Fully booked… working nonstop… and clients love you. So why does tax time always feel like a crisis - and why does your bank account always feel empty?

If you’re a hairdresser, beauty therapist, barber, salon owner, or creative business owner who is making money but constantly stressed about it - you’re not broke because you don’t earn enough.

In fact, you’re probably earning more than enough

The truth is, you’re broke because you don’t know where your money is going.

In this episode, I’m diving into the overspending epidemic in small businesses - especially in the hair and beauty industry.

I’m also breaking down the exact financial habits that quietly destroy profitable businesses (and what to do about it).

Tune in to discover:

✅ Why earning more money won’t fix your financial stress

✅ How overspending sabotages profitable businesses

✅ The real reason tax time feels like an emergency

✅ How to properly set aside GST, PAYG & income tax (Australia)

✅ The first step to getting out of business debt

✅ How to do a full expense audit (step-by-step)

✅ Why outsourcing bookkeeping doesn’t remove your responsibility

✅ How to stop the debt spiral before it buries you

Key moments:

00:00:00 The Tap and Pray Method
00:03:00 Where Your Money Actually Goes
00:05:20 Hidden Subscriptions and Waste
00:08:40 Tax Debt Destroys Businesses
00:13:40 The Dangerous Debt Spiral
00:17:00 Outsourcing Without Oversight
00:22:00 The Education Gap
00:23:20 Compassion Ends, Accountability Starts
00:24:40 Tactical Steps to Fix It
00:28:00 Invest in Financial Education

If you're a salon owner, stylist, barber, or beauty professional who's tired of working nonstop and still stressing about money - hit play and start sorting your spending today.

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👉Find out more about how we can work together:

https://iconiccoaching.com.au/coaching/

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👉Here’s how to connect:

https://www.instagram.com/tellmeaboutit__podcast
https://iconiccoaching.com.au

What if scaling your business didn’t require more hustle… more hours… or more burnout?

What if the real growth strategy was better leadership, stronger systems, and trusting your intuition in business?

If you’re a female entrepreneur, salon owner, coach, creative, or working mum juggling way too much - you can’t afford to subscribe to the ‘hustle culture’.

In this episode, Cait sits down with Grace Kirk - serial entrepreneur and co-founder of multiple businesses.

Together, they discuss what it really takes to build six and seven-figure businesses without burning your life to the ground.

From tax debt in her early 20s to leading almost 40 staff across three companies, Grace shares the honest lessons behind scaling sustainably, trusting your intuition in business, and why your self-worth directly impacts your net worth.

Tune in to hear about:

✅ What no one tells you about building multiple businesses from scratch

✅ The curious link between self-worth and income (is this capping your earning potential?)

✅ Subtle signs your workplace culture is quietly killing your growth

✅ Why hiring slowly and firing quickly protects your profit, your peace, and your team

✅ The truth about running a business with your husband (and how to not let it destroy your relationship)

✅ How to balance motherhood and entrepreneurship without chasing the myth of “perfect balance”

✅ When to trust your intuition over spreadsheets… and why data alone can stall your growth

✅ The gut health and energy optimisation habits high-performing female entrepreneurs swear by

Key moments:

00:00:00 Intro
00:04:07 Grace Kirk's Empire
00:09:01 Money as an Ick
00:13:40 Self-Worth Meets Pricing
00:17:35 The Hot Mess Era
00:20:46 Business Partnerships Done Right
00:25:23 Apprentice to Salon Owner
00:35:20 Walking Away on Principle
00:41:56 Clients Found Her
00:51:47 The Carpet Cleaner Connection
00:53:15 Starting Traffic Management
00:59:06 Self-Worth Equals Net Worth
01:04:17 Taking Radical Responsibility
01:07:02 Gut Health and Workplace Performance
01:19:22 Intuition Over Spreadsheets
01:23:08 When Fun Stops, Pivot

If you're a business owner, entrepreneur, or career-driven person who feels like you're holding it together on the outside but drowning behind the scenes - this conversation will give you permission to do things differently.

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👉Connect With Grace Kirk:

https://www.instagram.com/gracekirk
https://www.gracekirk.com.au/

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👉Find out more about how we can work together:

https://iconiccoaching.com.au/coaching/

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👉Here’s how to connect:

https://www.instagram.com/tellmeaboutit__podcast
https://iconiccoaching.com.au

Success is lonely. Entrepreneurship is isolating. And no one warns you that building a business will cost you relationships.

As you grow, your circle gets smaller - and the emotional cost of success can hit harder than you expect

In this episode, I’m sharing why entrepreneurship feels lonely, why you outgrow people as you evolve, and how to stop performing for people who were never your audience in the first place.

Tune in to hear about:

✅How building a business changes your relationships

✅Why some friends don’t support your business (and what that really means)

✅The emotional cost of entrepreneurship that very few admit

✅How to stop exhausting yourself trying to be understood

✅The sacrifices required to build something meaningful

✅What real support for business owners actually looks like

✅Practical ways to support a friend who is starting or growing a business

Key moments:

00:00:45 The Lonely Side of Success
00:02:25 The Hardest Part
00:05:25 Why Business Demands Evolution
00:07:25 You Can't Explain Vision to the Unhungry
00:09:05 Spotting Unsupportive People
00:10:45 Benefits Of A Smaller Circle
00:13:05 Stop Making Everyone Understand
00:17:25 How to Support a Friend in Business
00:22:45 The Sacrifices Nobody Warns You About
00:27:05 Business Is a Sport, Not a Hobby

Hit play now if you've ever felt unseen, misunderstood, or alone in your business journey.

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👉Find out more about how we can work together:

https://iconiccoaching.com.au/coaching/

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👉Here’s how to connect:

https://www.instagram.com/tellmeaboutit__podcast
https://iconiccoaching.com.au

If you’ve ever loved someone whose brain works COMPLETELY differently to yours, this conversation will resonate with you.

Cait is joined by her husband, Cam, for a no-filter conversation about love, neurodivergence, fitness, failure, grief, and what it really takes to build a strong relationship.

From long-distance dating and miscarriage, to CrossFit gym ownership, COVID burnout, and learning how two very different brains can thrive together - you’ll hear it all.

Tune in to hear about:

✅Life inside a neurodivergent relationship (ADHD & autism)

✅How routine vs spontaneity impacts marriage

✅Miscarriage, grief, and rebuilding emotional connection

✅Fitness identity, body image, and unhealthy relationships with food

✅Owning a CrossFit gym… and losing it during COVID

✅The curious reason why love actually gets stronger after hardship

Key moments:

00:02:20 The Pumpkin Trauma Origin Story
00:09:40 Autism vs ADHD in Marriage
00:15:00 Long Distance and Moving In
00:17:40 Owning a CrossFit Gym
00:19:00 COVID Destroys the Business
00:27:00 Reconnecting on Tinder
00:34:20 From Fat Kid to Fit
00:44:00 The 100kg Wake Up Call
00:47:20 Helping Others Transform
00:52:00 CrossFit Is Not a Cult
00:56:00 The Nerd Side of Cam
01:05:00 The Wardrobe Makeover

If you want to hear a real couple talk about real life with zero filter, hit play on this one.

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👉Find out more about how we can work together:

https://iconiccoaching.com.au/coaching

-

👉Here’s how to connect:

https://www.instagram.com/tellmeaboutit__podcast
https://iconiccoaching.com.au

Creative, talented, fully booked… and still under-earning? If you work in the hair, beauty, or service industry, this episode will change how you look at your business numbers forever.

Avoiding your business numbers isn’t a personality trait or something you should be saying at all. In fact, it’s costing you thousands (if not tens of thousands) of dollars every year.

In this episode I break down the 7 KPIs every service-based professional needs to know, why they actually matter, and how to use them to make more money without working more hours.

These tips for business owners in the hair, beauty, and service industry will help you stop flying blind and start running a profitable business.

✅Why “I’m not a numbers person” is BS

✅How tracking KPIs increases salon profitability

✅How to improve rebooking rates in a salon

✅How to increase average client spend

✅How to grow a beauty or service-based business sustainably

✅Why talent alone doesn’t equal financial success

Key moments:

00:00:00 The "Not a Numbers Person" Excuse
00:03:00 Avoidance Is Costing You Thousands
00:05:40 You Cannot Manage What You Don't Measure
00:07:40 KPI #1: Client Count
00:08:40 KPI #2: Rebooking Rate
00:11:00 KPI #3: New vs Retained Clients
00:13:40 KPI #4: Productivity Percentage
00:14:40 KPI #5: Service Revenue Benchmarks
00:16:00 KPI #6: Aftercare and Retail Sales
00:19:40 KPI #7: Average Total Value Math
00:22:40 Gap Analysis and Taking Action

Ready to stop guessing and start growing? Listen now and become a freak in the (spread)sheets.

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👉Find out more about how we can work together:

https://iconiccoaching.com.au/coaching/

-

👉Here’s how to connect:

https://www.instagram.com/tellmeaboutit__podcast
https://iconiccoaching.com.au

What happens when you’re running multiple businesses, raising nine children, and your world is completely shattered by grief?

In this episode of Tell Me About It, Cait Muir sat down with salon owner, hair educator, and foster mum Prue Taylor - for a raw, unfiltered conversation about business, loss, motherhood, and healing.

Prue shares her journey of building a hair salon from her garage…

Scaling to multiple thriving salons…

And what it really looks like to be a female entrepreneur in the hair and beauty industry.

You’ll hear about the realities of salon ownership, leadership, staff turnover, training apprentices, and why stepping off the floor is sometimes the most powerful move a business owner can make.

Prue opens up about:

✅Losing her partner suddenly and navigating grief as a business owner

✅How trauma impacts the nervous system and emotional regulation

✅Why breathwork and somatic healing became essential tools in her recovery

✅Raising children through kinship care and foster care while running businesses

✅Balancing motherhood, leadership, and survival when life falls apart

✅Why trusting your intuition matters more than expert advice

If you’re a salon owner, female entrepreneur, or a woman holding everything together while quietly falling apart… you’re in the right place.

Key moments:

00:03:40 From Garage to Empire
00:07:40 The Day Everything Changed
00:11:40 The Truth About Grief
00:17:40 Signs from the Other Side
00:23:40 Anger & Grief
00:27:40 Discovering Breath Work
00:34:00 The Business Brain
00:38:00 Training vs Losing Staff
00:47:40 Nine Kids One Roof
00:56:00 Managing Business and Babies
01:01:00 Hair Education Journey
01:09:00 Trust Your Own Intuition

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👉Connect With Prue

https://www.instagram.com/pruby_26
https://www.instagram.com/ladyandthehair

https://www.tiktok.com/@pruby26
https://www.tiktok.com/@_ladyandthehair_

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👉Find out more about how we can work together:

https://iconiccoaching.com.au/coaching/

-

👉Here’s how to connect:

https://www.instagram.com/tellmeaboutit__podcast
https://iconiccoaching.com.au

If you’re a salon owner wondering why your best stylists are disengaging… whilst low performers coast… your reward system is the real problem.

In this episode of Tell Me About It, I break down why blanket rewards are destroying your workplace culture, killing staff motivation, and quietly driving your top performers out the door.

I’m sharing the uncomfortable truth about equality vs equity at work, why “treating everyone the same” isn’t actually fair, and how your reward structure might be breeding mediocrity (without you even realising it).

Tune in to hear about:

✅The real difference between equality vs equity in the workplace

✅Why high performers leave and underperformers stay

✅How poor reward systems create a toxic salon culture

✅The psychology behind motivation and performance at work

✅How to build performance-based rewards that actually motivate

✅Using KPIs, accountability, and transparency to retain top talent

This episode shows you how to build a high-performance team, improve staff retention, and create a culture where effort actually matters in your salon.

Key moments:

00:00:20 Blanket Rewards & Culture
00:02:00 Equality vs Equity
00:05:00 The ‘Communism in Business’ Effect
00:09:40 Why Top Talent Leaves
00:15:00 Teaching Teams to Coast
00:18:40 Learned Helplessness
00:21:00 Building Performance-Based Culture
00:24:00 Rewarding Contribution & Loyalty

Ready to stop funding mediocrity and start building a team that actually wants to perform? Listen now and discover the culture shift that could transform your business.

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👉Find out more about how we can work together:

https://iconiccoaching.com.au/coaching/

-

👉Here’s how to connect:

https://www.instagram.com/tellmeaboutit__podcast
https://iconiccoaching.com.au

If you’re a woman in business or simply a woman who knows they’re capable of more - this episode will inspire you with the discipline, confidence, and self-belief to actually go all in.

Katie Alexander joins us to share a masterclass in high-performance mindset, resilience, and identity shifts.

Katie is a FIFO underground sparky, bikini bodybuilding pro, and walking proof that discipline beats motivation every single time.

And whilst the conversation discusses bodybuilding and fitness - the lessons shared are giving you the exact skills required to scale a business, survive burnout, and stop giving a f*ck what people think.

Tune in to hear about:

✅What it really takes to go from last place to winning (in sport, business, and life)

✅How to stay consistent when no one is cheering you on

✅The best ways to handle judgment, criticism, and tall poppy syndrome as a woman

✅How to stop people-pleasing… and start backing yourself instead

✅A simple way to build resilience during intense seasons of growth

✅The truth about the mental crash after you hit a big goal (and how to handle it)

If you’re a service-based business owner, coach, or ambitious woman who’s tired of Instagram-perfect advice and wants real talk about discipline, sacrifice, and self-trust - tune in now.

Key moments:

00:02:44 Katie's Competition Wins
00:04:20 Fear of Judgment
00:05:20 Using Loss as Fuel
00:07:40 The 1:30 AM Training Routine
00:11:40 Glamorous vs. Reality
00:15:00 Post Comp Recovery
00:18:00 The Intuition Shift
00:21:40 Teaching to FIFO Sparky
00:25:00 Escaping the White Picket Fence
00:30:20 People Pleasers
00:37:00 Advice to Younger Self

If you've ever felt trapped by other people's expectations of who you should be, this episode will light a fire under you.

Hit play now and discover how Katie went from people-pleaser to Pro Champion.

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👉Find out more about how we can work together:

https://iconiccoaching.com.au/coaching/

-

👉Here’s how to connect:

https://www.instagram.com/tellmeaboutit__podcast
https://iconiccoaching.com.au