What if the business you built to prove your worth is the very thing draining it? In this honest conversation, hairstylist and coach Maxi Dotorri shares why she sold a thriving family-run salon and chose health, clarity, and self-respect instead.

In this episode, we talk about:
• The warning signs of burnout Maxi ignored for years
• How lockdown exposed migraines, panic, and an identity tied to being “the owner”
• The moment a team resignation became the catalyst for change
• Selling a salon fast and rebuilding life around energy, not optics
• Why resilience is not pushing harder but building systems that protect you
• The industry myth that 12-hour days equal success
• Simple health and leadership frameworks that actually work in busy seasons
• How better boundaries create stronger teams, calmer leaders, and healthier families

Maxi now runs two businesses on her own terms and is fully booked into 2026, helping women reclaim their health and leadership. This episode is a powerful reminder that you are allowed to move the goalposts, sell the thing you built, and redefine success in a way that supports your life.

Share this with a salon owner or creative who needs it. If it resonates, follow the show and leave a review so more leaders can find their way back to themselves.

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@the_conscious_salon

Start strong, breathe deeper, and write the year you actually want to lead. This guided intention setting session with Tess is for salon owners and leaders who want less stress, stronger culture, and sustainable growth in 2026.

Through calm structure and practical reflection, you will move from vague goals to clear leadership behaviours that shape how your salon feels, functions, and grows.

In this episode, we guide you through:
• A short breath practice to settle your nervous system
• Defining values that anchor decisions during busy seasons
• Designing a thoughtful client and team experience from booking to follow-up
• Conscious leadership habits that support clarity, presence, and feedback
• Setting three meaningful SMART goals beyond vanity metrics
• Simple culture rituals that build trust and teamwork
• Boundaries that protect energy, focus, and work life balance
• Streamlining operations to reduce friction and overwhelm
• Choosing your word of the year and a proud outcome for 2026

Grab your journal, press play, and pause as needed. If this session helped you get clear, share it with a salon friend, subscribe for the next episode, and leave a review with your word for the year.

To follow our journey:
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@the_conscious_salon

Ready to close 2025 with clarity rather than chaos?

In this guided reflection, Tess leads salon owners and leaders through a calm, intentional review of the year that was so you can carry the right lessons forward and release what no longer fits. This episode is designed to help you slow down, breathe, and reflect honestly before stepping into 2026.

In this reflection, we cover:
• A short breathing practice to settle your nervous system
• Key prompts to recognise what you are proud of and how you grew
• Lessons from challenges, turnover, and culture shifts
• Reconnecting with joy through meaningful in salon moments
• Clarifying where you need stronger boundaries and simpler systems
• Reflecting on leadership habits that shaped your team and your life
• Noticing how investing in yourself impacted your business

Bring a notebook, pause when you need to, and let this be a grounded close to the year you actually lived.

If this reflection supported you, share it with a fellow salon owner and follow the show for more calm, practical leadership conversations.

To follow our journey:
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@the_conscious_salon

A 17-year-old with salon keys and no driver’s licence. Two decades later, Karla Daddo steps into a new season, trading a bustling team-based salon for DOYENNE., a luxury rental-chair space built to give freelancers real freedom, community, and profit.

We dive deep into the moments that shaped her: early sabotage and isolation, the kitchen-table bookkeeping with her nan, the rebrand to BRONDE., and the powerful shift that happened when numbers finally told the truth. It’s raw, honest, and full of practical wisdom for anyone who’s ever wondered if a “successful” business can still be the wrong fit.

We unpack how Karla recognised that good doesn’t always mean right, why identity can tangle with work, and what it takes to detach self-worth from daily salon outcomes. Then we go inside DOYENNE.: why a rental-chair model can be more than a chair, how a resource library and smart pricing tools change the first years of business, and the myth-busting behind “there’s no money in hairdressing.” If you’re a stylist craving autonomy without loneliness, or an owner flirting with a pivot, this conversation offers a blueprint that blends numbers, boundaries, and heart.

You’ll hear frank talk about money, mentorship, and designing work that serves your life. You’ll also hear the invitation to pause, strip back the people-pleasing, and ask the only question that matters: what do you want?

Subscribe for more grounded conversations on salon leadership, freelance success, and building a creative business that actually supports you. If the episode resonates, share it with a stylist who’s ready for their next brave step and leave us a review to help more owners find this conversation.

To follow our journey:
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@the_conscious_salon

What if the busiest season in the salon could feel steadier, clearer, and more in your control?
This solo pep talk is your calm reset for the Christmas rush. It gives you grounded tools you can use today to slow your breath, steady your energy, and lead your space with intention even when the salon is buzzing.

✨ Inside this episode:
• A one minute breathing ritual to regulate your nervous system
• Simple language swaps that strengthen leadership and boundaries
• How to hold a steady pace when the salon feels chaotic
• A gratitude practice that reconnects you with purpose
• Daily team rituals that prevent overwhelm before it starts
• Clear guidance for owners on standards, timing, rebooking, and home care
• Money retention habits that turn December profit into long term growth

This is your reminder to choose your pace, protect your energy, and lead with clarity.

Share this with your team, and if it steadies you, follow us and tap the notification bell so you never miss an episode.

To follow our journey:
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@the_conscious_salon

What happens when the dream you chased becomes the cage you’re stuck inside? Dom from NEIKE Hair joins us for a brutally honest ride from opening a salon at 22, to surviving lockdowns, to nearly selling everything when burnout and doubt took over.
The twist: one hard conversation made her choose community over exit, and that choice reshaped everything.

We dig into the early wins and hidden costs of being fully booked, how a scrappy pivot to tint kits and e‑commerce kept the lights on, and why leadership by proximity fails once growth hits. Dom lays out the moment she stopped identifying as “just a hairdresser” and started operating like a CEO: setting standards, publishing numbers, and building systems that let the salon thrive without her glued to the chair. It’s not hype; it’s training pathways, financial clarity, and weekly rhythms that turn chaos into consistency.

There’s a powerful identity thread here too. Dom revisits Fashion Week, once the pinnacle of her ambition, and admits she outgrew that dream. Her body knew first; her mind caught up later. We talk about choosing better rooms, collecting evidence that freedom is possible in the salon industry, and leading in a way that heals old workplace wounds.
If you’ve felt chained to your calendar, scared to step back, or unsure how to translate values into profit, this conversation offers proof and practical steps to move forward with less hustle and more intention.

If this story hit a nerve, follow the show, share it with a salon owner who needs it, and leave a review so more founders can find these tools. Your next brave step starts here.

To follow our journey:
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@the_conscious_salon

A tired but functioning salon is easy to tolerate. The real challenge is admitting it is not the business you truly want and having the courage to rebuild it into the space you imagine. In this episode, we sit down with our friend and client, Lauryn Mathrick, to explore how she transformed an inherited and successful salon into Self The Salon, a place designed for deep client connection and a work environment where mums can thrive.

Lauryn shares the twenty four hour crossroads that changed the direction of her life. Sign a home contract or buy the salon. That single decision opened the door to years of growth, trial and error, and ultimately clarity about the kind of business she wanted to lead. She speaks openly about hiding her old space online, the moment she chose action instead of perfection, and the design elements that elevated her client experience. From the calming basin lounge to intentional tea rituals to a softer pace that lets clients actually breathe, every choice supported the vision she held.

This was far more than a renovation. It was a complete leadership reset. Boundaries became clearer, conversations happened sooner, and alignment became more important than tenure. Once the space matched the mission, the culture no longer relied on goodwill. It ran on intention and shared values.

We also honour the legacy of Den, whose influence is still woven into the heart of the new space. Lauryn proves that reinvention can hold both evolution and love at the same time. For salon owners sitting in the messy middle, her approach offers a simple and brave blueprint. Set a loving deadline, move quickly on the ideas that feel true, and let your values guide the difficult decisions.

If you are craving a salon that feels like a retreat and a team culture that supports the people who deliver it, this conversation will offer clarity, courage, and the first steps toward your next chapter.

Follow the show, share it with a salon owner who needs a nudge, and leave a review so more salon owners can find these conversations.

To follow our journey:
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@the_conscious_salon

What happens when you treat your health with the same urgency you give a boardroom deadline? In this episode, we run a real-time experiment on discipline, systems, and self-trust — and the results surprised us.

One of us jumps from an average of 874 steps a day to 10,000 plus structured strength training. The other reframes yoga and movement as daily anchors for a neurodivergent brain. The shift was undeniable: better thinking, stronger boundaries, and delegation that finally stuck because movement time became non-negotiable.

We also talk honestly about the messy bits. The gym mishaps. The walks in the rain. The moments where “I’ll do it later” tries to win. This is the essence of weapon season: removing negotiation, reducing friction, and building self-trust through small, repeatable wins.

Inside the episode, we share the practical levers that actually changed our momentum:
• Booking help within twenty four hours
• Protecting calendar blocks
• Anchoring steps to existing routines
• Using wearables for quiet accountability

If you’re someone who is highly disciplined at work but inconsistent with your health, this conversation will feel like a mirror and a roadmap. You’ll walk away with simple systems and a three step framework to kickstart your next seven days: commit daily, act quickly, and move through discomfort without excuses.

Listen in, try the experiment yourself, and let us know what shifts for you. If this episode resonates, share it with someone who needs a nudge and leave a quick review so more people can find these tools.

Your next seven days might change everything.

To follow our journey:
Instagram @aheadhair_
@the_conscious_salon