PhorestFM: Stories From the Salon Floor
The salon industry has a lot to be proud of. Phorest has always been in awe of it. The energy. The camaraderie. The creativity. Being a business owner takes courage, but it can sometimes become an isolating, all-consuming reality. Amidst the daily whirlwind of tasks, there’s still the challenge of thinking ahead, of carving a path forward. The PhorestFM podcast celebrates innovative ideas, methods, and perspectives on business management and growth, marketing, leadership, and building great teams and cultures. Launched in 2017, it is hosted by Alex Bélisle-Springer (he/they), Global Education Content Lead at Phorest Salon Software. As of Season 9 (2025), new episodes air every second week, with occasional bonus drops on ”off” weeks.
Episodes

Monday Aug 03, 2020
#BackInBusiness: Irish Salons Share Their Reopening Experiences
Monday Aug 03, 2020
Monday Aug 03, 2020
[174] Life beyond COVID-19 is having salon owners around the world think differently about their business. From cleanliness procedures to staff rosters, booking appointments and selling retail, various processes are undergoing considerable changes. Featuring salon owner Greg Clarke (Collage Hair Group, Hairbrush.ie) and Operations Director John Hickey (The Green Room), this week's episode takes a look at what reopening has been like for Irish salons after weeks of lockdown.
Links:
Click here to subscribe to the weekly Phorest FM email newsletter
This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Great music makes great moments. Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed.
Leave a Rating & Review: http://bit.ly/phorestfm
Read the transcript, or click here to learn more about Phorest Salon Software.

Monday Jul 27, 2020
Inside Phorest: Prepare and Protect With Pre-send Consultation Forms
Monday Jul 27, 2020
Monday Jul 27, 2020
[173] Catch up on everything that's happened in July! This week's episode features recent blog and podcast recaps in addition to an interview with Product Designer Mikey Cannon on one of Phorest Salon Software's many features keeping your salon staff and clients safe: pre-send consultation forms.
Links:
[Blog] How To Maintain A Post-Lockdown, Top-Quality Salon Experience: https://bit.ly/304c0GU
[Blog] US Beauty Booking Habits Post-Lockdown: https://bit.ly/2CMO42h
Click here to subscribe to the weekly Phorest FM email newsletter
This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Great music makes great moments. Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed.
Leave a Rating & Review: http://bit.ly/phorestfm
Read the transcript, or click here to learn more about Phorest Salon Software.

Monday Jul 20, 2020
David Campbell on Growing Your Own Timber
Monday Jul 20, 2020
Monday Jul 20, 2020
[172] How many business owners do you know today that can proudly say their employees spend, on average, ten years within the organisation? Probably not many.
Welcome to House of Colour (@houseofcolour): the biggest award-winning salon group in Ireland, with six salons, one academy, and impressive staff retention statistics.
Featuring David Campbell, owner of House of Colour group and current President of the Irish Hairdressers Federation, this week's episode discusses apprenticeships' value. David is also an international educator, platform artist, business advisor, stage presenter, a two-time IHF Icon award winner, and an IHF Lifetime achievement award recipient.
Links:
Visit House of Colour's website: https://www.houseofcolour.ie/
Access the Back In Business, With Phorest information page at www.phorest.com/c19
Click here to subscribe to the weekly Phorest FM email newsletter: http://bit.ly/2T2gUj1
This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Great music makes great moments. Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed.
Leave a Rating & Review: http://bit.ly/phorestfm
Read the transcript, or click here to learn more about Phorest Salon Software.

Monday Jul 13, 2020
Meabh Quoirin on Consumer Trends & Insights to Shape the Industry’s Future
Monday Jul 13, 2020
Monday Jul 13, 2020
[171] The industry is likely never to go back to the way it operated before COVID-19. As salons and spas progressively reopen, they are also shaping a new normal.
Before the pandemic, people conceived of beauty experiences in four main ways: convenience, skills, pampering and an indulgent experience, and finally, a sense of connection and community, visiting the same beautician every single time and being able to talk about personal and beauty-related issues. Will that remain true for years to come? That's what companies like Foresight Factory are in the business of predicting.
Featuring CEO and co-owner of Foresight Factory, Meabh Quoirin, this week's episode discusses consumer trends and insights that are changing the hair & beauty industry's foreseeable future.
Links:
Visit Foresight Factory's website: https://www.foresightfactory.co
Access the Back In Business, With Phorest information page at www.phorest.com/c19
Click here to subscribe to the weekly Phorest FM email newsletter: http://bit.ly/2T2gUj1
This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Great music makes great moments. Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed.
Leave a Rating & Review: http://bit.ly/phorestfm
Read the transcript, or click here to learn more about Phorest Salon Software.

Monday Jul 06, 2020
Stacie Collier on the Inspiriting Aspect of the #30Day2Grow Challenge
Monday Jul 06, 2020
Monday Jul 06, 2020
[170] #30Days2Grow is a unique business growth challenge designed to help salons build both team spirit and revenue. This year's challenge launched on April 20th — about a month into lockdown for many countries around the world — making it a quaranTEAM edition focused on helping salon owners and their teams plan their reopening strategy and put their brand at the forefront of their clients' minds.
Featuring salon owner Stacie Collier of MANE Salon Basingstoke Ltd (@mane.salon.basingstoke), this week's episode revisits her first weeks of lockdown and discusses her thoughts on the challenge.
Links:
Visit MANE Salon Basingstoke Ltd's website: http://manesalonbasingstoke.co.uk
Access the Back In Business, With Phorest information page at www.phorest.com/c19
Click here to subscribe to the weekly Phorest FM email newsletter: http://bit.ly/2T2gUj1
This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Great music makes great moments. Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed.
Leave a Rating & Review: http://bit.ly/phorestfm
Read the transcript, or click here to learn more about Phorest Salon Software.

Monday Jun 29, 2020
Inside Phorest: Support for Your Salon’s Reopening Strategy
Monday Jun 29, 2020
Monday Jun 29, 2020
[169] Catch up on everything that's happened in June! Featuring recent blog and podcast recaps as well as interviews with Phorest Salon Software CEO Ronan Perceval, Education Trainer Rachel McAdam and Product Designer Richard Cullen, this week's episode is all about supporting your reopening strategy.
Links:
[Blog] The 3 Marketing Emails You’ll Need for A Successful Salon Reopening: https://bit.ly/2YIuMmP
[Blog] Salons Reopening: Survey Reveals That Main Concern Is Safety Of Staff: https://bit.ly/2BaRxH3
Access the Back In Business, With Phorest information page at www.phorest.com/c19
Click here to download the Back In Business playbook
Click here to subscribe to the weekly Phorest FM email newsletter
This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Great music makes great moments. Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed.
Leave a Rating & Review: http://bit.ly/phorestfm
Read the transcript, or click here to learn more about Phorest Salon Software.

Monday Jun 22, 2020
#BackInBusiness: Salon Owners Share Their Reopening Experiences
Monday Jun 22, 2020
Monday Jun 22, 2020
[168] For the past few months, salons around the world closed their doors to help manage and contain the COVID-19 pandemic. We are now starting to see hair, beauty, barber and spa businesses in various countries getting back in business as restrictions are lifted across Europe and the US.
Featuring salon owners Amber Pope (Salon 27 in Arizona, USA) and Amanda Baer (Something You Salon & Spa in Illinois, USA), this week's episode sheds light on what getting back in business after weeks of lockdown really looks like.
Links:
Save your spot on Gloria Murray's UK/IE Salon Finance Recovery Plan webinar: https://bit.ly/3hO5WJv
Access the Back In Business, With Phorest information and downloadable resources at www.phorest.com/c19
Click here to subscribe to the weekly Phorest FM email newsletter
This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Great music makes great moments. Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed.
Leave a Rating & Review: http://bit.ly/phorestfm
Read the transcript, or click here to learn more about Phorest Salon Software.

Monday Jun 08, 2020
Michaella Blissett Williams on Working Towards Financial Independence
Monday Jun 08, 2020
Monday Jun 08, 2020
[167] Living beneath your means, paying off debt, defining long-term financial goals and saving money: just a few of the steps needed to achieve financial freedom. As author Robert Kiyosaki said in his influential book Rich Dad, Poor Dad: "Intelligence solves problems and produces money. Money without financial intelligence is money soon gone."
Featuring Michaella Blissett Williams, the visionary behind [salon]718 @salon718, this week's conversation explores some of her personal stories, financial literacy in the hair and beauty industry, the practice of setting goals and much more.
Links:
Visit salon[718]'s website: salon718.com/
Access the Back In Business, With Phorest information page at www.phorest.com/c19
Click here to subscribe to the weekly Phorest FM email newsletter
This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Great music makes great moments. Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed.
Leave a Rating & Review: http://bit.ly/phorestfm
Read the transcript, or click here to learn more about Phorest Salon Software.

Monday Jun 01, 2020
Sinéad Kavanagh on Standing Out on Social Media, Starting With Authenticity
Monday Jun 01, 2020
Monday Jun 01, 2020
[166] As the world turns to digital solutions to counter the impacts of COVID-19 lockdowns, people are coming to realise that posting ad hoc content no longer produces enough results and that there needs to be a proper understanding, intention and purpose behind their online activity.
Featuring professional beauty blogger & teacher Sinéad Kavanagh (@thebeauttruth), this week's conversation explores social media strategy and the importance of both authenticity and consistency.
Links:
Reach out to Sinéad on Facebook or by email: thebeautifultruthie@gmail.com
Access the Back In Business, With Phorest information page at www.phorest.com/c19
Click here to watch all the 'Reopening Strong' webinar replay on-demand
Click here to subscribe to the weekly Phorest FM email newsletter
This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Great music makes great moments. Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed.
Leave a Rating & Review: http://bit.ly/phorestfm
Read the transcript, or click here to learn more about Phorest Salon Software.

Monday May 25, 2020
Inside Phorest: Salon Reopening Tools With Aisling Scolard
Monday May 25, 2020
Monday May 25, 2020
[165] Catch up on everything that's happened in May! This week's episode features an interview with Phorest Product Manager Aisling Scolard on salon reopening tools, blog recaps as well as snippets from previous interviews with Neil Ducoff (CEO & Founder of Strategies), Tom Chapman (award-winning UK-based barber & international educator) and Zane Hagy (PR and marketing professional).
Links:
Access the Back In Business, With Phorest information page at www.phorest.com/c19
Click here to watch all of Phorest Salon Software's webinar replays on-demand
Click here to subscribe to the weekly Phorest FM email newsletter
This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Great music makes great moments. Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed.
Leave a Rating & Review: http://bit.ly/phorestfm
Read the transcript, or click here to learn more about Phorest Salon Software.