When Your Salon Becomes Your Anchor During Hard Times

In this emotional and powerful podcast episode, Jodie Fielden and Adri Varga speak directly to salon owners who are carrying the pressure of salon business, life, burnout, responsibility, and trying to hold everything together.

If you’ve ever felt emotionally exhausted while running your salon…
If you’ve questioned whether you can keep going…
If you’ve felt lost, overwhelmed, or disconnected from yourself…

This conversation is for you.

In this episode, we talk about:
• Why your salon can become your anchor during hard seasons
• The emotional side of salon ownership nobody talks about
• How showing up for clients rebuilds confidence and purpose
• Why salon owners struggle silently behind the scenes
• The pressure of leadership, growth, and responsibility
• How to keep moving forward when motivation disappears
• Why one day you may look back and appreciate this stage of business

Sometimes the thing holding you together…
is the very thing you feel like walking away from.

This episode is a reminder that you don’t need to have it all together — you just need to keep showing up.

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Transcript

Show Up Without Perfection

Joldie Fielden 0:00

Guys, just show up. You don't have to be perfect. You don't have to be, you know, winning the whole time. You just need to keep that little one step after another.

Adri Varga 0:09

And yeah, just give give permission for yourselves, you know, like you don't need to have it all together always. Yeah, you don't need to feel strong all the time. And you don't need to be on every single day.

Joldie Fielden 0:22

Every time you show up for a client, you're still proving that you have value. You're proving that you're still capable. You're proving that you're not stuck, even though it feels like you are. And those small moments, they really do work towards rebuilding you and feeling your worth and your value. And it's not in a big dramatic way that's over the top. Um, but it's quiet, it's consistent, and it's just there in the background, giving you that stability.

Adri Varga 0:51

It's never about perfection, it's just to keep moving forward even in times which are very uncertain. Because one thing that we can control, and that's ourselves. Everything else, it's outside of our control.

Why Business Can Feel Like Hope

Joldie Fielden 1:16

Hello and welcome everyone. It's great to be back. I'm Jody Fieldon, and I'm here with my work wife, bestie, and business partner, Aju Vaga. During these podcasts, we share how you can leverage your passion into profit. Whether you're an industry entrepreneur, a seasoned salon or clinic owner, or someone who's just thinking about starting out, you're in the right place because you've just about done it all. And we're here to share with you that you can too, because it's time to believe your salon can be everything you ever wanted. And today's episode is a bit special because it's we want to focus on in the difficult seasons and how our business can provide structure, purpose, identity, and hope, all while serving clients reminds you that you matter and you're still moving forward.

Adri Varga 2:06

Absolutely. Welcome back, everyone. It's so nice to uh have you back. And let's just be real for a second, yeah. When uh life feels so unstable, and it can be unstable emotionally, personally, mentally. Your business might be the only thing that still has structure, and we forget about this. And that mothers more than people realize, because in hot seasons you don't always have clarity, you don't always have control, and you don't always feel like yourself, but your business it still asks you to make uh to show up, to make decisions, serve someone, and weirdly that can become an anchor in our business, and not just because everything is perfect, but because it gives you something on hold on to, then everything as fierce, uncertain.

Joldie Fielden 3:04

And

Work As Support Not Pressure

Joldie Fielden 3:05

this is where people get it wrong in their business as a pressure cooker instead of support. But work, when you look at it differently, it can be one of those healing things in your life, you know, like especially for me. Work is actually a moment to escape and step out of everything that is going on in my world and let me know this. Um but it helps you look at things differently. And every time you show up for a client, you're still proving that you have value, you're proving that you're still capable, you're proving that you're not stuck, even though it feels like you are. And those small moments, they really do work towards rebuilding you and feeling your worth and your value, and it's not in a big, dramatic way that's over the top, um, but it's quiet, it's consistent, and it's just there in the background, giving you that stability.

Adri Varga 4:00

There is also something uh deeper in here because your business gives you identity when you feel lost, and also purpose when everything feels heavy. Your business can give you momentum when you feel stuck, and also sometimes that one client, yeah, the one good conversation with a client or a happy client or just uh appreciation, that moment of I helped someone today is enough to carry on, uh carry you through the rest of the day.

Joldie Fielden 4:37

Yeah, and it's but the truth is you don't always need a full breakthrough, right? You don't always need one of those big clappy clappy uh moments that you know jump out and shoot rainbows out of someone's backside, kind of thing. Sometimes it just needs to be a reason to get up, you know, like it's a reason to keep going. Um and it's a reminder, I think, um, every time you show up for your business that you're still moving forward.

Adri Varga 5:09

And I think it's very important that is nothing like is is never about perfection, it's just to keep moving forward, even in times which are very uncertain, because one thing that we can control, and that's ourselves. Everything else is outside of our control, and I think when we find structure in uncertainty, that structure can carry us forward and uh keep moving.

Joldie Fielden 5:43

Yeah, I think sometimes that thing holding you together is sometimes the very same thing that makes you feel like you want to walk away from, but it it just gives you that grounding, right? It's something to just keep your feet planted in the dirt.

The Reality Of Business Ups And Downs

Adri Varga 6:02

Yes, exactly, exactly. And uh it's no question about it, you know, like uh business goes and your emotion goes ups and down. Yeah, sometimes you feel really good about it and you are in control, and sometimes nothing works. Yeah, whatever you do. I I remember, you know, like when I used to work in the salon, here and there you have a day when none of your color formula works, like you feel like an idiot because clients are not happy, or you are not happy with the result, and you are just like, I'm doing this the last 30 years, like why am I failing? One day is nothing working out, you know, and then uh you just feel like a failure, and it's really we just have ups and downs in business, and um if you give up because of a couple of not so perfect days, again, what we were saying in the previous episode, one day you will wish you were here again, where you are giving up and you're stepping away.

Joldie Fielden 7:09

And it's you know, today's stresses and responsibilities, you know, like I just said, one day you're gonna wish that you were having a go back to the old stress. I know I feel like it sometimes even now, like, but we need to protect what we're building, you know, like even when life gets a bit hard. And I think, you know, this one might sting a little, but it's important that you know, like the stress that you feel right now, the pressure of the workload, there's gonna come a time, and I think there's a couple of things that we can do to do this, Ajury, and we might go through it like it's tangible things for us to do, especially because at the moment everyone is uncertain about what the next 12 months are gonna look like. Logistics, fuel, you know, um, recession, depression, you know, like so. What can we do to anchor ourselves? Because we're just saying, you know, like keep yourself anchored within your business and needing to control, like being able to control what you can control and and try and shut out what you can't. So, what are some things we can like say three three things that someone can say, right? Um, what can I do today to feel in

Three Anchors Numbers Pricing Team

Joldie Fielden 8:22

control?

Adri Varga 8:22

Yeah, so there are a couple of things. Uh, you definitely need to know your numbers, yeah, because you need to understand your ins and outs. That's very, very important for a business. And you might not want to sit down and find this out, or you might not know how to do it. There is always a help out there, but that's very important because once you write things down and once you see things on paper, that gives you clarity. And sometimes we are overstressed and we are confused and overwhelmed because we don't see it on people on paper. Once you see it on paper, then it becomes reality, and also then you're going to have uh uh an opportunity to work through. All right, I'm in this situation now, I'm here now. How am I going to move out from here? But if you just keep everything in your head, what will happen? You're actually not going to be able to move away from the stress because keeping in your head is taking so much energy, so much time and so much effort, and it's much, much harder to work through something that you cannot see on paper. So I think knowing your numbers are very, very important. Secondly, as much as you don't like to hear, guys, and many of you don't like to hear, but you need to have a look at your pricing because you cannot uh run a sustainable business when your pricing is not right. And uh many times when we look into pricing, the pricing what people have is actually uh not even helping you to break even in your business. So then it needs to be a structure built in into your business to make sure that whatever happens, your business is going to survive and thrive uh in the new environment. Because let's be real about that, that whatever is happening around the world right now is going to reframe everything, is going to reframe our life, and probably is going to reframe how we are to uh thinking about uh business or how we are thinking about services, how we are thinking about clients. So the first one is uh I think uh we need to figure out where we are at, we need our numbers and we need clarity. When we have clarity, we can manage things. Secondly, we need to review our pricing to make sure you know that price is going to make sense from a business uh point of view, and maybe the third one, the third one, the third one is if you have a team, you might just going to uh work through uh systems with your team and also help your team to get ready for conversations with clients when the client is maybe going to come and say, Well, I have a budget now. So, what are you going to do? You are not going to so say, I'm so sorry, you know, like uh I can't do your hair anymore or I can't do your facial anymore because we have to put our prices up. So, what are you going to do then? And these are the things when you create strategy around what will come, and then once you train your team, and they are not going to be like, Oh, Katie just told me that she can't afford to come anymore, and then you just let the client go. Katie is going to go somewhere else when they're going to solve a problem for Katie. And why don't you train your team to become someone who actually can come up with a solution and can uh solve problems for them? So I think it comes back to numbers, comes back to money, and comes back to your team.

Joldie Fielden 12:23

Yeah, I think it's super important for us to have these conversations with our team and prepare them. Like, no, you're not going to discount, you're not going to go cheaper, you're not going to say, Oh, I'll just do it for half price, or I'll take 30% off, or something like that. But you are going to come up with an alternative solution to what they want, you know, and that's part of what we're working through with our clients at the moment that are doing the selling accelerator program, is that we're putting together strategies for them and for their team to be able to have that conversation and how to map out an alternative um treatment, whether it's an alternative, you know, to the color that they're having or what they're working towards is the results, whether it's for their skin, hair, or body. Um, we can, it doesn't have to be just one size fits all, and that's the end of the conversation. It we can it's we're showing them how to break it down and come up with alternative solutions that fits within the client's budget, how to have the conversation in a way that you don't devalue yourself. Yeah. We don't want to be devaluing the service that we provide. Um, but we also don't want to be losing clients when um it can be avoided, you know. It'd be different if it was like a D-grade client that's always looking for a cheapie. These are the conversations of the A and B and the top layer of the C clients that we want to keep in the business. They're good clients, they have every like they have the right mindset, they respect you, they don't try and devalue you, they turn up, they buy their retail, you know, like they're your perfect dream client. We don't want them walking out the door just because their pocket they can't afford something. So we want to find a solution. We do not want to fight to keep the discount bases, we want to fight to keep the value based on

Keep Value Without Discounting

Joldie Fielden 14:31

this.

Adri Varga 14:31

Absolutely, and and that is always uh in uncertain situations. Uh some businesses, some salons are thriving because of the mindset of the salon owners, and some salons are closing doors because of the mindset of the salon owners. So it's really always comes back to us. I know I'm sounding like a broken record because I always say it's all about us and we need to show up, and the way we are, the business is, but it's true, you know, like it's it's it's something that um happens. And I think it's very important that you become the solo owner, business owners who is willing to uh look outside of the comfort zone, willing to push through uh hard times and figure out, and even if it's stressful, keep showing up, keep showing up for yourself, for your business, for your team, for your clients. Because if you do that, the reward is there. And as we just said before, you know, like it only takes one client to say thank you to you or give you a hug at the end of the day, and it's going to put you back into yes, this is why I'm doing this, and this is why it worked for me to work through all these um difficult, difficult times because at the end of the day, I started this because I was very passionate. I loved uh the changes that I made in other women or other people's life, and somewhere along the way, because it becomes a little bit difficult, we forget about that, why we are started

Go Back To Your Why

Adri Varga 16:18

it.

Joldie Fielden 16:18

I think a good one is to always go back to your why. Go back to visit your why you're doing this and why it's so important, and um, I think that's a really good reminder. Um, I also want to just like touch on coming into um economically challenging times, the one thing that we have on our side in this industry is that we can't be replaced. Um people, if they go and do home colours or home skincare, it only happens once or twice, and then they're like, oh, I'm not doing that again. The majority of them. We're in a feel-good industry. And when things are going south for like a certain type of client, which is what we want our um our niche to be made up of clients that prioritize no matter what, how they look and feel. So they will sacrifice and go without other areas of their life, but they don't they won't sacrifice this, you know. Like I think Cheryl said it, you know, during COVID, she and she said, I wasn't willing to sacrifice my coaching sessions with Adriana.

Adri Varga 17:31

Yes.

Joldie Fielden 17:32

I went without having, like, we didn't have fancy dinners, we didn't do, you know, like we did. She sacrificed other areas that weren't a priority because she knew working with you, and I think that's why you guys were doing lots of like um mindset and goal setting and planning and and all that kind of stuff. And um, I think we've actually got on video complain, I'll get marked chop it in here. Where she said, you know, it was a priority. So we want clients that what the service you provide is a priority. Um and yeah, they may stretch it out, you may have to make some alternatives, but if you stick to it, and it may come to times where Adriana said, you know, like look at your numbers, you need to look at your numbers, you need to be on top of it, you need to make sure your wages don't go above a certain um point in the business. You'd you know, like you need to watch what you're doing. But if you do that, I I don't think um we didn't lose a business through COVID, did we? No, we were growing. And our clients, we had clients in Victoria, we had them in South Wales and in Perth, like all the different states, Queensland. So yes, each state was different, but the mindset of the salon owners were that they were working towards a solution, they were working towards when things get better, and exactly.

Adri Varga 19:04

The focus was on what to do to elevate my business, it wasn't on everything else is crumbling uh uh next to me. And I think this is the very important Jodi just mentioned I I uh I think it was last uh uh session when she mentioned, you know, like choose your focus. What are you focusing on? Are you focusing on uh what uh is happening and you don't have control over, or are you focusing on your next step, which has which you have absolutely control over?

Joldie Fielden 19:36

Focus on what you can control, not on what you have no control over whatsoever.

Adri Varga 19:41

Yes, absolutely,

Consistency Beats Perfection

Adri Varga 19:43

guys.

Joldie Fielden 19:43

Just show up. You don't have to be perfect, you don't have to be, you know, winning the whole time, you just need to keep that little one step after another.

Adri Varga 19:53

Um yeah, just give give permission for yourselves, you know, like you don't need to have it all together always. Yeah, you don't need to feel strong all the time, and you don't need to be on every single day. But what you can do is basically disappear from your own life, like you can't escape from your own life, even if you think because you pause your life and you think you can escape, like it's no escape. So I think you know, just remember that you don't need to do big moves, uh, you don't need to have a perfect plan because there is never going to be a perfect plan. Remember, perfection is uh leads to procrastination, it leads to stagnation. So you don't want to be a perfectionist, uh, you know, like we used to think perfect being perfectionist is a great thing. It's actually not a great thing, it builds walls around you, and you're just going to stuck there forever. So just make sure that you reader going to be someone who keeps moving and making mistakes and not get it right all the time, but you are keep moving uh opposite to a perfectionist, and just be mentioned in the last episode, shorten your days with half an hour, with an hour, find little joys and just uh have that mental uh space for yourself. And even if you just close your eyes for 10 minutes and you think of nothing, you know, like uh try try to work war uh towards today. Yeah, 100%.

Joldie Fielden 21:36

You don't need to be your best performance, you just need to be consistent and present.

Adri Varga 21:43

Absolutely.

Joldie Fielden 21:44

All

Book A Demo And Stay Connected

Joldie Fielden 21:45

right, guys. Um, if you need to, if you're looking at ways and you want to start planning for like what to do to mitigate the economic impacts over the next six to twelve months, I'm happy you can jump. In um to book one of the demos, the link's in there. There's a little questionnaire to fill in. Put in as much detail as you can what you want to cover with me and what you really want to like have a chat so that you don't forget once we get into that meeting, because sometimes it can you know go a little bit. So just put in what you're really um wanting to work towards and what you think is going to be your biggest challenge or the biggest roadblock that you know you're banging your head on that wall about. And we can I'm happy to you know have an hour and hour session. Um, all right. Anything else, Audrey? What's our handles? What's our Instagram?

Adri Varga 22:43

And uh TikTok, Facebook, and you can find us on YouTube. Uh, it's the same uh as the podcast. Uh it's beyond the mirror. And uh we will see you guys uh shortly. Uh and hopefully you got even if you just got like one little thing uh out of this episode, hopefully it's just help you to uh keep moving forward instead of stagnating in a position where you don't like to be. All right, guys, ciao. Bye bye, bye bye.