PhorestFM: Building a Stronger Industry, Together

[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.