Podcast
Beauty Business School
Hosted by Kimberley Haworth · ENGLISH
Welcome to the Beauty Business School Podcast
Beauty Business School is proving beauty therapy is more than ‘just’ a hobby. We’re your beauty business besties, your partners in crime, your ride-or-die crew with a sprinkle of Regina George’s confidence (But none of the drama).
Picture us as your personal cheerleaders, the BFFs you’ve always wished for, as we tackle the beauty industry together.
Beauty training taught you how to be really good at treatments, Beauty Business School podcast will teach you how to attract your dream clients by creating a beauty business that stands out in a busy industry, navigate salon owner life and talk about the mindset shifts needed to thrive in the beauty industry.
It’s time to be the CEO everyone is trying to marry.. let’s get into the podcast with me your host Kimberley Haworth.
81episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
E81. Before You Run That Giveaway, Listen to This
1w ago00:24:22Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailEveryone's got an opinion on giveaways. Half the industry says they attract the wrong clients and don't convert. The other half keeps doing them anyway and wondering why nothing sticks.In this episode, Kimberley cuts through the noise and breaks down exactly why most giveaways fail. Spoiler: it's not the giveaway. It's the lack of strategy around it.Covered in this episode:Why visibility, not bookings, should be your actual goalHow to design a giveaway that filters in your ideal client and naturally filters out everyone elseChoosing collaboration partners who actually share your audienceWhat a real follow-up plan looks like, including how to convert people who didn't winBuilding a retention plan so new clients from the giveaway actually stick aroundWhether you've done a giveaway before and felt like it went nowhere, or you've been too scared to try one, this episode gives you the full picture so you can do it right.Retention Ebook:https://beautybusinessschool.com.au/ebook-rebooking/Are you looking to level up your salon in 2026? Every beauty business owner needs Beauty Business Foundation, this is the KEY areas you need to have a successful beauty business. Want to learn more? https://beautybusinessschool.com.au/beauty-business-foundations/
Transcribe →E80. Why Discounting Is Killing Your Beauty Business (And Why Strangers Pay What Your Family Won't)
2w ago00:33:08Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailWhy Discounting Is Killing Your Beauty Business (And Why Strangers Pay What Your Family Won't)My daughter started doing press-on nails. She is gentle, she is talented and she told me she wants to charge full price for her services once she is trained. I told her to do exactly that.Then she asked if she could charge me. And I hesitated.That hesitation is exactly what this episode is about.I have spent years telling beauty business owners to stop discounting, to charge their worth, to hold the line with family and friends. And the second my own daughter picked up a nail file and started practicing on me, I felt that same pull that I know you feel. The "but she's my kid" justification. The "I'm paying for her course, so surely..." logic. The very thing I coach against, sitting right in my chest.In this episode, I am owning it completely and using it to show you why this pattern is so much deeper than pricing. It is a self-worth issue, and it is costing your business more than you realise.In this episode we cover:The real dollar figure you are giving away each year when you discount even one client by $20 a week (spoiler: it is over $10,000 if five people are getting it). Why gratitude for your early loyal clients very quickly turns into resentment, and what to do before you get there. The specific messaging problem that happens when friends and family refer you at your discounted rate, and why it builds the wrong kind of clientele. Why the stranger who finds you on the internet and books without question is the most important evidence you have that you are worth your prices. How to have the conversation with friends, family, and long-term clients when you are ready to stop discounting. The friends and family policy that actually protects you, and the script to make the transition without drama.The question that changed how I look at this:Would you walk into your friend's workplace and ask them to stay back late, earn half their wage, and not be able to afford their groceries this week? Of course not. So why do we let people do that to us, and why do we do it to ourselves?If you are sitting on a roster right now where some clients pay full price and others pay what you were charging three years ago, today is the day that changes.Are you looking to level up your salon in 2026? Every beauty business owner needs Beauty Business Foundation, this is the KEY areas you need to have a successful beauty business. Want to learn more? https://beautybusinessschool.com.au/beauty-business-foundations/
Transcribe →E79. Fear Is Making Your Business Decisions For You With Sherri Ponisi
3w ago00:41:35Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailYour nervous system is running your business. And not in a good way.If you've ever made a decision from a place of panic, said yes to the wrong client because you were scared of the quiet, or doom scrolled for an hour and felt worse after, this episode is going to hit close to home.Kimberley sits down with Sherri Ponisi, breathwork facilitator, former hairdresser of 20 years and ex-salon owner, to talk about what's actually going on in your body when you're stressed, burnt out and still trying to run a business.In this episode:Why fear is just an emotion stored in your body (and what to actually do with it)The difference between burnout and needing to slow down (they are not the same thing)Why doomscrolling is making your anxiety worse, not betterWhat breathwork actually is, explained simply with zero intimidationA grounding exercise you can do in your car after a horrible phone callHow to audit the people around you the same way you audit your businessWhy the decisions you make when your nervous system is dysregulated are almost always the wrong onesIf you've been running at 100 miles an hour and wondering why nothing feels right, this episode will make a lot of things click.Find Sherri at @connectedbeingco on Instagram and her podcast Connected Combos wherever you listen. www.connectedbeingco.com Are you looking to level up your salon in 2026? Every beauty business owner needs Beauty Business Foundation, this is the KEY areas you need to have a successful beauty business. Want to learn more? https://beautybusinessschool.com.au/beauty-business-foundations/
Transcribe →E78. ADHD & Autism In Your Beauty Business
4w ago00:41:47Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailWhat if the thing you’ve spent your whole life trying to “fix” is actually your superpower?In this deeply personal episode, Kimberley opens up about something she’s never fully shared before being diagnosed with ADHD and autism as an adult while navigating motherhood, business, burnout, perfectionism and the pressure to keep it all together.From feeling “different” as a child… to struggling with self-worth, hyper-fixation, comparison, relationships, and running multiple successful businesses this episode is an unfiltered look inside the mind of a beauty business owner with a “spicy brain.”Kim shares:The emotional moment that led to her diagnosisHow ADHD + autism actually show up in womenThe business superpowers no one talks aboutWhy she chose not to medicateThe hidden battle between hyper-productivity and burnoutThe mindset shifts helping her stop fighting herselfThis episode will either deeply trigger you, deeply heal you… or both.And if you’ve ever felt “too much,” “too emotional,” “too disorganised,” “too intense,” or like your brain works differently to everyone around you this conversation might change the way you see yourself forever.Are you looking to level up your salon in 2026? Every beauty business owner needs Beauty Business Foundation, this is the KEY areas you need to have a successful beauty business. Want to learn more? https://beautybusinessschool.com.au/beauty-business-foundations/
Transcribe →E77. Keeping Clients Long Term In Your Salon
May 300:36:33Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailIf you are always looking for clients.. You have a retention problem.It costs five to seven times more to find a new client than to keep the one already sitting in your chair. And if you're aiming for a 70% rebooking rate, you're losing two thirds of your clients within three months. The maths doesn't lie.In this episode, Kimberly gets real about what's actually keeping beauty business owners on the hamster wheel and it's not the economy, it's not the algorithm, it's not the slow season. It's the fact that most salons are not building the kind of experience that makes a client genuinely unable to imagine going anywhere else.This one is practical, honest and a little bit feral recorded live from the caravan with a dog, a cat and zero apologies.If your books aren't as full as you need them to be, start here.Are you looking to level up your salon in 2026? Every beauty business owner needs Beauty Business Foundation, this is the KEY areas you need to have a successful beauty business. Want to learn more? https://beautybusinessschool.com.au/beauty-business-foundations/
Transcribe →E76. Scaling To 20K Months With Less Hours With Jordan From Wildfire Haus
Apr 2600:53:06Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailJordan didn't need more clients. She needed to stop working herself into the ground for results that didn't match the effort.Within four years she went from 60+ hour weeks, a team she resented managing, and burning out every Christmas, to 32 hours a week, books closed, waitlisted, and consistently hitting $20K months doing only the one thing she loves. Brows.She let go of lashes even though they were 60-70% of her income. She let her team go even though one of them was her best friend. She closed her books even when salons around her were shutting down and she felt the pull to fill the gaps.Every single decision was terrifying. Every single one paid off.And what makes this story hit different? Jordan didn't have some overnight breakthrough. She had resistance at every level and she did the work anyway. In her own time, at her own pace, until the identity finally caught up with the strategy.Here's the truth: the strategy was never the hard part. Believing she was worth it was.This is what it looks like to go from busy to profitable. The difference wasn't talent. It was the decision to stop holding herself back.If you're working too many hours for an income that still doesn't feel worth it, this one will hit.You can find Jordan HEREAre you looking to level up your salon in 2026? Every beauty business owner needs Beauty Business Foundation, this is the KEY areas you need to have a successful beauty business. Want to learn more? https://beautybusinessschool.com.au/beauty-business-foundations/
Transcribe →E75. What To Do In Your Salon When The Economy Is Sh*t
Apr 1900:43:30Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailThe world as we know it is shifting and Kimberley isn't here to sugarcoat it. In this episode, she gets honest about global uncertainty, what it means for your beauty business and where your real power lies when everything outside your control feels like it's on fire.The short version? Economic downturns destroy businesses. They also make them. Which side you land on comes down to mindset, strategy, and how you choose to show up.What's not in your control: the economy, inflation, interest rates, global chaos. Stop living in the "what ifs".. that's where anxiety lives.What is in your control: how you think, how you serve, and the experience you create. Make your salon a sanctuary. Be the brightest light. Let clients escape the heaviness of the world the moment they walk through your door.What works right now: value-adding over discounting, problem-solving content, and building a community people actually want to belong to. Stop assuming your clients can't afford you, offer the full experience every single time and let them decide.The next year will be defined not by what the economy does but by the choices you make inside your business every single day.Are you looking to level up your salon in 2026? Every beauty business owner needs Beauty Business Foundation, this is the KEY areas you need to have a successful beauty business. Want to learn more? https://beautybusinessschool.com.au/beauty-business-foundations/
Transcribe →E74. From Skin Fairy to Baby Spa: Behind the Curtain of Success in the Beauty Industry with Carmen McNamara
Apr 1201:08:41Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailThis episode of the Beauty Business School podcast is a real, unfiltered look at what it actually takes to build a successful beauty business.I sit down with Carmen McNamara, founder of Skin Fairy and Little Sunshine Spa, who shares her journey from waxing in her bedroom at 15 to running multiple thriving businesses. But more importantly.. she pulls back the curtain on what most people don’t talk about.We dive into: Why business is never a straight line (and why that’s normal) The reality of building, growing, and sometimes struggling in business Leadership, team culture, and what it really means to run an A team The importance of client care over quick wins Money, mistakes, and why so many salons go under Showing up online authentically (even when it’s uncomfortable) And the mindset shifts you need to actually make this work long term This isn’t a highlight reel. It’s the truth behind the scenes hard moments, big lessons, and what it really takes to stay in the game.If you’ve ever thought “this feels harder than it should”… this episode will remind you that you’re not alone and you’re probably a lot closer than you think.Are you looking to level up your salon in 2026? Every beauty business owner needs Beauty Business Foundation, this is the KEY areas you need to have a successful beauty business. Want to learn more? https://beautybusinessschool.com.au/beauty-business-foundations/
Transcribe →E73. Addressing THAT Post.. Bullying in the Beauty Industry
Apr 500:32:10Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailAfter THAT post went viral… we need to talk.In this episode, Kimberley opens up about the real story behind a post that shook the beauty industry and what it revealed about bullying and projection in business.From being sent private messages and conversations to navigating the emotional aftermath, this is an unfiltered look at what actually happens behind the scenes in the beauty industry and how to handle it without losing yourself in the process.This isn’t about calling people out. It’s about calling the industry forward.Inside this episode, we dive into: The reality of bullying in the beauty industry (and why it’s so common) What to do when you find out people are talking about you How to separate projection vs. truth The emotional regulation tools every business owner needs How to set boundaries without adding fuel to the fire Leading with integrity.. even when it would be easier not to If you’ve ever felt judged, talked about, or misunderstood in your business… this episode will hit home.Because this isn’t just about one post.It’s about changing the way we show up in the industry, together.Are you looking to level up your salon in 2026? Every beauty business owner needs Beauty Business Foundation, this is the KEY areas you need to have a successful beauty business. Want to learn more? https://beautybusinessschool.com.au/beauty-business-foundations/
Transcribe →E72. Why Your Retail Isn’t Selling (And How to Fix It Fast)
Mar 2900:32:23Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailI need to say something that might annoy you a little bit…You don’t actually hate selling. You just hate how it feels when you do it.When it’s awkward… when it feels forced… when you can literally feel yourself cringing mid sentence because it sounds like you’re trying to push something onto your client… so you avoid it.You don’t bring it up, you don’t lean into retail conversations in your salon, you just hope your clients will ask. And when they don’t, it turns into “my clients just don’t buy retail” or “no one can afford to buy retail products.”But that’s not actually what’s happening.What’s happening is no one has shown you how to sell retail in a salon in a way that feels natural. In a way that actually feels like you. In a way that builds trust with your clients instead of feeling like you’re pushing products or trying to increase sales in a forced way.Because when it clicks, retail sales don’t feel like selling at all. It feels like you’re just talking. Like you’re recommending products as a beauty professional. Like you’re genuinely helping your clients get better results between appointments.And that’s when clients start buying retail. That’s when your salon retail sales increase. That’s when your revenue grows without needing more clients or more appointments.In this episode, I properly break down:💋 Why your salon retail sales aren’t increasing💋 What’s actually missing in your retail strategy💋 How to sell retail products without being pushy or salesy💋 The simple shifts that will help you increase retail sales in your beauty businessIf you’re a beauty therapist, lash artist, brow artist or salon owner who wants to increase retail sales, boost salon revenue and feel more confident recommending products to your clients… this is the episode you need to listen to.If you’ve ever thought “I hate selling” or “I don’t want to feel salesy,” I think this is going to completely change the way you see retail in your beauty business.Are you looking to level up your salon in 2026? Every beauty business owner needs Beauty Business Foundation, this is the KEY areas you need to have a successful beauty business. Want to learn more? https://beautybusinessschool.com.au/beauty-business-foundations/
Transcribe →