managing diverse salon teams, especially apprentices. Discover tailored strategies to engage staff of all ages and personalities while fostering a thriving work environment. 👍

Our podcast guest is Estelle Carroll from BOSS Coaching, who empowers ambitious salon owners and their teams to excel by providing tailored strategies in leadership, communication, and business systems. They focus on building confident leaders, high-performing teams, and successful salons across Australia and New Zealand. 🏆

Join us as we explore how salon owners can achieve sustainable business growth without sacrificing their personal well-being. With insights on effective leadership and communication, we share ideas to help you transform challenges into lasting success. ✅

Tune in and empower your salon to excel ✂️✨

Thank you for joining us Estelle. If you'd like to learn more about BOSS Coaching, please visit: https://www.bosscoaching.com.au/

'Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.'

Today's guest on the AHC podcast is Selina Tomasich, the founder and CEO of Hair Aid. For those of you who don't know about Hair Aid, it is a not-for-profit organisation that teaches people living in poverty the skill of haircutting. Learning how to cut hair means these people can start up their own micro businesses, cutting hair in their own communities so they can earn money to support their families and and address those every day essentials that we privileged often take for granted - buying fresh food and water, educating their children, providing a roof over their heads.

It's a life-changing experience for these participants and also for the hairdressers involved.

From humble beginnings, Hair Aid now has seven international projects that happen each year in very impoverished communities around the world. Alongside these projects, it also has another initiative affecting lives of Australians called Hair Aid Community Cuts - HACS for short - working in 85 communities around Australia, providing free haircuts to people who cannot afford them.

So as you can gather, there is a lot going on at the Hair Aid camp, and it's a wonderful story, so settle in and listen up to the very inspiring Selina Tomasich, we are sure you'll want to jump on the bandwagon and be part of changing someone's life.

To learn more about Hair Aid, visit: https://hairaid.org.au/

Many salons are experiencing challenges in their businesses in 2024. So we've invited a couple of our esteemed AHC members - aka our 'brains trust' - to chat about all the pain points that business owners might be currently feeling, and offer advice on how to overcome them. 👏👏👏

Helen Owens has been the owner of four beautiful Tigerlamb salons in Brisbane for 18 years and employs 40 staff. Tom Donato has just moved on after 34 years as the owner and founder of Xiang Hair to focus on his RazorSmiths barber shops and his new coaching business. Both are highly experienced and respected salon owners, with strong business plans to weather economic ups and downs. And of course, our esteemed CEO Sandy Chong has been a salon owner for 40 years and has an encyclopedia of wealth behind her when it comes to business and industry. What a dynamic trio! 🥰

We hope you enjoy this discussion from this panel of hairdressing royalty as they discuss all things business, from getting new clients through the door, keeping your existing clients happy and loyal, looking after your team, and a host of other valuable tips for salon owners and hairdressers. Thank you Helen and Tom for your insights! 🙏

In our last episode, we introduced you to Tom Ferrier, founded of Greener, whose team is on a mission to make getting greener the better, easier choice and helping end climate change. And today we are welcoming back Tom, because he's really got a lot to say and share when it comes to how small business can do better business whilst saving money and benefitting the planet.

Often when we talk about being more 'green' in the running of our small businesses, we assume that it's just big businesses that will have the most impact on a climate problem. However that's definitely not true. Small businesses make up 99% of businesses in Australia and are the backbone of our economy. They also are responsible for 40% of Australia's carbon emissions, which refers to everything that your business does and buys throughout the year. 

So what is Greener? Well, it's a super easy platform that helps businesses save money and emissions at the same time. In just two minutes, business owners can log on and get their own tailored, climate action plan that's underpinned with market leading offers across their entire business, including energy, transport, appliances, waste, and so much more. So you can save money, feel good, and help shift the needle on this important problem.

Why the AHC is partnering with Greener

For too long, getting greener has been seen as too complicated and too expensive. To shift the needle on climate action, we need to make being more sustainable the better, easier choice.

Put simply, we believe if we can help businesses save money by going green, we can make a meaningful impact and help end climate change.

How Greener for Business works

Greener takes the guesswork out of becoming more sustainable, with a simple step-by-step climate action plan designed by experts. Plus, tools and resources, and exclusive supplier offers that make it easy to save money while reducing your carbon footprint.

If you'd like to learn how Greener can be really valuable for not just your business, but also our industry, tune in now.

And if you're an AHC member, you can join up to Greener and start saving money and the planet for FREE (save $288). To learn more visit: https://greener.com.au/ahc-exclusive-greener-offer/?referrer=ahc

The AHC has always had a commitment to sustainability, and we love to team up with people that are passionate about making a different to our planet. 

Today we'd like to introduce you to Tom Ferrier, founder of Greener, whose team is on a mission to make getting greener the better, easier choice and helping end climate change. 

So what is Greener? Well, it's a super easy platform that helps businesses save money and emissions at the same time. In just two minutes, business owners can log on and get their own tailored, climate action plan that's underpinned with market leading offers across their entire business, including energy, transport, appliances, waste, and so much more.

Why the AHC is partnering with Greener

For too long, getting greener has been seen as too complicated and too expensive. To shift the needle on climate action, we need to make being more sustainable the better, easier choice.

Put simply, we believe if we can help businesses save money by going green, we can make a meaningful impact and help end climate change.

How Greener for Business works

Greener takes the guesswork out of becoming more sustainable, with a simple step-by-step climate action plan designed by experts. Plus, tools and resources, and exclusive supplier offers that make it easy to save money while reducing your carbon footprint.

If you'd like to learn how Greener can be really valuable for not just your business, but also our industry, tune in now.

And if you're an AHC member, you can join up to Greener and start saving money and the planet for FREE (save $288). To learn more visit: https://greener.com.au/ahc-exclusive-greener-offer/?referrer=ahc

As a business owner, you should be paying for the rights to play music in your salon, whether you simply have the radio on in the background, or play your favourite playlists via streaming services such as Spotify.

Why you ask? Well, just like how every creative - including hairdressers - deserves to be rewarded when people use their services, music is no different.

There are always so many questions when it comes to music licensing and copyrights... How do you work out the fees? Who gets paid? Does the money really go to the performers and song writers?

To explain everything about music licensing fees and small business, today we welcome back to the AHC podcast Catherine Guiliano from One Music, which is a joint venture platform between two music rights organisations:

APRA - which represents song writers
PPCA - which represents sound recording / performing artists

People who use music in a business must seek permission from the song writer and recording artist to do so. One Music represents these artists by way of a licensing agreement, and ensures that the creatives are being paid for their work.

The team at One Music have created a survey to gain feedback from the hairdressing and barber industries to learn more about what business owners know about music licensing and what they think is fair when it comes to fees and charges. We'd love for you to please complete the survey - it's super quick, under one minute - as your input will help shape the future of how music licensing and small business can work together.

Access the survey here: https://form.jotform.com/241058213260041

If you'd like to learn more about One Music, visit the website: https://onemusic.com.au/

The AHC has always had a really great relationship with the Australian Taxation Office, and the reason for that is we strongly believe it's so important that our members and the wider hair industry understand their obligations when it comes to paying  taxes. 

Today's guest on the AHC podcast is Emma Tobias, an ATO assistant commissioner who specialises in small business taxation. Emma has some amazing tips, advice, information about incentives, and so much more during this interview. 

Now when it comes to small businesses, there is no 'one size fits all' approach, as there are many different shapes and sizes. Which is why it's essential that you understand what your tax obligations are for your particular business structure to ensure you are compliant.

Emma also has kindly shared some great resources to support small business owners when it comes to taxation obligations:

- Essentials to strengthen your small business online learning platform:

Essentials to strengthen your small business 

- Skill and Training boosts:

https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/income-deductions-and-concessions/income-and-deductions-for-business/deductions/small-business-skills-and-training-boost

You can find a whole lot more on the ATO website here:
https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations 

Australia is a very multicultural country, there's no doubt about it. And with the rainbow of nationalities that reside here comes a myriad of hair styles, colours and textures.

Most hairdressers are accustomed to working with the most common hair type - straight and fair - however when it comes to textured locks, there's definitely a fear factor, most likely brought on by a lack of understanding and training in these specific types of hair.

Today's guests on the AHC podcast are AHC member Alannah Read from Ella & Jade salon in Brisbane and Lani Masuku from Organic SUKU. We'll be chatting to these talented and knowledgable ladies about all things textured hair and the need to not only understand it, but also effectively train our staff to be able to provide a service for those clients who visit our salons with these particular hair types.

As hairdressers, it's important that we are able to competently handle every hair type. This interview covers not only what textured hair looks like in all its forms, but also what our industry needs to do when it comes to learning something different and how to embrace these new discoveries... Because most of you would agree that textured hair education is sadly lacking when it comes to training in our industry.

Learn more about Organic SUKU here: https://organicsuku.com/