If your salon has great results but empty chairs, the problem likely isn’t your skill or service.

It’s your salon marketing.

In this episode of The Salon Rebel, your host Charlie Crothers is joined by Megan Hayden, Founder of Plush Locks.

Together, they share the real side of entrepreneurship in the salon industry.

From shutting down mentorship programs, adapting to industry disruption, and building a scalable salon - to delivering life-changing hair loss solutions for women…

Charlie and Megan share powerful insights for salon owners

This episode also reveals the Scalp 360 hair systems, the emotional reality of female hair loss, and the behind-the-scenes business decisions most salon owners never talk about.

Tune in to hear about:

👉How paid ads actually bring ideal clients into salons

👉How Scalp 360 customised hair systems work (casting, silicone bases & hand-injected hair)

👉How Megan transitioned off the salon floor without destroying the business

👉Great client retention rate, but still not busy enough? Hear what you need to do

👉The myth of “work-life balance” while scaling a salon or beauty business

👉Motherhood, leadership, outsourcing & boundaries as a salon owner

If you run a salon or beauty business, are thinking about paid ads for your salon, or want to understand modern hair replacement systems - this episode is for you.

Key moments:

00:01:00 The Circle Mentorship Fail

00:06:40 Plush Locks Brand Explained

00:09:00 Chinese Factories Disruption

00:13:20 Introducing Scalp 360

00:16:00 Custom Silicone Hair Systems

00:21:00 Sponsorship and Team Growth

00:26:00 Emotional Impact of Hair Loss

00:29:00 Why Megan Needed Ads

00:38:00 Meta Ads Results Breakdown

00:44:20 Google Reviews Strategy

00:50:00 Handling Bad Reviews

If you want to know how a salon owner juggles three businesses, gets off the floor, and fills chairs with ideal clients using ads - hit play now.

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💙Connect with Megan

https://www.instagram.com/meghan_plushlocks/

https://www.instagram.com/plushlocks_thesalon/

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💙Connect With Charlie💙

https://www.instagram.com/thebiztoolboutique/

https://www.instagram.com/thesalonrebelpodcast/

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💙About The Biz Tool Boutique 💙

With 15+ years experience and a team of almost 20 - Charlie Crothers started The Biz Tool Boutique to help other salon owners increase cash flow & team performance like she has…

So they can create the freedom and income they deserve.

Tap Below To Access Tools and Resources for Service-Based Business Owners.

https://www.thebiztoolboutique.com.au/

Ep.37 🎙️Did January disappear before you could actually set your salon up for the year?

If you treated January like a deadline for having everything figured out (but you haven’t) - don't stress.

Consistency matters more than a strong January start.

In this episode of The Salon Rebel Podcast, Charlie breaks down how she intentionally plans her business at the start of the year.

She also explains how to stay focused, profitable, and calm all year - without the pressure of big New Year's goals.

Tune in to hear about:

👉 Why January is better used as preparation… and how that sets February up for profit

👉 How to protect your cash flow before BAS and tax payments land

👉 What to look for when auditing pricing using real breakevens and expenses

👉 How to spot services that should be raised, fixed, or removed entirely

👉 The simple way to make revenue more predictable across your booking calendar

👉 What to plan in your team structure before performance reviews begin

👉 How to grow your salon without sacrificing family time or real downtime

In this episode, you’ll get world-class advice and insights on cash flow, pricing, ads, team structure, and energy management - especially for salon owners balancing business, family, and growth without burning out.

Key moments:

00:01:00 New year planning

00:03:40 February is the new January

00:04:40 CEO Planner for organizing ideas

00:06:00 Preparing for quarterly tax payments

00:08:00 Annual pricing and breakeven audit

00:10:00 Profit per hour consistency

00:12:40 Reviewing and refreshing ad campaigns

00:15:00 Team structure and role design

00:18:00 Protecting your free time

If you're a salon owner ready to plan smarter without burning out, press play now.

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💙Connect With Charlie💙

https://www.instagram.com/thebiztoolboutique/

https://www.instagram.com/thesalonrebelpodcast/

-

💙About The Biz Tool Boutique 💙

With 15+ years experience and a team of almost 20 - Charlie Crothers started The Biz Tool Boutique to help other salon owners increase cash flow & team performance like she has…

So they can create the freedom and income they deserve.

Tap Below To Access Tools and Resources for Service-Based Business Owners.

https://www.thebiztoolboutique.com.au/

Ep.36 🎙️What do hotels, restaurants, and high-performing salons have in common?They all succeed or fail on the same things:

Staff culture, leadership, client experience, and systems.

In this episode of the Salon Rebel Podcast, your host Charlie Crothers sits down with Tim Buckton.

Tim is a hospitality entrepreneur and hotel operator behind multiple restaurants, bars, and boutique hotels in Western Australia.

Whilst Tim’s background is in hospitality, the lessons in this conversation translate powerfully to salons, spas, and other customer-facing businesses.

If you’re a salon owner, spa owner, or service-based business owner struggling with staff retention, culture, reviews, or scaling beyond yourself, this episode is a must-watch.

Tune in to hear about:

✅How to scale a service business while maintaining a great culture

✅Staff retention strategies that actually work

✅Incentive structures for managers and team leaders

✅Why Google reviews matter more than most marketing

✅Pricing, transparency, and value perception for clients

✅Building loyalty without discounting your brand

✅Partnerships, ownership structures, and growth decisions

Tim shares real-world experiences and insights from running customer-facing businesses - many of which draw direct parallels with the salon industry.

Key moments:

00:02:20 How Tim fell into hospitality

00:10:40 The key to higher prices

00:15:40 Target market insights

00:16:40 The lighting trick from a Las Vegas consultant

00:25:00 How to keep top managers loyal

00:27:20 Google reviews vs traditional marketing

00:39:00 Managing seasonal business

00:52:40 The 235-room pod hotel

00:59:40 Developing your general manager from within

If you run a service business and want to know how successful operators actually think about staff, pricing, and customer experience, tune in now.

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💙Connect with Tim💙

https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothy-buckton-3aab5188

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🎙️ About The Salon Rebel Podcast 🎙️

Hosted by Charlie Crothers, is a journey into the heart of entrepreneurial passion and rebellion. Charlie, a multi-faceted business entrepreneur, shares the story of her life, intertwined with invaluable insights from her experiences in entrepreneurship ranging from her personal life to Salon Ownership, E-commerce Founder and Digital Creator. Each episode is a mix of the good, the bad, and the sometimes ugly realities of running a business, providing listeners with relatable content and hope. She emphasises that success often comes from stepping outside the industry 'norm.'

Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesalonrebelpodcast/

Biz Tool Boutique Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebiztoolboutique/

Find out more about The Biz Tool Boutique - Tools and Resources for Service-Based Business Owners:

https://www.thebiztoolboutique.com.au/

The Nest Hair Boutique:

https://thenesthairboutique.com.au/

Ep.35 🎙️ In this episode of Salon Rebel, Mathew Pound joins the podcast for a deep and honest conversation about his unconventional path into entrepreneurship, creativity, and business building.Mathew shares his early struggles with school, leaving finance to follow passion, and how learning to sell himself became a turning point. From launching early events and boat parties to managing multiple businesses and creative projects, this episode explores the mindset shifts required to grow without burning out.

Where to find Matthew;

Bright Tsars; https://brighttsar.com/

Beagl Buyers Agent: https://www.beagl.au/

Varsity: https://www.varsity.com.au/

🎙️ About The Salon Rebel Podcast Hosted by Charlie Crothers, is a journey into the heart of entrepreneurial passion and rebellion. Charlie, a multi-faceted business entrepreneur, shares the story of her life, intertwined with invaluable insights from her experiences in entrepreneurship ranging from her personal life to Salon Ownership, E-commerce Founder and Digital Creator. Each episode is a mix of the good, the bad, and the sometimes ugly realities of running a business, providing listeners with relatable content and hope. She emphasises that success often comes from stepping outside the industry 'norm.'

Podcast Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thesalonrebelpodcast⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Biz Tool Boutique Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thebiztoolboutique/⁠⁠⁠

Find out more about The Biz Tool Boutique - Tools and Resources for Service-Based Business Owners: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.thebiztoolboutique.com.au/⁠⁠⁠

The Nest Hair Boutique: ⁠⁠⁠https://thenesthairboutique.com.au/⁠

🎙️ Episode 34: This episode is brought to you by The Biz Tool Boutique: www.thebiztoolboutique.com.au

Amber joins Charlie for a rapid fire Q&A session with no-holds-barred answers. Strap in for some honest truth bombs.

🎙️ About The Salon Rebel Podcast Hosted by Charlie Crothers, is a journey into the heart of entrepreneurial passion and rebellion. Charlie, a multi-faceted business entrepreneur, shares the story of her life, intertwined with invaluable insights from her experiences in entrepreneurship ranging from her personal life to Salon Ownership, E-commerce Founder and Digital Creator. Each episode is a mix of the good, the bad, and the sometimes ugly realities of running a business, providing listeners with relatable content and hope. She emphasises that success often comes from stepping outside the industry 'norm.'

Podcast Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thesalonrebelpodcast⁠

⁠⁠⁠Biz Tool Boutique Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thebiztoolboutique/⁠⁠

Find out more about The Biz Tool Boutique - Tools and Resources for Service-Based Business Owners: ⁠⁠https://www.thebiztoolboutique.com.au/⁠⁠

The Nest Hair Boutique: ⁠⁠https://thenesthairboutique.com.au/⁠

🎙️ Episode 33: This episode is brought to you by The Biz Tool Boutique: www.thebiztoolboutique.com.au

🎙️ In this episode of The Salon Rebel Podcast, Charlie sits down with Sonia — the Search Queen, founder of Search Republic and one of the most influential voices in salon marketing.This conversation is packed with strategy, story, honesty and depth. From Google Ads and luxury client attraction to AI appointment setters, AEO, salon funnels, book writing, parenthood, burnout, psychedelics, boundaries and real life, it’s a masterclass AND a heart-to-heart in one episode.

🎙️ About The Salon Rebel PodcastHosted by Charlie Crothers, is a journey into the heart of entrepreneurial passion and rebellion. Charlie, a multi-faceted business entrepreneur, shares the story of her life, intertwined with invaluable insights from her experiences in entrepreneurship ranging from her personal life to Salon Ownership, E-commerce Founder and Digital Creator. Each episode is a mix of the good, the bad, and the sometimes ugly realities of running a business, providing listeners with relatable content and hope. She emphasises that success often comes from stepping outside the industry 'norm.'

Podcast Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thesalonrebelpodcast⁠

⁠⁠⁠Biz Tool Boutique Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thebiztoolboutique/⁠⁠

Find out more about The Biz Tool Boutique - Tools and Resources for Service-Based Business Owners: ⁠⁠https://www.thebiztoolboutique.com.au/⁠⁠

The Nest Hair Boutique: ⁠⁠https://thenesthairboutique.com.au/⁠

🎙️ Episode 32: This episode is brought to you by The Biz Tool Boutique: www.thebiztoolboutique.com.au

I’m pulling back the curtain on EVERYTHING happening inside my world right now — from the way I’m structuring my businesses to the big decisions around leadership, delegation, and what comes next for the Salon Rebel brand.I break down my three businesses, talk through the current team setup inside The Nest, and share why apprentices aren’t just helpful — they're the future of our industry.This year has brought some huge shifts: restructuring roles, testing new managers, dividing responsibilities, and creating a leadership model that actually supports growth instead of bottlenecking it.Hosted by Charlie Crothers — a journey into the heart of entrepreneurial passion, rebellion, and the real-life lessons of business.

Podcast Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thesalonrebelpodcast⁠

⁠⁠⁠Biz Tool Boutique Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thebiztoolboutique/⁠⁠

Find out more about The Biz Tool Boutique - Tools and Resources for Service-Based Business Owners: ⁠⁠https://www.thebiztoolboutique.com.au/⁠⁠

The Nest Hair Boutique: ⁠⁠https://thenesthairboutique.com.au/⁠

🎙️ Episode 31: This episode is brought to you by The Biz Tool Boutique: www.thebiztoolboutique.com.au

In this episode of The Salon Rebel Podcast, we're diving deep into the world of content because let's be honest, in business today, content is either the thing that propels you forward… or the thing sitting on your to-do list collecting dust.

🎙️ About The Salon Rebel PodcastHosted by Charlie Crothers, is a journey into the heart of entrepreneurial passion and rebellion. Charlie, a multi-faceted business entrepreneur, shares the story of her life, intertwined with invaluable insights from her experiences in entrepreneurship ranging from her personal life to Salon Ownership, E-commerce Founder and Digital Creator. Each episode is a mix of the good, the bad, and the sometimes ugly realities of running a business, providing listeners with relatable content and hope. She emphasises that success often comes from stepping outside the industry 'norm.'

Podcast Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thesalonrebelpodcast⁠

⁠⁠⁠Biz Tool Boutique Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thebiztoolboutique/⁠⁠

Find out more about The Biz Tool Boutique - Tools and Resources for Service-Based Business Owners: ⁠⁠https://www.thebiztoolboutique.com.au/⁠⁠

The Nest Hair Boutique: ⁠⁠https://thenesthairboutique.com.au/⁠

🎙️ Episode 30: This episode is brought to you by The Biz Tool Boutique: www.thebiztoolboutique.com.au

In this episode Charlie dives deep into a conversation about authenticity, boundaries, and the real business behind being “real” online. Together with guest Nikki Milne, they explore how your personal life influences your business mindset, why showing the real side on social media builds stronger brands, and what it really takes to balance being vulnerable and professional in today’s digital world.

🎙️ About The Salon Rebel Podcast Hosted by Charlie Crothers, is a journey into the heart of entrepreneurial passion and rebellion. Charlie, a multi-faceted business entrepreneur, shares the story of her life, intertwined with invaluable insights from her experiences in entrepreneurship ranging from her personal life to Salon Ownership, E-commerce Founder and Digital Creator. Each episode is a mix of the good, the bad, and the sometimes ugly realities of running a business, providing listeners with relatable content and hope. She emphasises that success often comes from stepping outside the industry 'norm.'

Podcast Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thesalonrebelpodcast⁠

⁠⁠⁠Biz Tool Boutique Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thebiztoolboutique/⁠⁠

Find out more about The Biz Tool Boutique - Tools and Resources for Service-Based Business Owners: ⁠⁠https://www.thebiztoolboutique.com.au/⁠⁠

The Nest Hair Boutique: ⁠⁠https://thenesthairboutique.com.au/⁠

This episode is brought to you by The Biz Tool Boutique: www.thebiztoolboutique.com.au

🎙️ Episode 29: Charlie opens up about the start of 2025, a year that began with loss, uncertainty, and change. From losing staff and clients to rebuilding confidence, finding new structure, and discovering opportunity in tough times, she shares what it’s really like to go through a “salon detox.

the story of her life, intertwined with invaluable insights from her experiences in entrepreneurship ranging from her personal life to Salon Ownership, E-commerce Founder and Digital Creator. Each episode is a mix of the good, the bad, and the sometimes ugly realities of running a business, providing listeners with relatable content and hope. She emphasises that success often comes from stepping outside the industry 'norm.'

Podcast Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thesalonrebelpodcast⁠

⁠⁠⁠Biz Tool Boutique Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thebiztoolboutique/⁠⁠

Find out more about The Biz Tool Boutique - Tools and Resources for Service-Based Business Owners: ⁠⁠https://www.thebiztoolboutique.com.au/⁠⁠

The Nest Hair Boutique: ⁠⁠https://thenesthairboutique.com.au/⁠