This year marked a major milestone for Phorest: the 10th Salon Owners’ Summit, a full decade of connecting salon, spa, and clinic owners with insights and innovation. From the opening keynote to the closing remarks, the atmosphere was electric – filled with laughter, learning, and a sense of shared ambition.
Attendees left buzzing with ideas, practical strategies, and the undeniable feeling that being in the room was a rare opportunity to see the future of the beauty and wellness industry unfold.
With a mix of world-class speakers, hands-on masterclasses, and interactive sessions, the Summit once again proved why it’s a can’t-miss event for anyone serious about thriving in their business. Here’s a look back at some of the standout moments and key takeaways from this milestone year.
Human Leadership, Powered by Tech
Ronan Perceval, Phorest’s CEO and founder, kicked off the Summit with an opener that was equal parts heartfelt and energising. Sharing personal stories from his journey in tech and leadership, he highlighted the importance of human connection in business, even in a world increasingly powered by technology. The room leaned in as he recounted taking a five-month sabbatical with his family, demonstrating how balance and wellness are essential for sustainability and growth.
He also underscored the role of technology as an enabler, rather than a replacement, for human-led business success. From streamlining operations to freeing up time for staff and owners to focus on what matters, Ronan’s insights set the tone for a Summit that was as practical as it was inspiring. His message was clear: invest in your people, nurture your culture, and let smart tech amplify your impact.
By the end of his session, the audience was not only motivated – but also excited – to explore the tools and strategies that could transform their businesses. Ronan’s emphasis on authenticity, empathy, and forward-thinking leadership left a lasting impression that carried on throughout the event.
Key Takeaways:
- Technology should empower (and not replace) human connection
- Work-life balance and wellness are critical for sustainable business growth
- Culture and leadership drive long-term success
Skincare and Practical Advice from Caroline Hirons
Caroline Hirons, the Queen of Skincare, brought her signature energy and charisma to the Summit, instantly capturing the room’s attention. Her session was full of practical relationship-building insights, delivered in a style that was both engaging and approachable. Attendees left with actionable tips for performance and authenticity to lead their teams and connect with their clients.
The audience clearly appreciated Caroline’s mix of expertise and personality, with laughter and nods punctuating her advice. For a deeper dive into Caroline’s insights, including the full breakdown of her tips and recommendations, we’ll have the full blog live soon!
Key Takeaways:
- Skincare professionals matter, and the standards they uphold make a difference
- Honesty and transparency create stronger client relationships and loyalty
When Humour Meets Insight, Teams Thrive
The Thriving Teams session was equal parts informative and entertaining, keeping the room laughing while delivering serious takeaways for business success. Paddy Monaghan, Sam Masari, Rebecca Fahy, and Rich Cullen shared a blend of stories, statistics, and strategies designed to help salons, spas, and clinics unlock their team’s full potential.
Paddy highlighted the behind-the-scenes work on the product side, emphasising transparency and innovation in future development. Sam focused on maximising scheduling efficiency, including smart booking, deposits, and zero-minute add-ons, showing how small operational tweaks can have a major impact on revenue and productivity.
Rebecca and Rich brought the session full circle with the Fuel & Fire framework, combining staff motivation, goal setting, and cultural engagement. Stats were compelling: teams using structured goals experienced a 79% retention rate, versus 46% for teams without them. The audience could see immediate ways to implement these strategies in their own businesses.
Humour was woven throughout, making complex operational advice approachable. Attendees left with practical steps for retention, motivation, and team performance, alongside a renewed appreciation for the people behind their business success.
Key Takeaways:
- Clear goals and staff engagement drive retention and satisfaction
- Operational efficiency tools (smart booking, deposits, add-ons) directly boost revenue
- Culture and communication are just as important as technology
Heather Bagby’s Balanced, Practical, Forward-Thinking Approach
Heather’s session offered a warm, practical perspective on building a sustainable business. She encouraged owners to think beyond day-to-day operations and focus on long-term legacy planning. The room responded to her insights on balancing financial strategy, growth, and succession with visible engagement.
Her advice is especially relevant for salon, spa, and clinic owners looking to plan for the future while maintaining a thriving present. For a deeper dive into Heather’s strategies, keep an eye out for the full blog.
Key Takeaways:
- Strategic planning is essential for sustainability and legacy
- Balancing growth with operational stability ensures long-term success
Inspiring Innovation in Beauty and Wellness
Dr. Lollie Mancey brought a fresh, engaging perspective to the Summit, combining humour with insight to keep the room hooked. Her session explored modern beauty and aesthetics trends, giving attendees tools to elevate client experiences and refine operational standards.
She emphasised evidence-based practices, showing how innovation and science can coexist seamlessly in the beauty industry. The audience was particularly responsive to her examples of transforming client interactions through tailored services and advanced techniques.
Her keynote was peppered with humour, making technical insights both memorable and enjoyable. Attendees left inspired to experiment with new approaches in their salons, spas, and clinics, feeling empowered rather than overwhelmed.
Dr. Lollie also highlighted the importance of continuous learning and adaptation, showing that staying ahead in beauty and wellness requires curiosity and openness. By the end of her session, the room was buzzing with ideas and conversations about immediately implementing her insights.
Key Takeaways:
- Evidence-based innovation enhances client experiences and operational excellence
- Continuous learning is key to staying competitive in modern beauty and wellness
- Humour and relatability make technical insights more actionable
Hands-On Learning & New Experiences at the Masterclasses
This year introduced four new masterclasses, giving attendees hands-on experiences with actionable strategies to implement immediately. The sessions ranged from marketing and team management to navigating complex modern beauty services.
- META Marketing: Focused on digital advertising, client acquisition, and maximising ROI.
- Mastering Your Modern Team: Practical guidance for engaging, motivating, and retaining staff.
- Medi Masterclass: Strategies for clinic operations, client management, and innovation.
- The Interactive Leadership Session: Learning and growing, with new mindsets about leadership, delegation, and clarity.
Each session allowed attendees to interact, ask questions, and walk away with clear next steps for their business. The energy in the rooms was palpable, and the hands-on format ensured participants left inspired, with tools and knowledge they could use immediately.
Engaging Clients with Ease
To end Day 1, Paddy Monaghan returned to the stage with a session on customer communications, bringing humour and energy to a topic that’s vital for every salon, spa, and clinic. He demonstrated how clear, professional, and consistent messaging across channels can strengthen client relationships and loyalty.
Real-life examples illustrated how small adjustments in communication strategy can lead to big improvements in client retention and satisfaction. Attendees appreciated actionable tips they could implement immediately, from automated reminders to personalised messaging techniques.
The session was lively and interactive, full of laughs, keeping the room engaged while delivering practical advice. Audience members left with a clear understanding of how to use communication as a tool for growth – not just outreach.
Paddy’s takeaways included practical ways to enhance client experience, while reducing stress on staff management, finding a perfect balance of humour, insight, and strategy.
Key Takeaways:
- Consistent, personalised communication drives client retention
- Small changes in messaging can have a major impact on loyalty and satisfaction
- Tools and strategies exist to simplify communications while enhancing professionalism
Big Energy, Big Features, Big Launches on Day 2
Day 2 of the Salon Owner’s Summit opened with a burst of energy, led by Sandy Carty and Michele Brady from the Phorest Australia team. Setting the tone with Australian slang lessons, interactive crowd exercises, and a spirited round of, “Aussie Aussie Aussie, oi oi oi,” they had the entire room on its feet within minutes.
The goal was simple: wake everyone up, get the energy levels to a solid 10, and start the day feeling connected… and it worked. Laughter echoed through the room as attendees shook off the early-morning haze and leaned into the playful atmosphere.
That lively start transitioned seamlessly into a practical, product-focused session designed to help salon, spa, and clinic owners get more from their systems. Aoife Hannigan and Conor Cunningham took the stage to introduce the session, addressing a common piece of Summit feedback: Attendees often leave excited about new features, but unsure how to implement them. This year’s approach focused on live demos, real-world workflows, and clear walkthroughs, with Summit attendees receiving exclusive access to select new features for a two-month period.
The session delivered a steady stream of feature launches and demonstrations, all presented with humour and plenty of audience interaction. Highlights included Add-Ons, with a sneak peek at upcoming Zero Minute Add-Ons that allow salons, spas, and clinics to increase revenue without extending appointment times.
The team also showcased Smart Booking, designed to keep calendars efficiently packed by filling gaps around existing bookings and breaks. Despite the technical depth, the presenters kept the tone light, weaving jokes and relatable scenarios into each demo.
Payments and communications also took centre stage. Mary McNeer introduced the highly anticipated payment links feature with PhorestPay – one of the most requested tools by Phorest users – allowing businesses to send branded, secure payment requests that feel seamless and professional. Gail Berry walked attendees through connecting WhatsApp for Two-Way Messaging, opening the door to more responsive communication and future notifications.
Marie Marshall demonstrated how businesses already using Staff Goals could quickly expand into Team Goals, while Jared Fleischmann showcased upcoming AI-powered chat features, even turning technical hiccups into shared moments of humour and camaraderie.
By the end of the session, the room was buzzing with practical ideas and immediate next steps. It may have been one of the most product-heavy segments of the Summit, but the hands-on demos, candid humour, and early access to features created a strong sense of momentum, giving attendees tangible tools they could start using the moment they returned to their salons, spas, and clinics.
Key Takeaways:
- New tools like Zero-Minute Add-Ons and Smart Booking aim to boost revenue and efficiency
- Payment links and WhatsApp integration enhance client communication and professionalism
- Team Goals and AI-powered chat features support collaboration and automation
Erin Kuhn Bhansali’s Real-World Playbook for Profit Without Panic
Erin Kuhn Bhansali from Qnity took on one of the industry’s most uncomfortable (and essential) topics: profitability. Opening with honesty and humour, she acknowledged that finance rarely tops the list of favourite business tasks, earning plenty of knowing laughs from the room. Her message landed quickly: profit isn’t optional, but it keeps the door open. Grounded in real financial data rather than theory, Erin set out to give attendees practical strategies to immediately take action.
She painted a clear picture of the industry’s reality, sharing that many salons, spas, and clinics operate on razor-thin margins, with top performers averaging around 9% profitability and struggling businesses sitting closer to 1%. At those levels, even small financial missteps can carry serious weight. Her central theme focused on empowering teams to increase revenue through intentional actions.
Case studies brought the data to life, showcasing businesses that transformed their financial health through small but strategic shifts. One salon grew from zero to 19% profitability by combining revenue growth with stronger cost awareness. Another owner turned a -25% financial position into a positive one by restructuring payroll and focusing on sustainable operations. These stories helped attendees see how measurable change was achievable within their own business.
Erin also highlighted everyday areas where profit slips away: inventory, discounting habits, overlooked operating expenses, and inefficient marketing spend. She encouraged owners to look closely at how space, time, and team productivity influence revenue potential.
She closed with a strong focus on team-driven growth and introduced the 17% Growth Challenge, designed to help service providers increase individual sales through achievable, consistent effort. The initiative emphasises tracking progress, building financial confidence, and creating shared ownership across the business. Erin’s final reflections reinforced that profitability builds gradually through repeatable systems and clear goals. Time, attention, and intentional decision-making all play a role alongside financial performance.
Key Takeaways:
- Sustainable profitability comes from intentional revenue growth, not cost-cutting alone
- Average ticket size and client count are the two primary drivers of total sales
- Small, consistent changes can significantly improve margins over time
- Monitoring operating expenses, inventory, and marketing spend helps reduce hidden profit drains
Turning Up the WOW With Calvin Stovall
Calvin Stovall arrived on stage, opening to the sound of We Will Rock You and instantly lifting the energy in the room. Within minutes, the audience was laughing, clapping, and fully immersed in a performance that felt part performance, part masterclass. His mission was simple: help salon, spa, and clinic owners master the art of the WOW experience through mindset, culture, and consistency.
Stories from his hospitality career grounded the session in real life, keeping the tone engaging and human. Calvin introduced his three-step WOW formula, while weaving in his Iconic framework. He challenged owners to define their purpose beyond services and products, encouraging them to build cultures where employees feel empowered, inspired, and genuinely valued. The crowd resonated strongly with his focus on leadership energy, emotional connection, and the importance of culture in shaping both employee and customer experience.
By the end, Calvin had the entire hall on its feet – chanting key lessons, reflecting on their role as hype leaders within their business, and committing to bringing renewed energy back to their teams. His closing message reminded attendees that innovation, curiosity, and positivity are essential to staying relevant in a rapidly changing industry.
For the full breakdown of Calvin’s WOW framework, stories, and actionable strategies, we’ve got the full keynote recap coming.
Key Takeaways:
- WOW experiences are built through intentional culture and leadership energy
- Meaningful emotional connections set exceptional businesses apart
…And We Keep Growing, Until Next Time!
As the final keynote speaker, the indomitable Katie Piper took to the stage to share her story: one of resilience, and the message that what happens to us doesn’t define the way we choose to move forward. She left the stage to a standing ovation, after reminding the audience that the past cannot be changed, and the future cannot be defined – but that their power lies in today, expressing to the 600-strong audience that the way we show up is what defines who we are. Her words created a moment of stillness after two high-energy days, reminding everyone that success is shaped as much by mindset and self-belief as it is by strategy or systems.
To every salon, spa, and clinic owner, manager, and staff member who joined us, thank you. Your stories, questions, laughter, and willingness to learn alongside one another are what make the Salon Owner Summit a genuine community, and far more than just an event. Watching conversations spark in the corridors, ideas exchanged over coffee, and friendships strengthened across the industry was a highlight in itself. The Summit exists because of this shared passion for growth, creativity, and supporting one another through every stage of business.
And if you couldn’t make it this year, consider this your invitation. The doors are always open to new voices, fresh perspectives, and anyone ready to take their business to the next level. The energy, education, and sense of belonging are something best experienced in person, and we’d love to see even more of the industry come together next time.
Because the journey continues… The Phorest Summit is heading to Killarney next year, and tickets for 2027 are already on sale. If this year proved anything, it’s that when this community gathers, incredible things happen. Ideas grow, confidence builds, and the future of the industry feels brighter than ever.
