The Conscious Salon
Welcome to The Conscious Salon.
Here for the real talk salon owners actually need.
The Conscious Salon Podcast is where salon owners get clear guidance without the fluff. Hosted by Nic & Tess, we break down leadership, team culture, money, client journey, systems and numbers into simple moves you can use this week. Expect straight talk, real stories, lots of laughs and practical frameworks that help you lead well, grow profit, and have a life outside the salon.
You will hear from salon owners, industry leaders and working mums who have done the hard yards. We cover mindset that holds under pressure, meetings that improve your team culture, and the habits that build a self led team.
Follow the show and start with leadership posture, client journey design, and money mindset.
Listen in, implement, and stay conscious.
The Conscious Salon
Our Reflection Blueprint (steal this for your team!)
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
Welcome back to the Conscious Salon podcast. Today it is a solo episode with me, Tess. We are going to be doing some reflecting, some journaling. I'm going to set you guys up with some prompts. If you're an OG listener, you may remember this from last year, where we had a reflection episode. And each year we're going to be dropping in and coming to you with some prompts to reflect on the year that was. This is something that is so imperative for us to do as business owners, as human beings, really standing and looking back at the path we've just walked. So my intention today is to really have us reflect on how we've lived out 2025, what we're going to be celebrating, the growth that we've noticed, the areas that we want to improve, the challenges, all of those things. I'm going to set you guys up. I've got 15 prompts that we're going to work through together. And I would love for all of you to grab a pen and paper, grab a journal. If you've got your um your 2024 prompts, reflection prompts from last year, even pause where we are now, go back and have a little readover, see the path that you've walked even further back. This is something that is such a huge value of Nikki and myself. Every year we reflect on the year that was, and then we get really clear on setting the intentions moving forward. So this is going to be a two-part process. Today we're going to be doing reflections together, and then next week we're going to be doing some intention setting to have a really clear vision for what we want to achieve in 2026. So before we begin, get yourself nice and cozy. Maybe sit down, pop a little bit of meditation music on in the background if you're so inclined. Make sure you've got nice drink, water bottle, nearby tissues if you feel that it's been a big year, if you've gone through some things, if you've had some rebirths, some grief, some challenges. Make sure that we are showing up to this process with things that will support us. And before we begin, I'd love for us to do three nice deep breaths together and get really clear on opening up, ready to reflect, and look back on the year that was. Do a nice deep breath in through the nose, filling up the lungs, and full exhale out. Nice deep inhale in through the nose. And full exhale out. Final one, breathing lots of love in. And letting everything go on the out. Beautiful. Let's begin. First prompt. What am I most proud of achieving this year in both my salon and my personal life? So I want you to think about something you are really proud of achieving this year, personally and professionally. Something I'm really proud of this year. I'm really proud of the way that I've been able to step back from the salon and really allow my team to step forward. And something I'm really proud of with my personal life has been the way that I have been present at nighttime. I've had to get an opal app, I've had to lock myself out of social media because I'm not to be trusted. But I'm really proud of the fact that I have been sitting present with my family, having dinners, having conscious time together, playing games, being present with them. Sometimes it is literally the simple, easy things that make the most impact and difference. What am I most proud of achieving this year in both my salon and my personal life? Prompt number two. How has my salon transformed in 2025? And what feels different compared to last year? How has my salon transformed in 2025? And what feels different compared to last year? Next one. What challenges stretched me the most, and how did they shape me into a stronger leader? So we're going to get really clear on identifying what challenges stretched me the most, and how did they shape me into being a stronger leader? This is a question that I really enjoyed answering when I was doing this myself because I was really able to identify the challenge for me with stepping back and out of the salon this year was doing that, being able to step back. And I almost felt this loss of identity that I wasn't doing hair and that I wasn't running a salon. I found that such a massive stretch. However, I also found this shaped me into really being able to listen to my team and really get in the trenches with them and hear where I could support them more and show up for them in a way where I wasn't distracted with clients, with their daily hustle and bustle. I could really listen to where they were needing support and showing up for them. What challenges stretched me the most and how did they shape me into a stronger leader? Prompt number four. In what ways did I step into my leadership more deeply this year? So I want you to really think about where you stepped into leadership. Think of those key moments that you've had. Maybe you've had some tough conversations this year. Maybe you've had to make some changes that you weren't ready for. Maybe you've had to really have a look at things, have a clear look in the mirror. Maybe there's been some culture problems. In what ways did I step into my leadership more deeply this year? At any point if you're needing more time, and as I'm moving along, just pause the podcast where it is. And we'll circle back when you're ready. Prompt number five. What was my favorite moment in Salon this year and why? So let's think about the moments that really brought us joy. Where were the big wins in your salons? What was your favorite moment in salon this year and why? Prompt number six. What three things am I most proud of myself for this year? Let's really celebrate three things you are most proud of yourself for. Really take the space here. What three things are you most proud of yourself for? Prompt seven. How well did I balance work and life this year? So let's get really honest with ourselves. How well did you balance your work and your life this year? Do you feel like you had a good balance with it? Do you feel like you were all work and no play? Do you feel like you were all play and no work? How well did I balance work and life this year? And a follow-up question to that. What needs improving or simplifying in 2026? This is something that I found for myself, probably about halfway through the year. I really identified that I was not present in the evenings with my family. So I was showing up amazingly during the day, supporting my team, nurturing my clients, taking care of everyone. I was not giving that version of myself to my family. They were experiencing the disconnected, the distracted, the not present version of me. And that is one of the things that I'm most proud of, really identifying that. Working out that I did not have good balance at night. And how I improved that was signing up to Opal, having the absolute lockout where I have no way of breaking it. And that's made my life ten times better, more present. That's how I've simplified and improved things for myself. Prompt number eight. How did my team grow, shift or evolve this year? And how did I contribute to that growth? How did my team grow, shift, or evolve this year? And how did I contribute to that growth? So if you're someone that feels like you had a hard time with team this year, if you've had a change in team, if you are feeling that you've got a culture problem, if you're feeling that there is a struggle within the team, that is still growth. So don't see that as a something that hasn't, even if it not excuse me, even if you aren't fully on the other side of it yet, that's not something that means that it's not in the process of growing, shifting, or evolving. And it's really important that we identify how we've contributed to it. Sometimes it can be a positive, sometimes it can be a negative. How did my team grow, shift, or evolve this year? And how did I contribute to that growth? Prompt number nine. What has been my most valuable lesson this year as a salon owner and as a human? So this is a two-part question. What has been my most valuable lesson this year as a salon owner and as a human? Prompt number 10. What am I most grateful for as I close out this year? I want you guys to really think about what you're truly grateful for. Sometimes the things that I'm most grateful for are the places where I've had to do the most work, where I've had the biggest challenges, the depths of heartache, the pain, the misery. Quite often, once I work through that, that is where I'm most grateful. What are you most grateful for as you close out this year? Prompt 11. What parts of myself surprised me in 2025? Where did you surprise yourself? Prompt number 12. Where did I show the most courage this year? So I want you to think about those moments where you really had to put your big girl pants on. Step forward and do something really brave. Where did I show the most courage this year? These can be big things. For some people, this might be parachuting out of a plane. For others, this could be having a tough conversation with a team member. Where did I show the most courage this year? Prompt 13. What did I let go of this year that made space for growth? So I want you to really think about what you were able to let go of that's then given you huge growth. So this sometimes can be team members, clients. Sometimes this can be relationships, dynamics. Sometimes this can be small things like not being present at night, not doom scrolling. It can be small micro things that you let go of that can make space for growth. What have you done this year? Prompt number 14, what is one moment in 2025 that's changed me for the better? Let's really think about a defining moment that's changed you for the better. Prompt number 15, how did I invest in myself this year? And what impact did it have? How did you invest in yourself this year? Did you invest in yourself? Investment doesn't necessarily mean a financial exchange. An investment can be prioritizing doing 10,000 steps a day. An investment can be reading before bed instead of watching TV. Investments can be journaling every day. It can be doing personal development, investing in a fitness trainer, doing acupuncture, something that is nurturing to yourself. Let's get really clear on how you invested in yourself this year and the impact that it's had. And the challenges and getting through them. 2025 has been a massive year for so many people, and I'm so grateful that you've sat down and reflected in that in these moments together now. Please have a nice, beautiful big drink of water. Take a moment to continue reflecting on how far you've come. Even just with having this time together now and getting your thoughts down on pen, pen to paper. This is where we really start seeing growth, recognizing where we've come, how far we've come back from, and how we're still moving forward. Thank you guys so much for joining us today. Thank you for sitting with me, for journaling together. I see you. I appreciate you doing that. Make sure you have a beautiful rest of the day. Come back next week for when we're going to be setting some intentions for 2026. Thank you guys so much. Love you guys. Stay conscious.
