PhorestFM: Stories From the Salon Floor

Lance Courtney on How Opportunity Lies Ahead of Co-Creation and Collaboration

Connect with Lance Courtney on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lancecourtney
Learn more about the Salon Owners Summit & explore the full lineup and agenda: https://www.salonownersummit.com/tickets
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Click here to subscribe to the PhorestFM email newsletter or here to learn more about Phorest Salon Software.
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.

Experience the Difference: A Case Study in Turning Service into Predictable, Consistent Retail Sales

[323] Featuring Derrick Rutherford (Co-Owner, Valentini’s), Arif Isikgun (CEO & Founder, Ai Beauty Consultancy), and Cole Marker (Founder & Builder in Chief, thync.c), this episode reimagines retail not as a “pushy add-on," but as an essential part of sustainable business growth, driven by client care and rooted in trust.
 
Backed by data from the Phorest 2025 Consumer Insights Report and rooted in the incredible success Valentini’s is having with retail (26% service-to-retail, 113$ average retail ticket), this conversation explores what’s driving these impressive figures and flips the narrative on common blockers salon, spa, and clinic teams face in making retail a natural part of everyday operations. With Arif and Cole’s added layer of lived experiences and insights as coaches, we first discuss the power of storytelling and the importance of thorough, process-driven consultations. Then, we speak to how systems make it stick, goal-setting and accountability elevate performance, and how retail can serve as an early indicator of broader issues in the business.
 
Learn how to build a retail approach that is:
Backed by systems that make the offer authentic, care-centered, and consistent
Sustainable and reflective of service standards and clients’ levels of trust
Empowers your team with confidence
Integrates service, recommendations, and follow-through into one seamless client journey
If you listen to one episode about retail this year… Let it be this one.
 
Follow Derrick Rutherford, Arif Isikgun, and Cole Marker on Instagram: @derrick_rutherford, @aibeautyconsultancy, @thync.c_coaching
 
Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts!
Click here to subscribe to the PhorestFM email newsletter or here to learn more about Phorest Salon Software.
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

Wafaya Abdallah on Leading With Heart and Becoming Fluent in the Silent Language of Energy

[322] For Wafaya Abdallah, owner of Oasis Curl Salon (@curlyoasis), real growth happens when we let go of control, release the need for perfection, and create a safe space for others to rise.
In this episode, we explore the salon as a space for transformation and how her journey into energy medicine, holistic beauty, and cultivating trust has shaped her approach to leadership. Now dedicated to integrative education and developing a curriculum that blends the art of curly and texture hairdressing, the science of natural hair care, and the power of energy healing, she is driven by a desire to ensure hairstylists are equipped not just with technical skills but with the tools to uplift and empower themselves and others.
Connect with Wafaya Abdallah on Instagram @yinrizingofficial or by email <wafaya@curlyoasis.com>
Listen to her podcast, The Curl Code (in process of rebranding): https://podcast.ausha.co/curl-code
Secure your Salon Owners Summit tickets here: https://www.salonownersummit.com/tickets
Want to share your love or gratitude for the industry on PhorestFM's Season 9 finale? Fill out this form before November 30, 2025!
Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts!
Click here to subscribe to the PhorestFM email newsletter or here to learn more about Phorest Salon Software.
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.

Grief as a Teacher: Luis Miguel Bujia on Lessons in Honourship and the Power of Sharing

[321] Every now and again, there’s an episode that asks us to slow down, sit with what’s real, and see what it has to teach us. This is one of those episodes. Becoming who we are — as people, friends, as community and team members, leaders — is a lifelong, multifaceted journey. Growth is tender, vulnerable, messy, and profoundly human.
Ten years into salon ownership, the founder, owner, and artistic director of Stylists at North in Alexandria, Virginia, Luis Miguel Bujia, shares:
How letting our “messy” show can build relationships rooted in truth and trust
Why honoring life’s difficult moments — personally and professionally — creates space for growth
Connect with Luis Miguel Bujia on Instagram: @stylistsatnorth
Secure your Salon Owners Summit tickets here: https://www.salonownersummit.com/tickets
Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts!
Click here to subscribe to the PhorestFM email newsletter or here to learn more about Phorest Salon Software.
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.

The Work of Happiness: Heather Bagby on Transforming Leadership and Life

[320] When approached with intention, leaning into happiness can become a powerful tool for personal and professional growth. In this episode, Heather Bagby (@heatherbagby on Instagram) — the visionary behind the Summit Salon Business Centre’s Happiness Project and the recently announced keynote speaker for the Salon Owners Summit 2026 — reframes happiness as hard work with high rewards.
Known to inspire audiences and organizations to embrace the journey toward a more joyful and successful workplace, Heather joins the PhorestFM podcast for a conversation blending personal stories, actionable strategies, and bold ideas that connect happiness with leadership, resilience and personal growth.
Find out more about the Summit Salon Business Centre here: https://www.summitsalon.com
Secure your Salon Owners Summit tickets here: https://www.salonownersummit.com/tickets
Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts!
Click here to subscribe to the PhorestFM email newsletter or here to learn more about Phorest Salon Software.
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.

Live From the 2025 Aesthetic Extender Symposium With Dr. George Baxter-Holder

Get a glimpse of the energy and people at the 18th Annual Aesthetic Extender Symposium in Boca Raton, Florida! Hosted by Shauna O'Halloran (Head of Brand & Communications at Phorest), this short episode has it all: her on-the-ground observations, short clips from some of the conference’s live education, a conversation with Dr. George Baxter-Holder (VP of Talent Development at Skin Spirit) and some vox pops!
You can learn more about the Aesthetic Extender Symposium here, and about Skin Spirit here. Follow Dr. George Baxter-Holder, DNP, MBA, APRN, CANS on Instagram here.
Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts!
Click here to subscribe to the PhorestFM email newsletter or here to learn more about Phorest Salon Software.
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.

Dave Evans & Debbie Halls-Evans on 'Being More Kid' and Building Curious Cultures

[319] If you’ve ever sat down for a chat with Dave Evans and Debbie Halls-Evans, founders of and. coaching (@andcoachme), you know you’re in for a bold and disarmingly honest one. High off a year so far defined by intentionality, bravery, and play, Dave and Debbie share:
How fear can manifest and be reframed as an invitation to look inward
The difference between being uncomfortable and being unsafe
How adopting a “be more kid” mindset unlocks creativity, imagination, and joy at work
The power of language and modelling care to build cultures rooted in curiosity and kindness
Deeply practical, rich with anecdotes and offering 10 powerful language reframes, this conversation is an essential no-BS starter toolkit for any salon owner or leader looking to reimagine how they show up for themselves, their businesses, their teams, and their clients.
Find out more about and. coaching here: https://www.andcoachme.com/Listen to Double D Season 6 EP114, "Ripple effects. The quiet power of individual impact."
Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts!
Click here to subscribe to the PhorestFM email newsletter or here to learn more about Phorest Salon Software.
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.

Stefanie Fox on How Lasting Teams Are Built With Intention, Not Found

[318] At Phorest, we know that the magic happens when you get the team right. Clients feel it. Reviews show it. Your bottom line reflects it. Building a strong team is an advantage, but great teams don’t just “happen.”
In this unearthed conversation from late 2023, Stefanie Fox (@stef_fox), Founder of Talent Match and Matchable, shares timeless leadership insights, why recruitment can’t be treated as a quick fix, and why lasting teams aren’t discovered by chance, but intentionally built through trust, purpose, and process.
From her philosophy of leadership as an oath to the data-backed insights of the Beauty Workforce Survey, Stefanie challenges salon owners to rethink leadership, recruitment, culture, and retention.
Learn more about Talent Match, and discover The Matchable™ Salon Owner Hub, here.
Read "How to Build a Salon Culture Stylists Want to Stay For" by Stefanie Fox
Read "Building a Salon, Spa, or Clinic Team That Performs Better and Stays Longer" by Steph Fernandez
Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts!
Click here to subscribe to the PhorestFM email newsletter or here to learn more about Phorest Salon Software.
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.

Anne Butterly & Kelly Swann on Harnessing the Power of Business as a Force for Good (w/ Daniel Johnson)

[317] It’s one thing to say your business stands for something, and it’s another to prove it. Certified B Corporations around the world are doing just that.
Featuring Anne Butterly, Founder of Easydry, along with Kelly Swann, the driving force behind Denver’s Let Em Have It Salon — both Certified B Corps—  this episode shines a light on the systems, leadership, and values behind their purpose-led businesses and traces their journey from values to action, and from action to measurable change.
Co-hosted in partnership with Daniel Johnson, Founder and Executive Director of The Green Beauty Community. Download the FREE Pivot Point x Green Beauty Community Guidebook here.
Follow Daniel Johnson, Anne Butterly and Kelly Swann on Instagram: @greenbeautycommunityfoundation, @loveeasydry, @lehisalon
To take the B Impact Assessment, click here.
To learn more about BLab's Theory of Change, click here.
To learn more about the Berkana Institute's Two Loops Model of Change, click here.
Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts!
Click here to subscribe to the PhorestFM email newsletter or here to learn more about Phorest Salon Software.
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.

Betsy Morem on Burgers, Botox & the Power of Community-Rooted Businesses (w/ Joe DiFalco)

[316] CPA and co-founder of Morem & Waller CPAs, med spa co-owner, and now steward of Austin, Minnesota’s 87-year-old beloved Tendermaid burger joint, Betsy Morem (@heavenstobetsss) wears many hats. And her unique ability to balance big-picture strategy with daily operational insight makes her a trusted advisor to fellow entrepreneurs.
In this episode, Betsy joins Alex and Joe DiFalco, Senior Partnerships Manager at Phorest, for a candid conversation driven by stories about what it means to run community-rooted businesses, lead with care, serve with integrity, and how success can also be about the culture we create, the lives we touch along the way. Insightful, humble, and full of timeless lessons —like why the little things often leave the most significant mark— the conversation also covers rich, practical ground, including:
🤯 Key differences between salon and medspa models, from regulations to team dynamics
💡 Tips for salon owners looking to thoughtfully add medspa services
🫂 How to honour a business’s legacy while making space for new
🌱 The importance and power local businesses hold in their communities
To find out more about The MOD Medspa, click here.
To learn more about the Tendermaid, click here.
Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts!
Click here to subscribe to the PhorestFM email newsletter or here to learn more about Phorest Salon Software.
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.