From 5 Chairs to a Salon City with Carla Tedesco

What does it take to build one of Victoria’s largest salons without losing the soul that drew you to the craft? 

 We sit down with Carla Tedesco, founder of Alarah Hair Studio and TED Haircare, to trace the path from a five-chair startup funded by a scrappy personal loan to a 500m² Mentone HQ with 30 chairs, 10 basins, and a team of 27. Carla shares how empathy became her most reliable performance tool, why clear boundaries protect both home and salon, and how four floor managers and monthly rhythms keep a complex operation calm, focused, and kind.

Carla opens up about beginning her business with a partner and parting ways with respect, then walks us through the near-miss of buying a property with the wrong zoning. That hard lesson sharpened her diligence and ultimately led to a space that houses training, community, and a thriving culture. During COVID, she chose conviction over caution, consolidating multiple sites into a single headquarters that feels more like a small city than a salon—airy, intentional, and built for growth.

Motherhood didn’t slow Carla down; it deepened her purpose. With three kids under four and a recent autism diagnosis for her daughter, she talks about patience, presence, and building psychological safety at work so people can do their best. We dig into the industry’s fragile apprentice pipeline, why completion rates matter, and the practical steps her team uses to support individual learning styles. Carla also introduces TED Haircare, a legacy-driven range of tools named after her children, designed for daily salon use and a distinct identity that travels from chair to classroom to online.

If you care about leadership, culture, and creative business growth, this story is a masterclass in scaling with heart and rigour. Listen, share it with a salon owner who needs a boost, and if it moved you, subscribe and leave a review to help others find the show.

To follow our journey:
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Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:06

Welcome back to the Conscious Talon podcast. We'll just do a little cheers. Cheers.

SPEAKER_03 0:11

Cheers to our um, I won't reveal, but cheers to amazing guests.

Carla’s Origin Story And Early Salon

SPEAKER_04 0:16

Had to wet the whistle there. So, this might be really squirmish for you, but I wrote you a little intro. Secret guest who hasn't been revealed yet. No. So today's guest is the kind of founder who builds with equal parts, intuition, grit, and heart. She started hairdressing at 15 years old, fresh out of high school, and from the very first moment she was obsessed. You're also the daughter of a hairdresser. I am. Rad. She finished her apprenticeship at 18, and then at 21 years old, she backed herself and opened her first salon with nothing but belief and determination. Funded by a personal bank loan. There was so much good stuff here in your questionnaire. Funded by a personal bank loan, your first ever fit out was a 45 square meter space, which I can't even imagine because your space now is literally 10 more than 10 times that size.

SPEAKER_03 1:12

Is it now 500 square meters? It's about five.

SPEAKER_04 1:15

Yeah. Wild. Um, and that was a five-chair space in Bayside Melbourne. Over the years, you've expanded again and again, taking over the shop next door and transforming it into an 18-chair salon and then opening a second location in St Kilda, now growing your business to be the HQ headquarters that it is now in Mentone, a 500-meter square space, 30 chairs, 10 basins, and a team of 27, all while being a mum of three under four years old.

SPEAKER_03 1:50

It's mind-boggling. You should have a reality show. Yeah, you actually should. We can't have one today. Exactly.

SPEAKER_04 1:57

Well, I'm trying not to say most recently, if that wasn't enough, most recently, she also launched a second brand, TED, which is a legacy-driven hair care and tools brand, which the tools look so amazing. I actually realized I was like, we 100% should buy some for our team because you've got round brushes and amazing things in there. But you are so deeply committed to shaping the next generation of hairdressers, building strong culture, and creating spaces where people feel inspired, supported, and seen. And I feel like just fundamentally we have so much in common in terms of values and the way that we lead. We're so proud and excited to welcome to the Contra Selon Podcast, the founder of Alara Hair Studio. Carla Tedesco.

SPEAKER_05 2:44

Woohoo! That was beautiful.

SPEAKER_03 2:46

And it's the eulogy piece, isn't it? It's beautiful.

SPEAKER_05 2:49

When you hear it, you don't often hear it like that.

SPEAKER_03 2:53

How do you feel hearing all those? That's like just the scratching the surface of your achievements.

SPEAKER_05 3:00

I mean, it just reminds me like what my why my what my why is and what my reasoning for all of it is, you know. There's so many trials and tribulations through that. But I think that as a woman, you kind of think, okay, should I be doing this or should I be at home? And I'm so grateful that I'm still doing it.

Leading With Empathy And Communication

SPEAKER_04 3:21

It's pretty incredible to see how far you've come in your career. Like the the length of it and going into being a business owner at the age of 21 is just so much to hold in itself. And then what you've built and doing that with three babies on your hip and three kids at such a young age is just an unbelievable feat. And sometimes it takes hearing that and take it being a step away and hearing that and being like, Whoa, is that me that they're talking about to actually realize how much you've achieved day to day, and obviously we have someone in common. Dom, love, but um there were so many reasons that we wanted to get you on the podcast because you do have one of the biggest salons in Victoria, a huge team, but you still manage to lead with so much integrity and heart. What would you say is your biggest secret to staying conscious as a leader?

SPEAKER_05 4:21

I think for me and my personality, I I lead with heart and I always have. But I think as a leader in this day and age, you have to have empathy. Empathy is like the key to running a successful team and a team that wants to perform. So I think if anything, that's where I feel, you know, being a mother helps as well. But I think my whole career my heart has always I've always led with my heart. And I believe that that's that's that's part of it, essentially, you know, obviously hard work, dedication, passion, all of that. But yeah, I think empathy is the biggest thing.

SPEAKER_03 5:02

How have you found the balancing act of having such a you know massive business, multiple spaces, lots of team, large salons for the running of day-to-day with three littles? Because your littles now, how old are they for our lists?

SPEAKER_05 5:18

Four and then my two youngest are two. So they're Irish twins, born in the same year, ten months apart. Yeah, but it's look, it's I'm not gonna say it's easy, of course, but there is a huge village behind us, from my mum to my husband, who was a concretor and now has stepped forward as our, you know, looks after all of our bills and payroll and is also a bit more flexible than what I am, I would say. And takes care of a lot of the dad duties when I can't step in as mum, or vice versa. So there's been a lot of changes for us in our life later on, especially now with the kids and and the business, the size that it is, it's it is 24-7. It's not, hey, it's Sunday, put the phone down, it's it is 24-7.

SPEAKER_04 6:04

Do you know one thing that came to mind when I heard that you had 27 team members? I was like, we've the biggest our team's ever been was when we hit double digits, we had 10 team members. That was the biggest we'd ever been. And for lack of better language around this, someone always had there was a someone that always needed our attention or always had some sort of personal crisis going on, you know, whether it's outside the salon, inside of the salon, it felt like it was never ending in the sense that we were managing so many big emotions and it felt like at all times someone always needed us to stretch and be at a different capacity. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 6:40

I imagine that you're doing that times three. One hundred percent. One hundred percent. I mean, I always say to my team, if there's anything from personal to work, if there's anything that's not right or that doesn't feel right, or that you need to communicate with me, communicate it. I'm so big on communication. And I say to them, I don't, I don't care what it is, but let me in, let me know so I can either help or just understand the situation you're in. So I'm a big talker. Like if something gets I've got four managers by the way, as well. So I have a lot of help on the floor and they just look after the floor. Um but when I am there, when I am present, I like to be that person that they come to or feel open to talk to. But I think that yeah, you wear a lot of hats. I'm still I'm I'm a mum, but I'm I'm a mum of 27, you know, because I want them to feel that, you know. And when I talk about my team, I talk about them as my family. Yeah, they're team, my team. They're my family. So if there's something that's not feeling right, tell me. Help me, let me in. Okay. So we can help and understand better. And I think that that's what that's what sets me apart a little bit in in my leadership skills because it's not always about targets. It's not always about the numbers. Know your numbers, and I know my numbers, but understand your team and what they actually need from you as a leader.

Boundaries, Managers, And Team Culture

SPEAKER_03 8:09

How would you best for those people who potentially may trauma bomb with their team when they're struggling? Or how do you find a boundary with that where you can be there to support them, to be in the trenches with them, to communicate through it, but not have that bleed into personal life. Yeah, being being at home with your littles or um not making that problem your own. How would you go with having a boundary? Because this is one of the biggest things I think we get the most feedback on is how to have that heart-led leadership without having it overstep and come back with you.

SPEAKER_05 8:47

I think it's setting boundaries and that's really important. I mean, for me to be a great mum, I need to be present, right? And that's just what we do as mums or as parents. But when I'm at work, I'm in that work mum mode, right? And and I'm my full time and attention is on them, but I make it very clear that I don't want them walking out of this meeting or this chat without a clear idea of what we're gonna do next or what the next step is. Yeah, I love that. Because you can talk about it, but what are we gonna do about it?

SPEAKER_03 9:14

Exactly.

SPEAKER_05 9:14

So whether that's a client complaint, whether that's a personal issue that's that's just come up, or you know, there's so many things that go on in in day-to-day life, but I think in this day and age, like when I was an apprentice, I mean, you walk through those doors and we were told to leave your shit at the door. Yeah, that was literally some of so that might work in a salon, but I think in a salon now, to be to to be successful, I think we need to pivot and you need to change.

SPEAKER_02 9:44

Agree.

SPEAKER_05 9:44

And I think these days it's more so about making sure that you can be the best leader for your individual team. Because they're all different, they all need different things. I don't manage one person the same, I manage everyone differently.

SPEAKER_03 9:56

Love that part. Love, love, love. That's rewind, go back, listen to that again, amplify.

Partnership Beginnings And Amicable Split

SPEAKER_04 10:02

So, Carla, I want to rewind back to the start. Something when we were prepping for this podcast, something that surprised me was I didn't know that you started with a business partner. No, yes.

SPEAKER_03 10:12

We just spoke about that off. That blew our minds. Yeah, because it was like third sentence in, and we were like, Wait, what? Yeah, that yeah, it's wild.

SPEAKER_04 10:20

Share more what what what happened with when you decided to open together, and then how did you decide to part ways?

SPEAKER_05 10:27

So I worked for an amazing, amazing business, Rock Ebony. That's who I did all my apprenticeship with, and to to this day, I'm I wouldn't be the hairdresser I am without them. So so grateful for them. Um, but we uh met my business partner while we were doing our apprenticeships together, and we were just like besties. And we we to this day I just think so fondly of her because again, I wouldn't be who I am today without her. But um we grew together and we kind of just had the same, we just loved it. We were passionate. So I left. I left and I kind of my dad set me up a little studio from home in the study. Isn't it a a basin, a chair, very basic? Love with all my printouts from the printer of the hair that I'd done over the years. Yeah. It was so cute, so distelling.

SPEAKER_03 11:13

The photo books don't don't exist anymore. I cut out all of those pictures out of those whole weeklies and stuff. People don't know the work we had for me. Everyone's like, update the book. Like you're on it and Brennan.

SPEAKER_04 11:32

Yeah, anyone who was born after 2000. And like what's the magazine? Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_05 11:37

I wore the one out in a those folders with the pockets in it? Yeah, yeah, we don't know the pockets. Only one line.

SPEAKER_03 11:57

Like a Gwyneth Pop. Anyway, yes. Yeah, this is like nostalgic for all the millennial hairdressers. What is this?

SPEAKER_05 12:03

Yeah. So I did that for about six to twelve months. And then I think quickly my I was more I was brought up in a very traditional Italian family. So work hard, you can play harder, but work hard, save your money, buy a house. Everything was very regimented. But um had the best upbringing. My parents are amazing. So they said to me, okay, if this is what you want to do, you want to open up a business, let's see what you can do from home. It's almost like, not prove it to me, but let me see how how much you have in you, essentially. So I did that, and then I think my poor mum was like Sundays knocking at people knocking at the doors, coming in because I was working seven days a week. I was like, I'm gonna do this because I want to show them how much I want this. Yeah. And it's very much my personality. When I'm in, I'm in. That's it. There's no backing out here. So I think then it was my parents were like, okay, cool, she's ready. Um, and then my friend and I just got together, I'm like, we're gonna do this, let's do it.

SPEAKER_04 12:57

So we found dealing with that naivety. We were 21 and 23 when we opened the salon. And I remember being like, My parents, like, what if it doesn't work? And I was like, why would it not work? Like I remember being like, What do you mean? Like, of course it's gonna work.

Scrappy Funding And First Fit Out

SPEAKER_05 13:10

Like, it's just money, it doesn't matter. And I think my dad, remember that because he's got a business, he's a Tyler, and he would say to me, But Carla, you know, there's so many things to business, like that gener generation, they think about every little detail. Whereas I was like, Why are you thinking about that, Dad? Just let me do it. Let me let me show you. Anyway, we found this space, 45 square space in Parkdale, beautiful little pocket. It was great. Signed the lease, so excited, like, so excited. And then I was like, shit, I don't have money. What am I gonna do? So obviously, me and my business partner were like, What we what are we gonna do? So we drove ourselves to Commonwealth Bank at Southland, and we were like, all right, we need a loan. We're gonna have to get a loan, but what are we gonna say? So we told them what it was for. Originally, it was for a business, and they were like, Well, do you have a business plan? And I was like, looked at earlier. Like, we're 25. Yeah, like what's that? Yeah, totally so they sent us home with all this paperwork. Like, this is what you need for a business. This is what you need for a business loan. Yeah. And I was like, oh god, we're never gonna be able to get this. And then again, I was like, we've got to work this out. How are we gonna we've just signed this lease, we've got to find the money. So went back, but we didn't go to Southland, we went to Morty Allik.

SPEAKER_03 14:19

Don't know us there, we'll go to the other one.

SPEAKER_05 14:22

And we both decided separately that we were gonna get a car loan. So just a personal loan, essentially. So just tell them we're buying a new car. Tell them it's 25,000, make up some story of what car that might be. And so that's what we did. So high interest rate? High interest rate is like the interest rate. I remember that we walked in and I didn't care. I was like, Yeah, give me 25,000, we'll work it out. We'll tone it off, don't worry about it.

SPEAKER_03 14:47

I didn't care. Whatever interest rate is, like monopoly money. It's not really.

SPEAKER_05 14:50

I remember going back home to my European father, who's like, so you didn't get the money? And I was like, Oh, I got a personal loan. And he's like, What? Oh no. First thing, how much is the interest? And I was like, I don't know. Here's the paperwork, died. Like, you can imagine him looking at this paperwork and he's thinking, you have no idea, do you? Like, you just have no idea. But that is like, I'm very like that, even to this day. My husband now is that person that's like, Carlos, what are you doing? Yeah, he's the business. Where is that loans? I get too excited. I get so excited. Yeah, that's my personality. But anyway, we decided this is what we're gonna do. So I think the actual salon fit out, we got$25,000 each, so$50,000 all up. And everything was amazing. We set this beautiful space up, it was the best. Paying off this loan was nuts at 21. Like, I just still remember everything that we made, everything we went back, which is what you do when you open up a business. Um, and we shared Alara for about three years, and it was amazing. We traveled together, we went on Weller conferences around the world, we went to Africa, we went to New York Fashion Week, we did some of the most amazing things.

SPEAKER_03 16:02

Did you just have the sickest events? So cool. It's always like extravagant, you know, no shade to the like beauty industry, but we've we win. Yes, like it's just fun. It's fun, yeah. Um, amazing. Wow. So then after the three years, the traveling, all of the things, how did you decide to?

SPEAKER_05 16:22

We were just on a different path. I was just on a different track, and we were both just very different people growing up, wanting different things. Like I just always imagined my life being hair. I loved what I live and breathe, what I do, and I still do. I'm so passionate about people. I'm so passionate about hair. And so, not that she wasn't, but she was probably more focused on the business side of things. We were just very different. And so we were going in different directions, and I think that's what ended up happening. And we were just very proactive about it.

SPEAKER_03 16:56

So amazing, because I think about that, like at 21, so you would have been what, 24, 25 when that happened. Like the emotional maturity that you have to be able to identify it, to be able to be like, okay, cool, we need to part and like have that conversation. Yeah. Because I also feel like and Nikki and I speak about this often with so many people will have that like square peg ground hole, especially with hairdressers. We keep trying to like, oh, it'll work if we just keep going or if we keep whether it's a team member or a client or like whatever the thing is. So the fact that you were able to whether it's together or separately have that conversation and mutually agree on that, yeah, it's pretty fucking phenomenal. Yeah. And at such a young age, wow.

SPEAKER_05 17:34

I mean, it was just one of those things that can happen in business. And it happens all the time.

SPEAKER_03 17:39

It does, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 17:39

It's not often spoken about, but it doesn't always have to be the elephant in the room.

The 500 m2 Vision And COVID Pivot

SPEAKER_04 17:43

Absolutely. Yeah. So tell us about your fit out. I want to talk about the fit out because it's one of the biggest spaces in Australia.

SPEAKER_02 17:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 17:53

I did a bit of research actually, and I was like, I'm trying to find a space that is similar or bigger, and it was really hard to find.

SPEAKER_02 17:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 18:00

So 500 square meters is your space. I actually haven't been into your space. You'll have to come. We literally do. I I've seen it on Instagram so many times, but I have never been in there. We need to go because our salons are not far apart from each other. 15 minutes away. Yes. We could have salon parties. Absolutely. I love that. Tell us about your fit art. When did you do this fit out? And how the fuck did you do it?

SPEAKER_05 18:24

Oh my gosh. So three years ago now. I mean, probably about four. We always knew. So obviously at that point I'd had Romeo, my first son. And he was still very little, probably about 12 months old. And I'd had both Parkdale and St. Kilda. So Parkdale being two salons back to back and St. Kilda. And I was working and I was really struggling with being in two places at once. So even though my husband's in the business, he's not a hairdresser. And it's so important that you understand hair when it you've got hairdressers on. So I was just going back and forth five days a week, sometimes six, and I just didn't have a moment to myself. And I remember my husband just going, you know what, Carl's let's let's find a space that's big enough to have both, I guess, teams under the one roof that allow for it, you know, to grow even more. But even for the next steps, you know, you want to have your own training academy, you want to do all this stuff. Let's look at that now. At the time I was like, that's just crazy. COVID was just about to hit. It was just one of those times that I was like, I just don't think it's possible. And he's like, it's possible. And he's a dreamer too. Like we're both the same. He's just like, go for it. He's never said no, he's like, just go for it. But he'll always be realistic about it, you know. So thank God for him.

SPEAKER_03 19:38

Cause I'd just be he's like, go for it, but no interest lines. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 19:41

No interest, no high interest lines. Um, so that's what we decided to do, but then not long after COVID obviously hit. So close down this both salons, and yeah, I mean, it was a moment of just like fire out what what what's next. But I think COVID is what helped us get to where we are today. Like, I'm so grateful for for that moment and that time.

SPEAKER_03 20:02

I feel like that was such a pivot, like pivotal piece for so many business owners of really deciding what they wanted to do in that moment. Like COVID really did give you the time and space, especially being shut down, to be like, cool, are we going all in or are we gonna like pivot or change or what do we need to do differently? Like, I don't I truly can't think of a business owner during COVID that did not have some sort of like transformative experience. Yeah. So you were like, Cool, let's most everything also in a really scary time where it wasn't certain how this would look on the other side of it because people did get creative with all these lockdowns and things as well. People learn how to do their own hair. There was, you know, a lot of pivoting with like, I think even we did like um I feel like we still have a couple that will do the online um colour kits and things like that. Still sell some colour kits. Really? Yeah. It's amazing though.

SPEAKER_04 20:51

It's weird, but they're like, yeah, we're not gonna come back into the south. People have learnt. Some people who've moved into state who like, I can't get the same toner, like I just really want that toner. So we still send colour kits out. Yeah, which is cool.

SPEAKER_03 21:06

But I feel like this is the thing, it was not certain that you would come back and what your business would look like on the other side, but you were like, all right, fuck it, we're gonna go all in and do this.

SPEAKER_05 21:14

I just think my dreams have always been so big that I just believed so hard that it would be okay. And I think it's I'm so grateful it has but you know, been okay. But it's even been it's even better.

SPEAKER_03 21:27

Yeah, it's been more than okay. It's been pretty fucking epic. Yeah. So how was the when you fitted it out? Yeah, so I mean I'm because 45 square meters to 500 is quite a jump, as Nikki said, 10 inch quite quickly.

SPEAKER_05 21:40

Well, I mean, we had probably two staff, three staff to begin with, and now we're at 27, and it's just a totally different business now, you know. But I guess we found that this space, we originally signed a lease to a factory in Mentone, but then found out that it's a commercial, you have to have particular commercial zoning here. Zoning.

Zoning Pitfalls And Finding Mentone HQ

SPEAKER_04 21:58

We nearly I'm so embarrassed to say this. We nearly purchased one and a half million dollar property, literally firowing. Hand ready to go, and then a friend of a friend happened to say, Check it. And I was like, No, that's fine. Yeah. We literally nearly bought a one and a half million dollar property, and we would not have been able to operate in it.

SPEAKER_05 22:17

A hundred percent. Very we were very similar. So we were just about to sign the lease, or did we sign it? I can't even remember, I don't think we did. We're just so close. And then we my my brother's a builder, and he was like, just check, just check the the actual commercial zoning. Lucky we did because it wasn't under the right zoning. So just back to square one, looking for commercial property, but the size that we wanted, we knew we wanted big. Maybe 300 squares. Um, my husband found this space in Mentone right in the hub of Mentone. Right. And he was like, You got it. I was working, he messaged me. He's like, You gotta come and check out this space colour, you'll die. I was like, okay. So after work, went, had a look, and I was like, this is humongous. What are we gonna do with this? He's like, nah, I just this will be amazing. It's huge.

SPEAKER_04 23:01

It's like three and a half times our salon, and we and I feel like we have a big salon.

SPEAKER_03 23:05

And I'm like, whoa, it's um I can't like even just think of 20, 2017. Yeah. Not to mention all the clients and oh my gosh, like, can't wait to book him for an appointment.

SPEAKER_05 23:13

But it's almost like it the team is big, the salon is big, but everyone, anyone that you ask that works under the code. Yeah, wouldn't feel like it's so open and airy and calm.

SPEAKER_03 23:25

It's like a little city.

SPEAKER_05 23:26

It is, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 23:28

It's amazing.

SPEAKER_03 23:28

Yeah, it's like a little community of things, like literally.

SPEAKER_04 23:31

Can I just ask out of curiosity, this is not on my notes, but just out of interest, you've got the four managers. Yes. Do they run their own teams? Is it like, okay, this team member has their 10 team unlike working with them, sorry, or this team member has this little crew?

SPEAKER_05 23:46

No. So for the four of them, like we'll sit down and have a manager's meeting once a month, just go over everything, see where we're at. But essentially they oversee everything on the floor. So it's not necessarily back of house. We look after that, me and my husband, but it's more client complaints, staffing, um, second opinion colours. So amazing. So they're not definitely there as a team.

SPEAKER_04 24:08

There to motivate the team. Yeah. Yeah. But not, but they're just all it's the leadership team and then the the full crew. Yes. Well, how many netball teams? It's like thinking it's a lot of people to coordinate. It's incredible. It's it's such a it's impressive. It must be such a well-off machine. Like, I'd be really interested to come and see how everything operates. We've got a shadowing program.

SPEAKER_05 24:35

It just works. Like, I I it doesn't it? It just it just works.

SPEAKER_02 24:40

So amazing.

SPEAKER_04 24:41

Yeah. Um, Carla, you've shared so much about the incredible things that you've done in business. I imagine there's been some unbelievably challenging times that you faced.

SPEAKER_01 24:52

Yeah.

Structuring Leadership For A Big Floor

SPEAKER_04 24:52

With your permission, I'd love to share something that you wrote on Instagram a little while ago. Yeah. Um, along your journey, obviously, of building the incredible salon with three kids and 5,000 team members. But when I read this and I reread it again um yesterday when I was prepping all of our notes for the potty, and it actually made me feel really, really emotional. So you wrote, I'll be honest, you were talking about being a mum of three kids under three years old. I'll be honest, I was scared. I questioned everything. Can I lead? Can I show up? Can I still grow? Will I lose myself in all of this? But I didn't lose myself. I found a new version of me. A woman of depth, of fire, of purpose. I discovered a strength that I didn't know lived in me until I had no choice but to rise, to lead through love, to mother while mentoring, to nurture both a family and a business. This isn't just a story about becoming a mum. It's a story about becoming more, more powerful, more present, more passionate. And to every woman who's ever wondered if she can really do both, you can.

SPEAKER_03 26:03

What comes up for you hearing this? That is so everyone's crying. I told you you'd cry.

SPEAKER_05 26:09

Oh my gosh. Um it's everything that I feel like you've that is it. Because I think becoming a mum, you know, you you go far out. Can I can I do it all? It's a every mother will question that. But there was in something inside of me that it lights a fire up your ass. Like I was like, I was passionate before. I was passionate about this generation, I was passionate about my industry, I was passionate about people. But it's on a whole nother level now. Like it is on fire right now. And it's because I have three little humans to think about. And I and I want them to see a mum that's passionate, a mum that loves what she's doing. But I also want to be an amazing mother, an amazing mentor to my team, amazing leader. And I want this generation of hair like this industry, I feel like is just there needs to be my my message has always been, I'm gonna rant on here a little bit, but it is scary to think that this industry there was a statistic given out of 800 apprentices, eight apprentices actually make it through. So there's all these things that run inside of me as not just a mother, but like uh to my apprenticeship team, my apprentices, like I need to lead this team. I need them to see that there is so much power behind what we do to not back out. But I feel like there's just so many things that my why is so big. My biggest why is my obviously my children, but this next generation of hairdressers is is is where I'm at.

Motherhood, Purpose, And Retaining Apprentices

SPEAKER_03 27:54

Wow. I feel like you are like mother of hair listening to that. Like I was like that was really emotional. Like I was like so lit up by what you were saying, but the fact that it is so much bigger. A lot of a lot of people's whys, especially mothers, it their kids are their why. But I can really hear you, you're not only wanting to mother and nurture your babies that you've birthed, that you've brought into this world, I can really see, and like I saw that when you were speaking, and how much you want to mother so many into hair because it's given you so much.

SPEAKER_05 28:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 28:31

That is so fucking power. Like that was that's something I'm gonna remember forever because that was so powerful listening to you say that and like witnessing you in that. That was kind guys. If you need to be inspired, if you're not feeling motivated, go back and listen to that because that was so fucking powerful and inspiring.

SPEAKER_05 28:48

And just be like mums, we are uh we're super women. Like I I I always think we we can, you can do it all, not all at once, but you can. It just takes time. But for me, my kids, when you know, that that being my absolute my life if they can see Mum doing what she loves. You know, Romeo will say to me, Mommy, you're going to work today. What time are you gonna be home? When will I see you? And I often say to him, you know, Mummy's working hard so that we can have the most beautiful life. We can have the most beautiful things and we're gonna do the most amazing things together. And he understands the purpose of life. You know, this is what we do as we get older. But mummy's always here, and I'm a better mum because I'm a working mum. You know, there's just so many elements to it.

SPEAKER_03 29:38

That was amazing.

SPEAKER_04 29:40

The battle between being a mum and being a business owner and building the empire, and I can hear there's so much purpose with you leading your team and being supportive of your team. What's the biggest challenge that you face as someone who is has that push pull of like I'm here with my kids, I'm here with my team, I'm building the empire, I've got all of the different areas of the business. What's the biggest challenge that you face day to day?

SPEAKER_05 30:05

Um, just recently, this is where I get emotional. Just recently, my young my middle daughter Milana, she was just diagnosed with stage three autism. And I think as a mum, you know, you question what can we do? What can I do? To be her to be her person. And I always say, you know, to people when they ask me, how do you feel and how is she? And I go, you know what, she's amazing. And she still sees the world in colour. And I'm just I'm so grateful to be her mother because she's taught me a patience I've never had. She's taught me to stop. She's taught me to feel. And she's taught me to see things that I never saw. And I'm so grateful because she was brought to me for that reason. So on a day-to-day basis, it's something that I'm very conscious of, showing her that you know it's okay, and we're we're in this together, and she's only two. Can you imagine what the rest of the her life might be? You know, she's amazing. But there's so much more push for me to to to be the best that I can be for for her and for for the kid the boys as well. But I think that would be like an everyday struggle is you know, making sure that she's okay and her nervous system is okay and you know, she's sleeping and she's eating and she's doing all the things that you do as a mother. But it's just on a whole nother level.

Autism Diagnosis, Resilience, And Perspective

SPEAKER_03 31:39

Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. That's massive. Yeah. But I think especially like the fact that she's gonna have this to hear like the way that you talk about that then with uh being able to like what she's taught you and what you like a gift and not seeing it as like a negative or a a thing. It it's just a thing that that is. Yeah, and it is something that is like your not only like hearing the way that you spoke then, and what she's gifted you, but I could feel and like really see the love. And like that's so amazing beyond everything else because that really does show how much, like how heart-led you are. Yeah, and the fact that she's gonna have that to be able to anchor back into, like, that's magical. Thank you for sharing that. Oh, thank you.

SPEAKER_04 32:29

The fact that you have each other is beautiful, like you're just there's so much to you, you've got so much heart, and and then the magic of autistic people, they see the world differently, and it it can be such a an unbelievable gift to to have some. Yeah, before we wrap, Carla, I want to really honour your contribution to our industry because you have such passion and drive to educate people around you, no matter what level they're at in the hair industry. And now with your new brand, Ted, yeah, which I really want to talk about. Um, but I really want to talk about your impact because it was actually one of your team members. I don't even know if you know this, it was one of your team members that suggested you for this podcast. Which one? It was Kat. Cat. I have the message here as well. Can I read you the message? So she DM'd us six months ago. And your name has been on my whiteboard for like six or eight months. I've actually I took a photo of it when I first put it on the whiteboard because I had like five names on the whiteboard. We put up a story and said, who do we need to like tell us who we absolutely have to get on? And Kat messaged us and said, Hey guys, I know you've been doing this whole series on motherhood, which was a year ago. And I thought my boss would be the perfect guest for you. She runs her salon with 28 staff alongside her husband and has three kids under the age of four. She runs a full column and is so inspiring for young women who think that they have to give up their career or take a step back to have kids. Her name is Carla Tedesco. I just wanted to put this out there.

SPEAKER_05 34:11

Wow, Kat. Kat just got a promotion. Okay, Kat's kid. The most beautiful team, though, like genuinely, the team is just they're like a family. And they see it all, you know, they're the ones that see it all. They all they see the hustle, they see the grit, they see the passion, they see it all every day.

Team Loyalty And Impact Beyond The Chair

SPEAKER_03 34:31

What we had a real standout with that, and I think how like we first started being like, yeah, we really need to make this happen. Quite often we'll get people doing a must and being like, hey, I think I've got a really interesting story, or blah, blah, blah, blah, which is great. It's very rare to have a team member shout out their boss and shout out their boss in such a loving there's no kickback for her with that. But her just she's so inspired by what you do and how you show up, potentially not even to your knowledge of that level, to put you forward and be like, hey, I'm in a message, you that's ballsy, and it really blew us away just the fact that she was first of all brave enough, but also the impact that you have day to day just with showing up the way that you do, the intentionality behind it, the way that your heart led. Like that's one of the best reviews I think you can get.

SPEAKER_04 35:21

I know, and I screenshotted that's so a long time ago and kept in the bank. So I was like, I want to show Carla that when she comes in the house. You have to send that to her. I will.

SPEAKER_05 35:29

Specialists. I'll go to work tomorrow and be like, catch.

SPEAKER_04 35:32

Carla. I want to talk about Ted. So you've launched the hair care brand. Yes. You have so many hairstylists and salon owners listening right now. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 35:42

Tell us about it. Ted is Ted Haircare is a legacy-driven brand. So it's something that I want to have forever. I want to be able to give it to my kids. All the brushes are named after my kids. I did notice that. If you look at the names, there's a there's the Rome, the Milana, and the Lessie, and they're all named after my kids. There's five brushes, but they're all tools that we use in Salon every single day that just work, that are amazing quality.

SPEAKER_04 36:07

And they're also beautiful. Like I've never seen the green. I've never seen that in any branding in our industry. Like it's such a beautiful. I'm getting them. Yeah. No, I'll give you guys a bunch of things.

SPEAKER_05 36:18

I was actually meant to bring them to and I forgot.

SPEAKER_04 36:21

No, well, no, that's the ordering.

SPEAKER_03 36:23

I was going to say, yeah, we don't do that.

SPEAKER_04 36:24

Um, so your whole no selling them online?

SPEAKER_05 36:29

Yeah, so online in salon, but predominantly online. Yeah. Stunning. Where can we find them?

SPEAKER_03 36:34

I was gonna say plug, plug, plug, plug, plug.

SPEAKER_05 36:36

Ted hair care, obviously on Instagram, but tedhaircare.com.au as well.

SPEAKER_03 36:40

Yeah, everyone's finding it.

SPEAKER_04 36:41

We need the green because like our salon colour is green. We need that everywhere.

SPEAKER_03 36:46

I find a green because it's my favourite colour. Thanks, girl. She's got the credit card.

Launching TED Haircare And Legacy

SPEAKER_04 36:52

Um, Carla, I want to ask you one final question before we wrap. If we fast forward to 10, 15 years' time and we have your three kids sitting in front of us and we ask them, describe your mum for us, what are they gonna say about you? Oh my god.

SPEAKER_05 37:12

I hope that they can say my mum was the hardest woman, working woman I know. But she did everything with passion, with love, with commitment. She sacrificed a lot to give us everything. And I just want them to know and understand just how loved they have been in this whole process. The days that I'm not there and the moments that I'm not, I'm thinking about them every moment. But I hope that in 10 to 15 years I hope one of them's a hairdresser, just one. But that they can understand the sacrifices that mum made to give them a beautiful life. Yeah. Wow.

SPEAKER_03 37:50

Beautiful.

SPEAKER_04 37:51

Carla, thank you so much for being here and for your incredible impact and contribution to our industry. Our industry needs people like you. And obviously, you've got the academy and the work, so you're going to be able to impact and help so many people, including our team, that will be absolutely enrolled in the academy. Thank you for being here. Thank you for sharing so vulnerably. And thank you for also opening up people in our industry to leading consciously and leading with heart and being just just trying to make a difference and lead people better than how we found them. Essentially, at the end of the day, I think that's what we're doing. Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 38:27

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Absolutely. Really showing the potential. Thank you for being and sharing your heart with us. We don't take it lightly. Thank you. What a privilege.

SPEAKER_04 38:36

Thank you guys so much for listening to another episode of the Conscious Helon podcast. Love you guys. Stay conscious.