If Covid taught us anything, it was not that cash was king, but CASHFLOW was king. When you have things like a global pandemic, extended lockdowns, client cancellations, all out of your control, it really does prove that you need to have your cashflow in order and also back up for a rainy day.

So today we are talking with AHC member and salon owner Anthony Giorgio from the Acqua Lounge in Adelaide, who shares with us his Top 5 tips on how to get your cashflow in order. Please note that Anthony is not an accountant, so any tips in this session are from his own experience as a salon owner and what works for his business specifically. Obviously you need to discuss with your own network, such as an accountant, business coach, supplier, landlord, bank etc what works for your unique circumstances. 

Over to you Anthony!

Is your appointment book FULL, but you STILL can't seem to make enough money? 

Do your staff work hard, but still don't hit their targets?

Are you working WAY harder than your staff but paying yourself LESS than an employee?

Profitability requires a whole new set of skills. And unfortunately we don't learn this when we earn our qualification.  So we've invited business coach Kym Krey aka The Salon Mentor to talk to us today about Pricing Services Profitably, and more specifically, the 10 biggest mistakes we make when pricing our salon services.

Kym has an online program all about this topic, as well as a host of other great educational tools on subjects including leadership, retail mastery, profitability and much more. You can learn more about Pricing Services Profitably here: https://programs.kymkrey.com.au/PricingServicesProfitably...

And if you are interested in chatting to Kym about business coaching, you can get in touch with her at https://www.kymkrey.com.au/

Today 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 guest today needs no introduction. She’s an industry icon, business owner, hairdresser, passionate industry advocate and also the CEO of the Australian Hairdressing Council, Sandy Chong. Growing up as a square peg in a round hole, Sandy faced racism and bullying before finding her tribe in the world of hair. ‘Little Sandy’ progressed from a shy apprentice to today being an industry trailblazer who spends her days doing everything she can to benefit Australian hairdressing.

Grab a cuppa and tune in as Sandy shares her inspiring story with us on The Schmooze. 

How are these stats: 😱

👉 Client retention/rebookings: +90%

👉 Retail sales: +483%

👉 Apprentices: almost full columns

How? Keep listening! 👏

Today's guest on the AHC podcast series is Jonina Menzies from Maiden Hair in Nowra, on the NSW South Coast. Jonina has very kindly agreed to share her story with our audience, and the reason we asked her on the show is because hers is a great example of pivoting your business model and achieving phenomenal success. 👏👏👏

Jonina has transformed from a business owner trying to find a point of difference that would make her salon stand out from the competition, to now being a curl specialist salon, with her own product range and education company under the brand @yeshairau

She has also developed the ‘Curls Made Easy’ routine that has had three key benefits for her business: 👇

🌸 Incredibly high client retention and rebooking rates, more than 90%

🌸 Retail sales increased by 483%

🌸 All junior staff now bring a high amount of revenue into the salon and apprentices are qualifying with almost a full column

Jonina is very passionate about her journey and is happy to chat to other salon owners about how to implement more curl strategies into their businesses and engaging profitable apprentices. If you’d like to learn more about the Yes Hair curly hair products and accessories or in-salon education, you can learn more at: https://yeshair.com.au

As a business owner, do you see yourself as a ‘Leader’ or an ‘Owner’ 

Are you the boss of the business, with a clear hierarchy, or do you muck in with the team share the load?

Today's Business Snips video and podcast covers exactly this subject - Leadership - and we are chatting to AHC member and salon owner Anthony Giorgio from Acqua Lounge Hair Studio in Adelaide. Anthony and his wife have been in business for 15 years and have been fortunate to have a high staff retention rate - although it wasn’t always that way.

Anthony shares with us his transition from Boss to Leader, as well as some of the strategies and techniques he uses to engage and retain his team, and how his salon culture is the biggest driver of this successful business. 

Today on the AHC Podcast we are launching our first 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.

To kick off this new series, our guest today is Rumbie Mutsiwa, founder of Rumbie & Co salon and academy in Chippendale, Sydney. Originally from Zimbabwe, Rumbie came to Sydney to study psychology, but after discovering how little education and knowledge there was in the Australian market about working with textured hair, her career took a left turn and led her down the pathway of hairdressing. Grab a cuppa and tune in as Rumbie shares her story with us on The Schmooze.

How's your wellbeing? Are you a 'well being'? 

Running a business is always a challenge, but it's been so much more over the last couple of years. It's so important that we look after ourselves when we are also looking after our businesses, our teams and our loved ones.

Today's podcast  covers exactly this subject - wellness. Our featured guests are Garth and Susie Russell from Wellbeings & Co.  Their motto is: Healthy Team, Healthy Business, Healthy YOU.

This husband-and-wife team has been coaching, engaging, and influencing for over 60 years collectively. Garth as a professional interviewer, radio broadcaster and preventative health advocate. Susie as highly qualified educator, mentor, and facilitator. 

Clients are able to unlock their true value by engaging in any of our holistic online wellbeing programs which run anywhere from one to six weeks, and people can build on the momentum gained, by having us as coaches, either individually or as a group. Garth and Susie also deliver PEP Talks (People Empowering People) adjusted to your needs and time frames.

If you'd like to know more about the work that Garth and Susie do, please visit: https://www.wellbeingsandco.com.au/

So, what are we doing today?” Have you or your team been guilty of saying this to a client? Or do you think it’s a phrase that should be banned from every hairdresser’s script?

Today we’re talking to one of our favourite grand dames of the industry, Faye Murray, about one of her favourite subjects - processing clients. And unfortunately, it happens every day in salons all over the world. In fact, you’ve probably been processed as a client at a restaurant or cafe or even at the supermarket. It’s language that isn’t necessarily rude; it’s more about having a zero care factor. It’s repetitive, not personalised. Here’s an example…

Processing client: Hi Anna, how are you today? Please take a seat. 

Warm welcome: Hi Anna, I can see that this is the first time you’ve visited our salon - welcome! I’m sure you’re going to enjoy your visit with us. You’re being looked after by Lia, she’s lovely and very talented, so no doubt you’ll walk out of here looking and feeling fantastic. Please come over to our lounge and let me take your coat. Lia will be with you shortly. 

See the difference? 

Have a think about the language and vibe your team is giving off to your guests. Are they providing honest and sincere personalised service to your clients? Or just moving people from point A to point B and repeating the same language to everyone - ie processing clients?

If you’d like to know more about how business coach Faye Murray might be able to help your salon business, she has a number of resources and services at her website, check it out here: https://yourcoach.net.au/

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. 

Neil Osborne explains the concept of spendsuasion and how it can work effectively in your business. Basically, it bridges the gap between the client walking in and knowing what they want, and you as the professional knowing what they need. You can make more money from the clients you already have, doubling your treatments, add-on sales and retail, all using persuasion.

Thanks for your time and sharing your knowledge Neil! If you’d like to know more about the art of Spendsuasion, visit www.spendsuasion.com.au. 

Today we're back with Christo Hall, co-founder of Basic Bananas Marketing Mentoring, and we're talking all about smart email marketing tactics that are working in 2022. So, strategies you can use for your salon to help nurture your relationships with your customers and ultimately generate more sales. 

The goal of email marketing is for your audience to see you as a trusted advisor. And at the end of the day, if all the social media platforms in the world disappeared, you still own your database. So discovering ways to maximise its impact is smart business.

If you'd like to learn more about what Basic Bananas can do for your business, visit: https://www.basicbananas.com/