How to Build a Salon that Runs Without You - with Loz Main

A salon can look “successful” and still be one bad day away from falling over. That’s why this chat with Loz Main, founder of Melbourne salon The Rumours Are True, hit us so hard. Loz started hairdressing young, bought her first salon at 21, and quickly learned the brutal lesson of being sold “booked out” books that didn’t exist. The hustle was real, but so was the identity wobble that comes from trying to act like a polished business owner before you’ve even finished growing up.

We talk about what changes when you stop performing and start leading as yourself. Loz shares how culture, hiring, and client experience shift when you build a salon around who you actually are, not who you think you should be. And yes, we get into the wild fun too, including her legendary Christmas-week “12 days” energy boost and why a topless waiter can be a surprisingly practical staffing solution.

Then the conversation turns deeper: a frightening accident at home that exposed how much the business relied on her, plus the systems she built to stop that happening again. We unpack her headset communication setup, code words, and how process can create calm without killing creativity. We also move through COVID lockdown pivots, lease stress, fertility struggles, grief, and the moment she finally held Freddie after months of fear and disbelief.

If you’re a salon owner, hairdresser, or emerging leader looking for real-world salon management lessons, team culture ideas, and systems that actually work, this one is for you. 
Subscribe, share it with a friend in the industry, and leave a review telling us what you’re changing in your salon next.

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Transcript

Welcome And Meet Loz

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Welcome back to the Conscious Salon podcast. We've got someone very special in the studio tonight, yes.

SPEAKER_03 0:06

We do. And we also she also got us a goodie when we came in.

SPEAKER_02 0:10

What?

SPEAKER_03 0:11

She scared the shit out of us. Oh, sorry.

SPEAKER_02 0:14

You got a goodie bag. I was like, I didn't get one. I didn't. A very um generous friend who forgot to bring goodie bags for us. But this is someone who we have followed online for a long time, but we recently met in person and she became a fast friend. And with fast friends, we know that we say, You're coming on the podcast. So here we are. But I did write you a little intro. She started young and knew from the beginning of her career that hairdressing was her path. She purchased her first salon at just 21 years of age. The books made it look like it had a bigger clientele than it actually did. So you spent your first few years hustling your little arse off, and what looked good on paper didn't exactly match reality, which is what you found out the hard way. She hustled, figured it out, and slowly built something from the ground up. But like a lot of women in business, there comes a point where you realize that your business is built relying too heavily on you, which we're gonna get into today because you told a wild story in your questionnaire, which I've never heard before, and we're definitely gonna talk about it today. Then from major health scares to lockdown, chaos, fertility struggles, grief, pregnancy, and countless salon renaws, our guest today has had a story so layered with moments that test you, stretch you, and ask you for more than you ever thought that you have to give. She's also someone who has done the inner work. You can hear it in the way that she speaks about her team, her culture, her systems, her leadership, and what it actually means to create a workplace where people feel safe, supported, and incredibly and incredibly loved. Alongside all of that, she is also a huge contributor to our industry. She's an educator, a connector, a cheerleader for others, and someone who genuinely believes in community over competition. And we felt this the minute we met you. She's built her Melbourne Salon, The Rumours Are True, literally from the ground up, with how many team members?

SPEAKER_00 2:19

15 at the moment.

SPEAKER_02 2:22

15 team members and also raising the three gents. Yeah. Three babies on the kings. Please welcome to the conscious salon podcast. Lozy Main.

SPEAKER_03 2:33

Standing ovation. How good. Welcome, friend. How do you feel hearing that?

SPEAKER_00 2:38

Oh, it's crazy when you put it all down, even just putting it down pen to paper. I was like getting a bit excited, like filling out my questionnaire. I was like, far out. That has been, it is a huge journey. Like you don't even realize. And I think starting so young, like one of my apprentices at the moment, she's so keen to open up a salon. And I don't want to snuff her out, but I'm like, just take your time. Like, you know, starting young, you give up so much of your childhood. And you know, I was, I missed funerals, I missed weddings, I missed everyone's 21st. I I missed all that stuff because I was in the business and it's paid off later. Like my life looks different than some of my friends that got to party for your 20s. But um, yeah, it's a big journey when you put it all down in black and white. You're like huge.

SPEAKER_03 3:16

And that is something I think that is for forgotten a lot. Like Nick and I opened our salon, she was 21, I was 23. And there is, you do. You miss out on the Kentiki tours. Yep. I would love to miss out on partying. I still made time for that.

SPEAKER_00 3:28

But that's who you put your whole life into a Saturday night. I had to do something, that's right. That was all I had.

SPEAKER_03 3:35

Literally. But it is, it's one of those things where you effectively, and I feel like this is where we really connected. You grow up as you're also like learning and evolving as a business owner, and then you bring in partnership, um, you know, pandemic, littles, all of the things. Like you really do live like a whole entire lifetime. So I feel like it makes sense, even when you've got people who are so inspired who want to go out and do what you're doing, to be like, you can take a minute though. Like you don't need to do it all at once.

SPEAKER_00 4:06

And let that be like one of your last goals. Because, like, you know, I told myself I'd work hard for six months and I'd be back on Kentucky. I I get to go.

SPEAKER_03 4:13

Yeah, you'd meet him over in Greece. Yeah, exactly right.

SPEAKER_00 4:15

Um, you know, because you still start my spot on the bars. Yeah, literally, I'll be straight there because I'll have this whole team running my salad for me. I'm gonna be fine. And yeah, you just you just don't realize. And I think that growing up thing as well, like you go through so many identities and you have to keep changing your business because you're like, I'm not that person, I'm not black and white demands wallpaper anymore. Like that was me trying to be a real professional loss and yeah, and like dressing in all black all the time, and then you know, having this full identity crisis because I'm like, I'm trying to be, yeah, growing with the salon and figuring out who I actually am, not who I want to be, because I want to be the best business owner, but I'm kind of like, I don't know, maybe inspired in the wrong areas because you feel like you have, yeah, you're you're young, so you've got to show this really like grown-up demeanor, and it ends up being like a shadow of who you are. Um, because I always when I work for someone else, I was I was here in a show, like it was always the character first. Like my clients were always laughing, it was always like really experience-based. But then I think when I started the salon and you know, went through those rocky beginnings, then I kind of had to pull it back. I'm like, okay, I've got to be serious now, I've got to put my big girl pants on and grow up, and it's not it's not fun in games anymore. I've got to be professional, which I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 5:24

I'm gonna wear a blazer tomorrow.

SPEAKER_00 5:26

Literally, literally that that vibe.

SPEAKER_03 5:27

I've got to wear heels to work, like heels to work. I was this we're on the same wavelength. I was literally thinking the same thing when I was because I think we started when we were around the same age. I started when I was like 15, 16. Heels to work. I mean, it was like watching friggin' Bambi literally walking across the salon floor. Mind you, I'm in the basin, so and hair, like they're slippery things. The fact that, yeah, now we're in.

SPEAKER_02 5:53

Like half the team all heels, but it's just yeah, yeah. That's so weird to hear you say that though, Loz, because for anyone who doesn't know, Loz is the founder of The Rumours Are True. And you guys infamously or f famously hired a stripper

Twelve Days Of Salon Chaos

SPEAKER_02 6:09

Christmas week. Can we can you please tell the story of what?

SPEAKER_00 6:13

Well, so we do like twelve days. Oh yes. Tell us about the stream bar. So we usually do like a 12 days of rumors, so it links into like our marketing in regards to like 12 days of offerings for our clients, but then I do 12 days of goodies for my team as well. Cause like it's the most intense time in the salon, so I want to make it fun, keep the energy up. So they get like um, you know, chocolate strawberries and little bits and bobs. We've had tarot car readers, permanent jewellery, um, aura readers, just whatever I can do, like a mass a massage therapist, whatever I can do. Um, and then just stop now before Taya starts to apply for a job. So then, yeah, just on that creative energy, I'm like, sh well, I think I had a drag queen in and then it was just the next level. Like, surely I can go. So the the stripper, so the first year was an actual stripper. So he came in in his police uniform and arrested Sarah for forgetting to order homice. It was just so cool.

SPEAKER_03 7:55

I laughed over it. What was it?

SPEAKER_00 7:56

Beginning to order to order homice because we do cheese putters and there was and there actually was no hummus. So it was kind of like a little bit of a thorn in the slide for the whole team. So I had because I didn't tell anyone he was.

SPEAKER_03 8:06

Did they think he was an actual cop?

SPEAKER_00 8:07

At the start, everyone's like shocked, because we we're at a train station, so cops are like quite, you know, often come past the cellar. So they were like a bit shocked at the start and then obviously yeah, let him. But no one knew he was coming. So they're like looking at me like, what have you what are you up to? But I'd spoken to him net many times and said, I'm just like we're on a public street. I don't know who will be in the cellar. You can't get your doodle out. Like it has you have to be covered. And he's like, yeah, no worries, no worries. Like, you know, I'll keep it. He was like, Are you sure? Yeah, literally, he was like, Are you sure? Are you sure it's part of the package? I was like, No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, it's it's fine. And I'm like, leave, pick on Sarah, but like leave our clients alone. You can maybe like run around, like do some high fives, but like, yeah, just just it's not your target. Yeah, literally, she won't. And because she's like small, he was throwing her around like he was like magic meaning all over her. Wow. And then it comes to the the last bit and he's in his towel and his jocks come flying out, and I'm blow heaving and I'm like like shaking my head, like Kevin. No, no, no, like no, and everyone's like, I'm bright red because I'm like, you cannot. So he's doing his thing and he's looking at me and I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And he flicks his towel off. I pass away, but his jocks were still on. So then I got like reverse-punked. So I was like, Oh, it was so funny. Oh my god, I was oh, it was so. And Sarah's like, I am, I don't think I can come to work to run like understandably. Like, honestly. She's got brain damage. He was like, Yeah, dropping her on the floor. Oh, it was tangled. Oh my god. But then the next year, I'm like, okay, so what can I do for the next year? Um, you know what, we actually need more hands, so let's just get the topless waiter. Honestly, at Christmas time, if you need like a teen tight and you're struggling to find one, 150 bucks, two hours work, your clients are like your clients will wait 30 minutes for a cocktail because he's serving it. So we've had like three the last three years, magic men coming in and just doing two hours of labour.

SPEAKER_02 9:57

And and I saw him sweeping hair on the water. He actually worked, he worked off.

SPEAKER_03 10:03

He was getting drinks, he was doing all the doing body. You said it was a really great investment.

SPEAKER_00 10:08

So I think I can justify that to an account, Kate. It's gonna be you know if you're listening. Um when we chat about this next year, it's gonna be our next time. Sorry, expensive, actually take it away. T and Tati's are drinking, you know. I I really he's trained now three years in in a row.

SPEAKER_03 10:28

It's gonna be in the team meetings, his dude smashing. Oh, um, that was truly one of your most iconic moments. But I want to step back to also with when you were saying before about like the roles that we play as

Dropping The Salon Owner Costume

SPEAKER_03 10:42

a young one when we're like and trying to be that version. You shared your transformation of the rumors are true and going through that, and there was one video that you shared. I don't think there's any sound on it. I did not recognize the space because it's all like blacked out. Everyone's wearing black, which if you know Loz, even just looking at her, you are wearing a black t-shirt, but like outside of that, she's a colourful girl. But seeing I could not pick you out. I sat there and kept looking, and I was like, I can't work out which one is you might not even be in that video.

SPEAKER_00 11:16

I can't even I think I am, I think I'm blow waving. I think I've got my little like bowler hat on, my little black bowler hat.

SPEAKER_03 11:21

Potentially, but I was like, I cannot, I can't, and it's like that whole thing of this this is what it should look like, this is what I should be like doing and trying on and like stepping into and that part where now you get to like even when you look at that evolution of yourself of like whether it's putting on the blazer or the the hat or whatever it is, to now being like nah fuck it, I'm just gonna be as I am with the stripper and chaos that comes with that.

SPEAKER_00 11:45

Totally.

SPEAKER_03 11:46

It's a pretty fucking extraordinary journey that you've had and Ivolution in that.

SPEAKER_00 11:51

And it's the vibe that you want to retract to. Like, I think about those moments that I got stuck running that kind of like like playing dress-ups as a salon owner, I feel like, because it wasn't me, it was like yeah, a facade of what I thought it should be. All of the problems that I had around the salon because I was it was I was being an imposter. I wasn't attracting the people that I align with, the clients that I align with, because it I wasn't being true to myself. So I think that's like it all comes hand in hand when you grow and you learn and like become comfortable with yourself. Like I'm pretty cool, like I'm allowed to be who I am when I get home. I can actually like, you know, I've got a great circle of friends that are happy to be my friends. Why wouldn't people be happy to work for me when I'm just being Loz? I'm not being Loz the salon owner. Well, it's actually Lauren back then too. Oh yeah, I don't even recognise her. No, I ha I hired a Lauren who was younger than me, so then I got old Lauren and young Lauren. I'm like, we gotta we gotta fix this. I'll just be Loz. Laws is who you are.

SPEAKER_02 12:41

Yeah. Um Lozie, I want to take us back to when you actually bought a salon

Buying A Salon At 21

SPEAKER_02 12:47

at 21. I want you to talk us through that journey.

SPEAKER_00 12:50

So I um did my apprenticeship. I I stayed at um at school, which was good for me. I I was 17 when I finished year 12, so I was a bit young. So I was glad that I I worked in the salon like Thursdays and Saturdays, but I didn't officially start my apprenticeship till I finished year 12. Um, worked there, it was tricky, it was a family-run business, but it was hard. So I finished up there. I worked for a couple of girlfriends for a bit, I just didn't vibe it. Um, I actually went for a job at an electrical wholesaler. Don't even know why. I'm don't even literally took me in for an interview and then he sat me down and he's like, You're a hairdresser. I said, Oh, I was a hairdresser. So I get out. Yeah, he's like, I'm just telling you, like, you remind me of one of my kids, you're a hairdresser. I'm like, have you wasted my time to come for an interview just to coach me? Like, fuck, bloody old men. But also grateful to him. Thanks, King, for literally. I'm thinking about him all the time.

SPEAKER_03 13:35

I think it's not gonna be a back, being like, don't come and try and pretend to be an electrician.

SPEAKER_00 13:38

Yeah, go away, literally. And all you do is talk about hair and relate everything back to hair. Like I've had a phone interview with you, and all you talked about was being a hairdresser. You're a hairdresser, like you've just been burnt. Like, I think you should pursue it. So worked at Cole's for a bit, kept looking for salons, came across um my salon in Flemington, thanks to mum and dad, helped get in there. Well, and my Kentiki funds, that was my money that was saved up. I was like Kentucky. Sorry. Um, and yeah, bought the salon, um, lived out the back of it. It had like a little, like um, it was like a, you know, those old school buildings, like it's a shop at the front, and then it had like a kitchen and two rooms at the back.

SPEAKER_03 14:13

Yeah, Nikki did the same. She lived above my job. Lived above my first job. So funny, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:16

Wouldn't recommend it.

SPEAKER_03 14:17

But yeah. Yeah, me to look at it.

SPEAKER_00 14:22

Here we go. Okay, great. Crazy. I mean, it served me well at the time to be like I felt really independent, and I guess it could I could expand on my hours and figure out when I wanted to work at the start. I was kind of, you know, more available. Um, and yeah, work solo for a bit, and then took on my first apprentice, Marnie, who's still with me. Wow. So she's like gonna have like her 13th year this this year. So we've grown up together as well, which is pretty incredible. Um, Ingrid, who's my business manager, um, she kind of works like renting a chair for a bit, but she still works for this too. She's gone through the layers and she's off the floor now and kind of does all the shitty jobs that I don't want to do, so that's really nice. Um literally, literally. Like literally, literally. I'm like, you know what? If you feel like we can afford you, you can un you can make the decision yourself. You tell me, darling. Literally. Um and wow, that's such a like huge evolution, even with that.

SPEAKER_03 15:23

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 15:23

And it was pretty, yeah. It didn't have a clientele. We we have like a couple of like million-dollar clients called um Trish Evans and Gail Cox. They were the we had like this full books of all these clients, and the we were booked out for months, and it was just all a load of shit. Jesus. So we had two, we still got those two clients though, and they are the best, they are worth the investments. They are the best clients ever. They've stayed with us this long. But yeah, there was no no clients. Wow. Oh my god, wow. And when I I had one other random client come in and she's like, Have they told you about the ghost? And I I can't handle that shit. Like, murderers, cool, come at me, ghosts and stuff, don't do that to me. Like, I can't. She doesn't do something to me. I can't cannot freak the absolute shit. What's the story? Oh, should I tell you about the ghost? I said, No, she's like, Oh yeah, there's been a ghost hang around here for a number of times. I was gonna say it's in the show. It's like, oh my god, so then she goes to leave and the door's stuck, and she can't open the door, and then she gets over, she's like, Oh, must be the ghost. See ya, and I'm in the salon by myself, and I'm like, Take it with you. Oh my god, wait, wait, where are you going? I'm coming in the car with you, like, oh my god. I was like petrified. I had to wait. I was busting for the toilet, I didn't leave the desk until my client came in. I'm like, sorry, there might be a ghost. Can you walk down the hallway with me to go to the toilet?

SPEAKER_03 16:22

Oh my god. Okay, why'd that client do you dirty like that? She should have taken the ghost. Literally, literally.

SPEAKER_00 16:28

When I when I rang my mum afterwards, she said that ghost was definitely following that lady marks. 100% went with her as well. Yeah. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 16:34

Lousie, something that you shared with us before recording, which I've never known about you, was about the accident

The Accident That Changed Everything

SPEAKER_02 16:40

that you had in the middle of the night. And that was actually really shocking to read what happened to you and then obviously the snowball effect of what happened afterwards, realizing that the salon was so dependent on you and needing to take time off. Can you share whatever you feel comfortable sharing?

SPEAKER_00 16:56

So um, yeah, I had the salon was vibing at the time that this happened. So I had the best team, like my biggest fans, like the the time, the team that I have is was, you know, Ingrid Marnie, Lauren, who um was like I I interviewed Lauren actually just after accent, but like I was I was on that trajectory of having a really great team that was, we were aligned, we were on the same page. Um but I was definitely carrying all the weight on my own, trying to not be trying not to burden them with the salon. So um Ryan's a night shift worker, has been our our whole relationship. So I'm home alone, got up in the middle of the night. Um, and then next minute, George, my dog's like licking my face, and I'm like, what's what's going on? And I feel like I'm in like a pool of sweat and I kind of touch my chest and I'm my hands are covered in blood, and then the pain hits my face, and I'm like, what has happened? So I must have gotten up and I fainted and I hit the bathtub. And so like the bathroom looked like an actual blood splatter, like a crime scene. I'd lost a tooth. So I kind of I couldn't even get up because I couldn't gather myself. So I kind of crawled to my phone to my bedside table to get my phone and call Ryan. Like worst phone call for him as well. Like he's at work, yeah. He calls mum, they come flying to an ambulance. I think an ambulance got there first, but I was too disorientated to get to the door. So mum got to the door with the ambulance. And like the ambulance gets to be in, it's not fun, it's funny now. I can laugh about it, but like she's like, okay, she's feeling right in my mouth. My mouth is like, I've actually still got like everyone, like my lips, I'm I'm blessed with like nice lips, but I do have a huge scar tissue in my bottom lip because I had like 35 stitches in my mouth. Oh my god. Um, yeah, it was insane, absolutely insane. So yeah, I bit into my mouth, like smashed it open, split like it my face was like insane. I'll show you guys.

SPEAKER_03 18:40

Yeah, I just got married.

SPEAKER_00 18:41

It was a month after my wedding, thank goodness, because I I looked like I'd yeah, you could I looked damaged for like six months.

SPEAKER_03 18:47

But like there was no like you just woke up and were like I just didn't feel right, I just felt off.

SPEAKER_00 18:52

Yeah, yeah. I had I I had um a gastric sleeve, so I I had a few issues from since having that. So I kind of had a few like health hurdles from that. So but who there was no long-term thing, it was just I'm just a fainty girl, it's just my my party tricks. So just this one got me really good. That tooth is so good. Which tooth? Um one next to my teeth. You trying to I'm sure you shouldn't ask that. No, no, no, the one next to my um to my front teeth. So the yeah, the paramedics like feeling around, she's like, Shall you've she's lost a tooth? And I'm like, fuck off, because I'm like, that's the worst thing that could happen to me, is like losing a tooth. I was like, find it, find it. She's like, we don't, there's like shit blood everywhere. Yeah. Insane. Oh my god. But then this, like, aside from all of that, the someone just could not run. The team didn't know how to do like a single thing. And what what was so sad about that is because they were a fantastic team. It wasn't like I had a team like, oh, you're not here, we don't know what to do. They're like, we don't want to annoy you, but like, how do we put up an availability post? How are we gonna count the till? Like, how do we contact clients? Like, this person has like, I'm talking when I say no idea. No, I no idea. Wow. Um, so that was like I needed a head knock for a wake-up call to be like, this is ridiculous because the team wants to help me that they they are like distraught about the state of the salon that I can't come in. Because I'd never just like I'd had holidays and whatnot, but I'd never had any unplanned time off. Wow. Um, I interviewed Lauren's still bloody barely been out, but I think I maybe had the week off. But I'll physically was fine. I just looked, I looked, I looked so scary. We for the first day I ventured out of the house, I went to like our local butcher, and this beautiful Maltese lady works like in the butcher, and I walk in there and she's like looking like this, and she's like, Okay. Like she's giving me the signals, like wow. And I'm like looking around, like, and then I've realized, oh my god, I look like this, and she's like like pointing to my husband, like doing all these hand signals, and I'm like, oh my god, beautiful. But I am no, I did this to myself. Like, if anything's ever, you just tell her you don't want to get on the wrong side of a multiple.

SPEAKER_03 20:53

She was ready to drop him up, fill it in straight up. She know exactly what to do. Yes, sausages.

SPEAKER_02 20:58

Yeah, literally, literally amazing. Wow. Um, it was so I mean, I I guess you can look at there's always a silver lining and everything, but that would have been such a massive reality check for you, such a huge wake-up call of my business can't operate without me. And even knowing from what you've shared on social media with how systemized the business is and how much you guys rely on communication, like the headsets, which I want to talk about as well as when I met you in real life. One of the first things I was like, oh, you're Lost from the Rooms of True. Can we talk about the headsets? And I was like, What happened? Can we talk about the headsets?

Headsets And Calm Communication

SPEAKER_00 21:30

Well, that started in our Flemington salon, we were long and skinny. And I remember one time just we had an apprentice at the time, Julia. I'm like, Julia, Julia, Julia, Julia, Julia, Julia, I'm trying to find it. I'm like, oh my God, I don't know how to fix this. And remember when we used to be in like BW or JB Hifer, and they'd be like, Lady in electrical or lady in this. Those places are silent now because they wear headsets. And I'm like, the vibe in here is calm. Oh, remember? It used to be constant speaker. Yeah, like um something in aisle one. Yeah. You don't really hear it. So, so I'm in this epiphany happened to me in JB HiFi when I'm asking with something and they're rating. I'm like, where do you get your radios from? I'm like, oh, we don't sell them. I'm like, no, no, I'm from a business point of view. So I'm just trying, it's like, I just work here, man. Like, I just they give me one when you sign up. I'm like, okay, I gotta try and figure this out. So it started from that. And it creates this really like beautiful culture because we have our little code words, like we'll be like, um, I'm peaches, which means I'm running late, but I'm not gonna say in front of my client, I'm running really late and I'm gonna have to rush the back of your foils. Like, we're just saying peaches, we say like mangoes if you're running that. You know, when you're running scary early and you know that's gonna ruin your day later. Um, it's like a fruit. Is this like a fruit? Does anyone want mango? Or we'll just be like, oh, yeah, you know, or just like a little, you can whisper mangoes with that with very nonchalant than if you were gonna say, hey, I'm running early, late and the day's gonna fall apart. It's kind of just like little triggers for someone to come over and have a bigger conversation. Even if, like, you know, I see those like reels and TikToks all the time, like when I get people to go and check, like hype up my colour, we can go in the back room and be like, hey, I need you to like we name our salon two. We've got like salon side, wall side, seat, whatever. So, like, you know, can someone go and see like salon side seat three and make sure that she's o okay or g her up and you know make her feel good? So it really makes us feel cool. CIA of hair. So cool.

SPEAKER_02 23:11

What if someone packs a fruit salad for lunch? And you're like, I'm just about to have a piece of mango, oh my god, no at the same time. Um no, honestly, though, that is a logistical nightmare.

SPEAKER_00 23:21

Those those things though, like I really rebelled against not wanting to have processes in place because I didn't want to be take away the fun. I really was scared of that. I didn't want to be, even though I am naturally bossy, like every my whole family will say I'm bossy, I didn't want in my salon, I wanted it to be community and I wanted everyone to have fun and I wanted it to be, I didn't want to systemise the creativity and the fun out of it. But what I realized is when you do systemize it, the creativity and fun can come first because you're not fucking worried about it anymore. When you're running or it's running in your head, I probably wasn't really that fun then because I'm actually in when they're having fun, I'm having to run away and think about the a million back-end things that I have to do. So that was always my biggest block. Like, I just wanted to be able to, you know, have personality and not be, yeah, bossy.

SPEAKER_03 24:05

Totally like that's the biggest thing with it though. Like, rules can be cool. Absolutely. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 24:12

I think the biggest thing here, Loz, is like that communication when your team grows to 15 on the floor. There's so few moments during the day where you guys are all together and able to communicate. So having that system in place, like it's like below deck, isn't it? It's we recently gave my son a walkie-talkie when we went away for um Easter holiday. You inspired this for the all holidays. I was just skipping back with a wine. You get a copy on Tolly Blue and it's a copy copy. Like it's just like mum was going to the playground over. But I think it makes sense in a team your size. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:44

Definitely, and we're double story now too. So there's like, yeah, upstairs, so we can really get lost and we're not just like greaming around the salon, like we're more client-focused because we're not having to sorry, Julia.

SPEAKER_01 24:56

You know.

SPEAKER_00 25:05

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 25:06

Can you share a little bit about what you went through?

SPEAKER_00 25:08

Um, so yeah, that was just like I always

Lockdowns Lease Stress And Fertility

SPEAKER_00 25:11

feel like around my birthday time I get triggered by it because I'm like born in February and we we went to Bali for my 30th, and then when we were coming back from Bali, everything was starting to be closed, and I think it all just starts, you start remembering it. Um, so we did that, like we closed in that um March period because like I couldn't get toilet paper, I couldn't get cleaning price. I'm like, I need to close to like figure out what we're doing. Totally. Um, and then as I do pivot, I used that time, we created processes, we figured out what we're doing, we came back really confident. Um, and then you know how we were like essential for a bit, and I thought, I'm gonna like rent another salon. Like, this is like incredible because I can get a bigger shop finally, because all everyone's gonna be able to do is like, you know, get their hair done. Sign the lease. So Flemington was 90 square meters, um, Newport is 360, signed the lease two weeks later, went into hard lockdown. We were also like trying to get pregnant. Um, we were really like struggling, we're going through fertility stuff. Then you know that was essential and non-essential. So it was like, yeah, that was just totally crazy. Um, you know, clients coming in. Like I started to like filter my day, like who's coming in and when is the baby conversation going to come up? Because I need to like mentally prepare if I'm going to have a meltdown or not of who's because you know when you're you're collecting pregnancies, when you're trying to get pregnant and you can't, you're collecting them. Like it you feel like everyone's pregnant. There's no extra pregnancies, but it's like when you buy a new car and you see your new car referred, it feels like the exact same thing. Yeah, yeah. So, like, you know, going through all of those things when the world's on fire, you know, just a multitude of things.

SPEAKER_01 26:39

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 26:39

Um, me and Ryan essentially kind of gave up on the baby thing. Um, I just couldn't do it. Like I was being pumped through, pumped with hormones to do like ovulation inductions, then they'd be cancelled because then we were going through the next layer of stuff. So I'm like, I am like, we can't do it. So we kind of made a decision to be a really good auntie and uncle to our nephew. Um, and so we signed this lease, we go into hard lockdown, Ryan's dad passes away, and then I find out I'm pregnant. So it was just like gives me goosebumps thinking about it because it was just like the highest of highs and the the lowest of lows. Um, the salon, renovating the Newport salon was a fantastic distraction. The landlords there are absolutely heaven sent. They just gave me the keys and said, just take the shop, we'll figure out when you start paying rent when we come out of lockdown. My Newport, uh my Flemington salon were like up my ass, like, when are you paying rent? I'm like, great question, not really sure because we're not making any money. Like, um, but these people at Newport like were just incredible. So um, yeah, had one of those really, really hard funerals where we could have like two, three people there and try and, yeah, like it was right in the middle of that. We could have, you know what, everyone we hear a lot of hard stories, but like the funeral place was like pretty incredible. Like, I think we were allowed to have five. I think we had ten there, they just shut the doors and turned their back. Like people were really trying to lead with kindness, I think, around those really strict rules. Was Ryan's dad's passing expected or no? Got lung cancer, died in six weeks, yeah. No, yeah. Oh, it was and the same kind of thing with like, you know, we're in and out of lockdowns and whatever, trying to get in and out of hospitals. Like, Ryan and his dad are like, you know, bestest of mates. Like it was, it was devastating.

SPEAKER_03 28:17

I'm so sorry.

SPEAKER_00 28:18

Yeah, thank, yeah, it was, yeah. I mean, I think, you know, I try and be think from the positive side of things, like, I definitely think he sent Freddie to us. Like, and Freddie is so much like Paul, it is incredible. Like, it is, it is hard to believe they never met each other. They must have met each other. He must have been waiting with with Paul and sent to us. So, because they are so like their little spirit animals. So, um, yeah, that was an in very, very intense um 2020. We came back, you know, we did um, we kind of graphed our clients on the reopening of our um, we had, I think we had 800 on a wait list and we knew we could fit 400 appointments or something from that October to that December. So we kind of made like a funny process out of it, all in lockdown, because we we were on lockdown ever uh on Zoom every day. I made a a calendar, a schedule for my team. They could opt in or opt out to whatever they wanted to do. We started off with exercise in the morning, then we do some training, then we did um we did trivia or dress-ups or whatever at night. Like there was three, three sessions a day that they could jump on with me. Mind you, then I'm battling like morning sickness and I'm too scared to even admit, like I didn't buy a Freddie came four weeks early and I didn't have anything because I was too, I could not believe I was pregnant the whole time I was pregnant. Wow. I couldn't, I I didn't, I didn't buy, I was too scared that if I bought something and then it was real that I'd lose him. So when I went in for my 36-week scan, they said we need to take your baby out now. I said, Ryan, just be ready, he's gonna die. And Ryan said, Lauren, they're taking him out because it's gonna be fine. I said, No, I knew it was too good to be true. So I'm like in like this photo's me and I'm having a C-section, I'm like this, because I'm just waiting for like I'm out of body, out of body, because I'm like, I knew this was gonna happen, I knew I wasn't gonna end up having a baby. It was insane, insane, insane. Wow, that is so I know, I know, I know. I look back now and I'm like, I wish I could, like, and you know, obviously I'm being blessed. Like, I've I feel like in the fertility, I'm the exception to the rule and the fertility thing. Like when people say, Lauren, you struggled, I I feel like guilt to talk about it because I'm like, I did struggle, and then I've I've had like my boys at the moment are four, two, and one. Like I have been blessed with back-to-back healthy pregnancies, like incredible. Um, but I am the exception to the rule. I feel guilty, and I I feel grateful, but I feel guilty because I'm like, there's people that did don't end up having this smooth sailing journey like myself.

SPEAKER_03 30:32

So yeah, sorry, I just jumped like I just know that was like no, no, no, we've gone exactly where we were meant to. But even with that, I feel like with you being the exception, I I can hear you saying you feel guilty on it. But I feel like with that, it's so it can also be so inspiring for those that are in that because even hearing you say we just accepted that we're gonna be an incredible aunt and uncle, and we're gonna pause on the treatments that we're doing and we're gonna focus on and correct me if I'm wrong, but with your father-in-law passing and then you finding out you were pregnant, like was there how what was the gap between that amount of time? Um two two months.

SPEAKER_00 31:11

Wow. Yeah, yeah, and then it's that thing like, oh, it's because you stop thinking about it. I'm like, I just like that's in when you're in the moment in the thick of like every everyone will give you, especially in Salon Land, everyone will, you know, the minute that you get married, everyone's like, oh, you're having a baby. Are you having a baby? And you're like, oh yeah, yeah, yeah. And then you know, you kind of, you know, every now and then you'll open up, be like, oh, we're actually doing some virtuity stuff. And you do hear some beautiful stories of people who've been through the same thing, but then you're like, oh no, you just need to stop thinking about it. Yeah. You're just thinking about it too much. I'm like, well, here works night shift, I work day shift. Um, we've got, we really need to think about it because the coordination when someone works six nights a week and you're home, like the coordination's pretty uh got to be pretty spot on to be able to have any like uh alone time.

SPEAKER_03 31:52

Uh yeah, and also we want to keep it like fun and cute, not like we're just like it's and I feel this is the thing it often is not spoken about. It's that we spend so much of our you know early years and at school pretty much convincing and like learning and being told to us that like if you have unprotected sex once, oh that's it, you're gonna get pregnant and you know it's gonna be cra and like I'm not trying to make it out like I'm being like it's not that it's not that easy, actually, guys. But also when you are going to that, when you make that choice of I'm now going to I really want to have a family, we have this expectation because it's been played to us so long that it's going to be so easy and just like that. And when it isn't like that, the guilt and all of the things that you're saying, and even now with you saying you're the exception to the rule, when I hear you say that and hearing the fact that you did face all of these things amongst chaos of lockdowns, multiple salons, unexpected passing of your father-in-law, I find that really fucking inspiring for people to hear that and think I don't want to like stop thinking that this is potentially not gonna be for me. Like they can hear that and be like, you know what? That can inspand and inspire them to hopefully like have that experience as well. Thank you. But thank you for sharing. That's fucking huge, incredible.

SPEAKER_00 33:10

Yeah, it was it was a lot at the at the time. And I think just yeah, like, you know, not trying to wish them away. I look back at like, you know, even like taking pregnancy photos and stuff, I could just, I just wasn't, I just didn't wear I mean, I wear like this anyway, but like maternity clothes and stuff or love in my bumper was just really like I just knew. So yeah, when Freddie came, like everyone was at the shops buying clothes because I didn't know what I was having either. Um and putting car seats in car and stuff because I just was not not. And then, you know, we had Ralph who came six weeks early and was like a NICU baby, like proper had to leave him at the hospital and stuff. So I just that those challenges, but I am, yeah, I just always want to lead with being very grateful and very, very, very, very blessed.

SPEAKER_02 33:50

Losie, when you first held Freddie after everything that you've been through and with that mindset of this is

Holding Freddie For The First Time

SPEAKER_02 33:56

not gonna work, talk us through what you felt when you first held him.

SPEAKER_00 33:59

So after those like blanked out ones, um, I am I'm not a crier. That's just like not my butt then, like there's like the the next layer of photos where they've put me on him, and and I said, I there's like a video. I had the best nurse, like she was like in it, like I've got like the every single moment, and I'm like, Is is is he ours? And Ryan's like, yes, I've seen him come come out. And I'm like, is everything okay? And Ryan's like, he's perfect, like he is fine, he's fine. And then I just completely break down, like, and then yeah, I just I like everything I'm just in awe of him, like watching him, like I just can't believe, can't believe he was ours. Yeah. So and then all of that, like that the connection was there immediately. I um yeah, I yeah, like motherhood was just like an easy path. I was so, I think from you know, not accepting it, I felt so worried that I wasn't going to connect with him or bomb with him or you know, be able to yeah, be a good mum or know what I was doing. But again, I'm so grateful that it it it all um it all fell into place and I ha have a great support around me. So it made that Ryan's amazing, it made that yeah, job super duper easy.

SPEAKER_02 35:08

Well, I want to know we've heard about some of your challenges that you've had personally, but I want to know professionally what is the most challenging thing that you've gone through as a salon owner.

SPEAKER_00 35:19

Um I definitely think like I mean the identity stuff that we've we've spoken about.

Leadership Lessons And A Theft Shock

SPEAKER_00 35:25

I think coming out um of COVID and trying to figure out like where our benchmarks are and understanding our like you know, even still now having data to understand. That's why I'm so excited to work with with Kate to be able to understand to like forecast and kind of um Everyone's wondering who Kate is. Kate Slater is her name.

SPEAKER_02 35:44

Great accountant for anyone watching. Exactly. She's incredible.

SPEAKER_00 35:47

Yes. Um, so I think, you know, and I I mean I'm always wanting to to be better and be a good leader and and be put my best foot forward to be able to have a great team. I I don't want to like talk about staff and you know, bash staff because I feel like that's always like people's like first leadership team. Like, oh, it's staff, staff are so hard. I'm like, yeah, but I feel like we're the problem and we're the solution. So it's always me working on me to make sure that I'm attracting the right staff and I'm leading the staff in the right way. Like when we talk about processes, like when you put stuff like that in place, you can coach your team so much easier. The conversations become less emotional and more just factual because you've got that stuff down, down pat. So I think, you know, over the years, like we've had I've had someone steal from us. I had a a really um like sneaky front of house. She started working on She's like, I think we should move the desk. I think the vibe of the desk would be better over here. And I was like, okay, yeah, let's move the the desk. And she stole $18,000 from the teal. Oh my God. So perfect crime on the colour.

SPEAKER_02 36:43

And one shift, obviously, someone paid cash that day. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:46

So I've got a couple of years before.

SPEAKER_02 36:48

18 grand.

SPEAKER_00 36:48

Yeah, so she it was perfect timing. Um, Marnie was going to Europe for like two months, so like there was going to be a dip in in money, obviously. So I kind of just didn't really notice what had happened. And then um we let her go for other reasons. And then the new front of house side, she's like, there's all these like credit to account, credit to account. We use Kotumba, credit to account. I'm like, I don't, what do you what does credit to account mean? And I ran this report, and every cash payment, she'd press credit to account so the till would settle. But yeah, it was 18,000 something. So that was like that was out shit. What did you do? Anything like that. So I contacted the police, but they're like it kind of like it's like a civil matter. Like we we we put a flag on her if it came up again at another workplace and then you've reported that. But there's really because she moved the desk and it wasn't under the camera, you put nothing on it.

SPEAKER_03 37:38

Wow. Oh that was common. That's yeah. We need to get the um stripper around and get him. We got him to arrest her. Exactly. Totally.

SPEAKER_02 37:49

Um, Lozzie, you shared something with us before recording today, and I would love to share it with your permission. Um, it was something that I thought was so beautifully written and really sums you up from the

Older Sister Syndrome And Safe Spaces

SPEAKER_02 38:02

moment that we met you. We felt instantly comfortable with you. So you wrote, I have realized that I am the definition of older sister syndrome. I take so much responsibility for everything and everyone, and I have since I was little Loz. But it put into perspective why the salon space is the way it is. The pre-appointment paperwork, the large menu, the full service, our VIP memberships, they all link back to wanting to create a safe space for our clients and my team to have everything looked after for them and all the big thinking is done in a calm way, just like I always needed.

SPEAKER_00 38:40

Absolutely. What comes up for you hearing that? Yeah, well, I think that's like, you know, I I definitely, I definitely suffer with older sister syndrome. Like, I don't know if I said to you guys like Encanto, um, the Encanto move that comes from. Oh my god, it's so good. The main character, cool, but the older sister that's like carrying the donkeys around and stuff. I'm like her section like like breaks me down because I'm like, that is that's honestly, honestly me. I I um yeah, I've I'm like that with my brothers. Like one of our other funny stories of um in our Flemington days, like mum and dad split up. Um, it was a bit messy, and I bought a caravan and Lewis lived at the back of the salon too. So I didn't have space for him inside. So I drove to Horsham and towed a caravan back from Horsham. Never towed a caravan before in my life. Don't recommend towing one from Horsham. That wasn't roadworthy either. I had a 28-day permit to get it back to the salon. Um, but that's the thing. I'll take on all of that. I want to be able to um yeah, look after that. But I do, I feel like that sometimes stops me in my tracks. And like I said, when I was writing that to you guys, it was kind of like self-reflection for me as well. Um, that yeah, I need to stop and be looked after sometimes too, because when you're carrying that all for everyone, I like to be that safe person for the people around me. And I'm lucky that I have Ryan and you know, my mum, she was like at the house today, so I could get here to be with you guys. Like, I'm I'm really blessed in that sense. Um, but yeah, when you put it down pen to paper of kind of like why you are who you are. I think when we were sitting listening to Sophia as I was hearing like her little Sophia stuff when we're at CPR.

SPEAKER_02 40:09

I know you said you're not a cry. Did you cry when Sophia was there?

SPEAKER_00 40:12

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I was like, what the hell's wrong with me? Like, usually I'm like the like, okay, straight face, let's like, you know, uh when when Paul passed away, that was the thing. I'm like, all right, I'm gonna, I can, I can handle this, I can organize this.

SPEAKER_03 40:27

Yeah, wow.

SPEAKER_00 40:28

Like, even, you know, in regards, like not to be too morbid and talk about funerals, but I've actually like it was actually you know what can I say before you say that?

SPEAKER_03 40:36

It threw me a bit when you said I miss funerals, weddings, travel. I was like, Why have you lived with funerals? Which usually is an indication that you've been to a lot. Yes, yeah, wow, which is awful.

SPEAKER_00 40:45

But yeah, sorry, continue with. Um, I've actually like hosted is not the right word, but like I've actually like I've been a celebrant for two funerals because like in the moment of like my um my godfather passed away, um, and like my god siblings, they were like just stressed under the and I'm like, you know what, I'll be the celebrant, I can do his funeral. So I've done his funeral and then because I did his funeral when Ryan's grandpa passed away. Um, they were like, Lauren, can you be the funeral? I've done a wedding too to balance out the energy. Wow. I married Sarah, um, who is our um operations manager? Um, but that is that that is that like taking on.

SPEAKER_03 41:20

What else is the bag of tricks in your board? Jesus.

SPEAKER_00 41:24

Oh my god. You've done funerals and weddings. Yeah, Sarah gave me a wedding to balance out the like the good energy. So I mean, I think it's just that that that and put it in your intro, actually. Celebrant events, the funeral director as well. Oh my god. Um, but no, I think it's that that thing of like taking on and kind of wanting to take that pressure off people around me. I am like Ryan is incredible. He is like, you know, other day I was laughing, I was sending Snapchats to the girls at work because I'm like in bed with my laptop and he's serving me toasties and then he's serving me like a fridge fag, like a Pepsi Max, and then he's serving me Easter eggs. So like he he looks after me like so so well to be able to let me be like a kid again. But that growing up too fast and starting sellings young, I think that you just kind of build up your life.

SPEAKER_02 42:09

Yeah, that level of responsibility. Lozie, I want to end on one final thing. You've got so many people in the hair and beauty industry listening to you and looking at you to be a source of inspiration

Advice For New Salon Owners

SPEAKER_02 42:20

in this moment. So, what's the one piece of advice that you wish that you had at the start of your journey that you can pass on to people?

SPEAKER_00 42:27

I just think be true to yourself. I think we are who we are and we're fantastic at it. So I just think we should really just be honest and true and be proud of who we are because we've worked hard to be who we are. So I think if I could have taken all those steps back and been weird, awkward, funny laws from the get-go, um, I would have attracted all those same vibes and had a smoother journey.

SPEAKER_03 42:49

Yeah, take off those fucking blazers.

SPEAKER_00 42:51

Unless you love a blazer. Unless it's hot pink, you know.

SPEAKER_02 42:55

Thank you. Thank you so much for being here. Like, obviously, we don't take it for granted that you would have moved mountains to organize the gents to be looked after today and to be here with us and to give us your time. But the moment that we met you, we literally fell in love with you.

SPEAKER_00 43:10

I latched to you guys. I'm like, please look after me. I'm so awkward. Well, we're wearing the same t-shirt as well.

SPEAKER_02 43:17

It's such a privilege to know you. Thank you for sharing your heart with our industry, and thank you for everything that you've done to contribute to this industry and your team dynamic, your culture. It's so inspiring, and it's we're we're just blessed to have you here today. So thank you. Thank you guys so much for listening to another episode of the Conscious Silent Podcast. Love you guys, stay conscious.