PhorestFM: Building a Stronger Industry, Together

[328] On the surface, this conversation with Juliann Upton, the founder and driving force behind Mesh Hair Studio, Nail Bar & Head Spa, revisits key moments of her career and the lessons she’s learned along the way. And if you pay attention, you’ll find each meaningful chapter of her career — of those she shared anyway — seemingly began when she met her future self halfway, in the unknown.

For Kitty Knorr's Reel on creativity and change, click here.

To learn more about Mesh Hair Studio, Nail Bar & Head Spa, click here.

Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts!

Click here to subscribe to the PhorestFM email newsletter or here to learn more about Phorest Salon Software.

This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed. Great music makes great moments.

In this second (and final) bonus episode from the Salon Owners Summit 2026, more on-the-floor reactions from salon, spa, and clinic owners attending the event, an overview recap of the 2026 lineup and a candid conversation with Davina Devine, one of Ireland’s most recognizable drag queens and cabaret showgirls (@davina.devine on Instagram).

Briefly stepping away from her hosting and emcee duties of the day, the discussion explored Davina's flavour of drag, how she goes about warming up a crowd, and her relationship to the industry.

For more about Davina Devine and to inquire about bookings, click here.

For her podcast, Petty Little Things, click here.

Learn more about the Phorest Summit & secure your tickets for 2027: https://www.phorestsummit.com/

Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts!

Click here to subscribe to the PhorestFM email newsletter or here to learn more about Phorest Salon Software.

This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed. Great music makes great moments.

[327] You’re booked and busy; what every business owner wants. But has over-functioning ever felt safer (or at the very least more familiar) than to say, “I feel like I’m drowning”? If the answer is yes, you’re not alone. In fact, Heather Harris — nationally recognised stylist, salon owner, business leader, and celebrated speaker — knows this all too well.

This week’s conversation focuses on delegation. At its heart, though, it focuses on the emotional experience of the shifts you are forced to make when you start delegating: 

Renegotiating with yourself what success actually looks like

Letting go of that part of your identity that ties success and/or value to how much you output

Shifting from being an owner-operator to becoming a CEO

Shifting from being a firefighter to becoming an architect in your business

Because at the end of the day, delegation is an identity renegotiation, and it’s about choosing where your care actually belongs. As the Founder/CEO of Spark Pro Global—an agency providing trained executive assistants—Heather’s here to tell you that you can, in fact, build a business that doesn’t require you to lose yourself in the process.

To avail of the complimentary consultation to implement strategic delegation in your salon, graciously offered by Heather, visit Alchemy Salon Consulting and leave a note in the form saying you heard about it through the PhorestFM podcast!

Otherwise, learn more about Spark Pro Global / Spark Pro Salon, listen to Heather's podcast here, and connect with her on Instagram @heather.tantrumsalon @sparkproglobal

Click here to read Brittany Dennison's "Delegate to Elevate" blog, and here for the "10 PhorestFM Podcast Conversations That Quietly Said the Loudest Things"

Learn more about the Phorest Summit & secure your tickets for 2027: https://www.phorestsummit.com/

Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts!

Click here to subscribe to the PhorestFM email newsletter or here to learn more about Phorest Salon Software.

This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed. Great music makes great moments.

Calvin Stovall, customer experience and leadership keynote speaker, joins the show live from the Salon Owners Summit 2026, shortly after his main-stage talk on the art of the 'WOW' experience.

In this conversation, Calvin shares the story behind his own “why,” how his book Hidden Hospitality: Untold Stories of Black Hotel, Motel, and Resort Owners from the Pioneer Days to the Civil Rights Era came to be, and connects lessons from historic Black hoteliers to practical customer experience and leadership principles. Plus, on-the-floor reactions from salon, spa and clinic owners attending the event, and a look ahead to the Phorest Summit 2027.

Connect with Calvin Stovall on Instagram @iconicspeaker

Learn more about the Phorest Summit & secure your tickets for 2027: https://www.phorestsummit.com/

Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts!

Click here to subscribe to the PhorestFM email newsletter or here to learn more about Phorest Salon Software.

This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed. Great music makes great moments.

For the past nine seasons, the PhorestFM podcast has been steadily putting down roots. Growing slowly, but steadily, like the trees in the Phorest forest. And every episode’s been its own brand of fertiliser, carrying insight, knowledge, lessons, new ideas, and stories. Many, many of those.

From small seeds, the show has grown enough to change the landscape.

Our intent going into this tenth season is to bring you the energy of the rooms we create and/or find ourselves in this year, and make it a season bound by conversations that bring us forward.

Whether you’re joining us from the salon floor, the treatment room, the clinic, or an industry event, the car park between clients, or the commute home before or after a long day, we’re here to amplify community voices all around the globe. We’re here when you need a spark of inspiration or an extra dose of courage to branch out. When you need a new perspective or someone to listen. Really listen.

Because more than software, we’re on a mission, together with our community, to build a stronger industry. One we’ll always fight to see soar.

The year is 2026, the local time is now, and what’s next… is up to us. If this feels like your kind of journey—bring a friend with you. Season 10 starts on Monday, February 23rd, 2026, with a Live From the Phorest Summit 2026 bonus episode.

Subscribe to the Phorest FM email newsletter to be in the know of our casting calls & more fun stuff, and follow both Phorest Salon Software (@phorestsalonsoftware) & Alex Bélisle-Springer (@a.belspring) on Instagram for video clips and BTS content!

This trailer was edited and mixed by Audio Z: Great music makes great moments. Montreal's cutting-edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed.