GMSB 301
[00:00:05] Grow My Salon Business: Hello and welcome to today's episode of the Grow My Salon Business podcast. I'm your host, Antony Whitaker, and as always, it's great to have you here with us today. In case you don't already know, video versions of our podcast are now also available on our YouTube channel. So if you wanna put faces to the names, then head on over to Grow My Salon business on YouTube, and don't forget to like and subscribe to the channel.
[00:00:29] Grow My Salon Business: So with that said on with today's episode. Now my guest today is Australian salon owner Luke Reynolds, who's someone I've had the pleasure of working with over the last year. And today we're gonna talk about some of the unique initiatives that he's put in place around team building and creating a salon culture.
[00:00:48] Grow My Salon Business: So in today's podcast, we're gonna discuss why personal development goes hand in hand with professional development and why today's employee is more receptive to mindset and mental health in the workplace, as well as the impact that all this is having on his business and lot’s more so without further ado, welcome to the show, Luke Reynolds.
[00:01:09] Luke Reynolds: Hi Antony, how are you? Thank you so much for having me on the show. I feel very honoured to be a part of it.
[00:01:14] Grow My Salon Business: Hello.
[00:01:14] Luke Reynolds: a podcast that I've listened to quite a few times myself it feels great to be on the other side.
[00:01:20] Grow My Salon Business: That's great. No, listen, it's fantastic to have you here. We know each other, we've had a lot of conversations and, uh, this is something we haven't dug into that much today's subject matter. So I'm really excited about it. 'cause I know that I'm gonna learn a lot from your experience as well. Before we sort of dig into asking you questions, just to pre-frame what we are gonna talk about for our audience in one of our recent discussions, you. Mentioned to me that you had a life coach that you bring in just for the team, and you just happened to drop into our call that he was about to do a session with the rest of your team as a life coach.
[00:02:01] Grow My Salon Business: And I was really intrigued about that and that was really the catalyst for me wanting you to come onto the show today because I know that you do a lot of stuff. In this area. If I can sort of pass that over to you and ask you to, to talk to me, uh, or talk to our audience and explain to us, what that's all about and why you do that.
[00:02:22] Luke Reynolds: Sure. I'd love to. I'd love to share. Uh, it's an initiative that at the salon Put in probably 12 months or more ago. And it has been working so well. It's just an incredible initiative. Um, and it's something that we're really, really proud of. So one of my best mates Anthony Aiken is. A life coach.
[00:02:45] Luke Reynolds: Um, he's had many careers. He's, um, spent most of his life in the sporting realm. He was a world aerobics champion. He then was a professional dancer. He's danced in the Moulin Rouge and lived in Paris and, um, had a dance school here on the Gold Coast in Australia. And then, um, after that he moved into the public speaking space. So he's done a Ted Talk. He's one of the most inspirational people I know.I respect him a lot professionally, but he's also one of my best mates. So we have a laugh and we can carry on like idiots together as well, which is really, really lovely. But about a year actually, I think actually it must be. years ago we were actually at a charity race day, um, and we'd had a few wines and, uh, we were having a conversation around people and teams of the like, he said to me, have you ever thought of doing anything in that space of around, you know, the team building and, doing some work with them on more of a personal level rather than everything, all of your training.
[00:03:59] Luke Reynolds: Which obviously we do a lot of training in the salon, but a lot of that is based obviously skill-based around our industry and our, and their careers. Um, and obviously my answer was no. And he said, well, I've got a really great idea. about I come in and I do some sessions with your team, so that we can. Get a stronger, more cohesive And um, I think in that instance I was talking to him about, I was having trouble with some of the team in that, instilling confidence into them and that that was really coming through in their training and in their work. So I wanted to try and figure out a way that I could weave. Something into the training or something that we could do operationally as a business would then help each individual team member grow as a person. give them more confidence so that then they can have that 
[00:05:00] confidence on the floor and in training. And I guess where I'm coming from on that note specifically was apprentices that were coming through that suffered from anxiety and maybe a bit of depression.
[00:05:12] Luke Reynolds: And as we know, mental health is such a prevalent issue in today's society. It was something that really wanted to work on. One something that I wanted to provide for my team. Two, and something that I really thought that would, through doing that and having that whole approach would then benefit the salon in the long run.
[00:05:34] Grow My Salon Business: Okay, so what sort of things does he actually do? So these are, are, are they one hour sessions Once a month?
[00:05:41] Luke Reynolds: Yes. So Anthony comes in once a month, um, on a Wednesday morning. So we always have our training in the salon a we on a Wednesday morning. And, uh, all of the apprentice team are trained in salon every Wednesday morning. And as well as some of the, some of the senior team. But then once a month we put the whole team together.
[00:06:00] And they actually run a program called I Can Achieve, um, which is part of Anthony's life coaching program, that he does with individuals and teams and corporate groups and all of those sorts of things that he also, and part of that is, um, also his public speaking. So he comes in once a month and the main framework around it really and the end result that we're trying to achieve is basically The staff achieve more confidence in themselves and in their personal life. They feel more confident in the workplace. Um, and that filters through. So one week you might be working on goal setting with them, for example, but most of it is related with around their personal life. So sometimes it might be about financial setting goals for, anything in life that they want to get better at. So sometimes he might talk about, um, behaviours or he might talk about fears or he might talk about. And he also, and all sorts of things,
[00:07:04] Grow My Salon Business: Right.
[00:07:04] Luke Reynolds: and gets them to actually set goals and then they go around the table and all of the staff members, they all talk openly and honestly in
[00:07:12] Grow My Salon Business: Yeah.
[00:07:13] Luke Reynolds: other. Then also build, builds team rapport and he facilitates that session with them.
[00:07:19] Grow My Salon Business: Okay. So it's very much sort of personal development, not talking about in the salon, but there's obviously that. Knock on. Because if you're talking about goal setting and confidence, you can see from a salon owner's perspective that can have impact on people. You know, talking more confidently about services that you offer, or retail, for example, or just being more confident doing consultations or maybe even more confident dealing with conflict within the salon.
[00:07:48] Grow My Salon Business: Whether it's with another staff member or potentially even with a client. So yeah, lots of good, lots of good things have come out of that. Any particular example, any sort of little anecdote you, you've got that you could sort of link into? Maybe how someone has has grown through something like that and you've seen a really good turnaround with them?
[00:08:07] Luke Reynolds: Yeah. I would definitely have to say that would be the, our younger team. So the apprentice team, um, and especially those apprentices that are nearing the end of their apprenticeship and needing to make that transition into being a stylist. The pressure is starting to be applied to them that they need to be. Consulting their clients and actually having a commu communicating and having those really formal conversations with a client who may be much older than them or come from a different walk of life or have that difference of the, you know, I think some of the younger people coming through these days are not amazing at communicating face-to-face with another
[00:08:46] Grow My Salon Business: Hmm. 
[00:08:46] Luke Reynolds: So that's probably the area that we've noticed. The biggest difference is with the junior team
[00:08:54] Luke Reynolds: Communication and being and had then having the ability and the confidence to speak to anybody who walk walks through any client who walks through the salon door. We have some very high profile clients coming into the salon. Sometimes when they start, they see these people walking in the door and they're intimidated and you know, they, you can see that they're not, they're not really confident into, to walk up and introduce themselves and gown them up or bring
[00:09:18] Grow My Salon Business: Yeah.
[00:09:19] Luke Reynolds: To a chair or, or whatever it may be. But the difference. we see from when a, when an apprentice comes into the salon and then when they, as they grow I think that growth that we see. Within the apprentices and within the young people in the team
[00:09:37] Luke Reynolds: And I've had firsthand feedback from clients directly about that, about how much they've grown and how fantastic they are.
[00:09:45] Grow My Salon Business: go ahead.
[00:09:46] Luke Reynolds: And they, they have given us feedback about what, it's amazing what you do for them. And you know, it's obviously obvious that you're supporting them really well. 'cause you know, you can see the growth that they've had
[00:09:56] Grow My Salon Business: Yeah. 
[00:09:56] Luke Reynolds: The time period that they've been working for you.
[00:09:58] Grow My Salon Business: yeah. That's fantastic. One thing I was thinking about as you were talking is that, you know, when you do stuff with a life coach, for a lot of these, I don't wanna say the word kids. For young people that are working in the salon, they perhaps have never had any exposure. To coaching, to, to anything Personal development.
[00:10:17] Grow My Salon Business: Face it, a lot of 'em are very young when they first walk in the door to start work there. And so when they're first exposed to this, it must be a bit of a head trip for some of them. And in fact, I'm gonna say that maybe some of them feel very vulnerable. Have you got any. Anything to say about that?
[00:10:35] Grow My Salon Business: Is it a, I mean, I'm sure if, if Anthony, so, just so that the listeners are aware this coach happens to be called Anthony as well. Uh, so, so when Anthony is doing the coaching session, I'm sure he's very adept at handling that so that it isn't a well, so that it is a vulnerable space, but isn't a vulnerable space because sometimes it's good to be vulnerable, isn't it?
[00:10:56] Grow My Salon Business: And to be open to. Questioning how you  think about what you do and why you do it, et cetera. Have you got anything about that that you could sort of add to that part or that conversation?
[00:11:07] Luke Reynolds: Sure. As, I kind of have just touched on, I think that's part of the amazing part about it, is that we are getting these young, vulnerable. Kids coming through, sorry, I shouldn't call them kids but young people coming into the salon that are, some of them have definitely come from underprivileged backgrounds.
[00:11:25] Luke Reynolds: Um, some of them haven't finished school. Some of them have had, you know, some of them can't really read or write very well. And so we really love the opportunity of nurturing. Those young people and providing these sorts of things for them and these sorts of programs because then once you see that growth in them it's just remarkable and it's really rewarding.
[00:11:49] Grow My Salon Business: Yeah.
[00:11:50] Luke Reynolds: Some of them are very vulnerable. Uh, we've got a young apprentice at the moment who's been with us only a couple of months and he's a really lovely young man, but he's so introverted. But super creative. So we're working really. A lot with him at the moment and just trying to nurture him and get him to feel comfortable to, to open up a little bit more and to speak and to communicate a little bit more. You know, he's 16, just turned 17. The staff in the salon range from, he's our youngest, right up to 52, there's a wide, a age range of people that he needs to communicate within the salon. Um, but over the couple of months he's been with us you can see the difference already.
[00:12:31] Luke Reynolds: A different tone in his voice. He's got a different projection level in his voice. And sure, it must be really confronting when they come in and we'll go right next, next Wednesday you've got a life coaching session.
[00:12:40] Grow My Salon Business: Yeah.
[00:12:41] Luke Reynolds: the fact that it's in a group situation. Anthony has children himself, so he's very nurturing and he's really lovely, um, and has a real ability to work with kind of anybody and everybody. and I think in the, in, in that group situation, I don't think it's really. Pushed if they don't want to share. 
[00:13:03] Grow My Salon Business: Yeah.
[00:13:04] Luke Reynolds: And that you'd find it's something that in their first one they may not share as much, and then as they go along, they start and they get more comfortable, they start sharing more and more. And most of the time when I arrive at work, they come up to me and they're just like, oh my God, thank you so much. That was so amazing because
[00:13:21] Luke Reynolds: Before, sorry.
[00:13:22] Grow My Salon Business: yeah, well, no, that's what I was gonna ask you. So, so just so the audience knows, you don't attend these sessions on purpose. Uh, you were just about to talk about that, but I just wanted to make sure that people, that to pre-frame that, that you actually aren't in those sessions very consciously.
[00:13:38] Grow My Salon Business: You decided not to be in there. So I want you to tell me about why you decided that and what sort of impact it has when you do walk in the door, like you just started to say, then.
[00:13:48] Luke Reynolds: Actually to be completely honest and upfront with you, it actually wasn't my decision. It was, um, a requested decision of Anthony's as the coach. And we, one, we wanted to make these sessions about them, not about me. We wanted to make it about them, not about the business. We wanted to provide something for the team that. Was really all about them. and upon Anthony's request. As a coach and a professional life coach, he. Said, or he, the reason being is that they will share more and feel more comfortable without the boss or that hierarchical figure around.
[00:14:36] Luke Reynolds: It's, it's a lot more of a safer space because this isn't about team building. It's about them personally and building them up as a person within the team. So it's something that's solely for the team. for the team only. And so I have followed through with that. And yeah, you just mentioned as I walk into the salon after every. Session, um, which will be tomorrow morning.
[00:15:04] Luke Reynolds: There's actually one tomorrow morning. So I get a nice little sleep in, which is good. Um, but I walk in and they're all just glowing and got a smile from ear to ear. Sometimes there's emotion, sometimes there's all different sorts of things because depending on what they've worked on they could be really motivated or they could be experiencing a bit of fear or they, you know, but whatever that feeling is that they're experiencing. It's a growth feeling, which is really great. And quite often when I walk in, they thank me for providing such a great opportunity for them because most of them would never have the opportunity or the affordability to
[00:15:43] Grow My Salon Business: Mm-hmm. 
[00:15:43] Luke Reynolds: With a life coach,
[00:15:45] Grow My Salon Business: Yeah, exactly.
[00:15:46] Luke Reynolds: let alone even take that step by themselves.
[00:15:50] Grow My Salon Business: Yeah.
[00:15:50] Luke Reynolds: about creating that safe space and trying to help them grow as individuals as much as we possibly can.
[00:15:56] Grow My Salon Business: Yeah. I'm just reflecting on, I dunno how consciously you said it, but you said that Anthony said it is not a team building thing, it's about building them up within the team. And I think that's a really interesting it's made me stop and think about that. That is a really important thing to do.
[00:16:14] Grow My Salon Business: And as you just said, you know, like in any salon anywhere in the world, you, you get a very diverse group of people who haven't all come from the best, uh, or haven't all had the best start in life. And so to give people. The opportunity for personal development for some inward looking stuff as part of their education is a great thing to do.
[00:16:35] Grow My Salon Business: So, um, that's fantastic. I know you said to me at one point you said to me that he couldn't make it one month. So he sent in another friend of his who was a therapist who specialized in, in sound healing and meditation. And that sounds very interesting. So talk to us about that one. How did that one go down?
[00:16:54] Grow My Salon Business: 'cause that's a very different sort of theme to run with, but still along the same lines of it being personal development and, learning to understand more about yourself and how you fit on in the world. 
[00:17:04] Luke Reynolds: Yes, that was a couple of, or that was the last month actually. And, uh, Anthony was busy so I wasn't able to attend. He was actually away doing another job. He floated this idea with me of a really gorgeous young yoga instructor by the name of Iko who used to live in New York, um, who's current, um, has moved back out to Australia and she's got a yoga studio and she also specialises in meditation and sound healing. And I thought, what a great idea because. The atmosphere that we generally work in day to day is very hustle bustle. We're a very busy salon. Dealing with stress, some, it's something too that I think quite often will come up in a staff meeting is you know, how stressed everyone gets when we're super busy and everyone's booked out and people start running late.
[00:17:49] Luke Reynolds: And so we thought, okay, how can we give them some tools to remain calm in those moments? Because. There's people on the team, like obviously myself and some of the premier stylists and some of the lead stylists and colourists who have been in this industry for a very long time. And we know how to cope with those situations.
[00:18:10] Luke Reynolds: You know, sometimes we get flustered as well, and that's okay. But as a young, a lot of the younger team coming into the industry, they're just like, whoa, what do I do? You know, like, and I think a lot of young people today don't cope with stress very well. We created a meditation and heal sound healing session.
[00:18:28] Luke Reynolds: So, uh, instead of Anthony I co took them for an hour. And she taught them how to meditate. Um, so they did a big group me meditation together. And then she went through a sound healing. Exercise, which they have these, she has these beautiful big glass bowls that are sound healing bowls. And she runs, there's this beautiful music playing and she runs an instrument around them.
[00:18:50] Luke Reynolds: And it sounds almost like a bit of an orchestra, but it's was really, really beautiful to watch. I don't think I've ever seen my team sit, so still in my life they were, I snuck out of the office a couple of times. I was there early. I was actually in a meeting in the office. And took some video recordings for so that we could use it for for our records.
[00:19:10] Luke Reynolds: But it was really beautiful. And my God, the staff loved it so much. They've requested to do it again. So coming back at some point. And the request of the team the team have asked me to come to the next session as well, so we can do a whole group meditation relaxation sessions.
[00:19:27] Grow My Salon Business: Good.
[00:19:28] Luke Reynolds: So happened before work. So by the time they started work, they were all relaxed and um, yeah, it was a huge success.
[00:19:36] Grow My Salon Business: What? What sort of impact? Is this sort of thing having on the team, you know, on the salon, during the day, what, what sort of impact’s it having?
[00:19:45] Luke Reynolds: Um, Have a very strong communicative cohesive team. We I think have the ability to just about anything through. We have very, very little, if any, conflict in the salon, which is really fantastic.
[00:20:02] Luke Reynolds: Um, it's a really respectful environment. Everyone is happy. We have a really happy team. We have a very low attrition rate. Just a very successful kind of high functioning team,
[00:20:16] Grow My Salon Business: Good.
[00:20:17] Luke Reynolds: which I think is really, really fantastic. And I think that's probably the best part of it, 
[00:20:22] Grow My Salon Business: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:20:22] Luke Reynolds: that, you know, you're giving back to the team and and they love it and they are happy and fight, think that it's a really great place to work, which I tend to have to agree.
[00:20:32] Grow My Salon Business: Yeah, of course.
[00:20:33] Luke Reynolds: and I got direct feedback on that recently, actually. I, it was actually at the end of one of. Anthony's sessions must have, obviously must have been two or three sessions ago. the salon was obviously closed, uh, and there was a client waiting outside when I arrived at work. And um, I was just about to walk in the door.
[00:20:53] Luke Reynolds: And I had said to her, I'm sorry, the team are, the meeting's obviously just running a bit over. They won't be long. She's like, absolutely no problem. She goes, but can I just speak to you for a minute? And I said, oh, yeah, sure, not a problem. So I went over and I said, oh, what, what is it? And she said, I actually would just really love to give you a compliment if I may. And I said, oh, sure. And she was a new client of a new stylist, so hadn't been at salon long, but had had several visits. and she said to me, I'm not sure if you're aware, but I just wanted to let you know how happy your team are. And I said, oh, thank you very much. Um, I said, that's amazing feedback.
[00:21:30] Luke Reynolds: And she said, obviously, you know, I'm a new client. I've only been a few times, and the vibe in your salon is just really beautiful and it's really nice to walk into. It's really friendly, it's really welcoming, and all of your team are really happy and they speak really highly of you. Um, I just think you need to know that. So then I walk through the door with a smile, like a big shehe cat. Just happy as Larry thinking, you know, it's really nice to get that feedback and we as business owners and leaders get that feedback.

[00:21:56] Grow My Salon Business: Yeah.
[00:22:01] Luke Reynolds: so when it's completely, off the cuff 
[00:22:04] Grow My Salon Business: Yeah, yeah.
[00:22:05] Luke Reynolds: beautiful, so I know what we're doing. Is working it's very hard to make it tangible. Or to tangibly kind of go, okay, it's working for X, Y, Z reasons.
[00:22:18] Luke Reynolds: It's just part of, I guess, a wholesome, a wholesome team. That building kind of scenario that, you know that we put into the business and part it's become part of the business.
[00:22:32] Luke Reynolds: And I guess to be completely honest, it became part of the business organically. But we've just really run with it because we're getting so much success from it, 
[00:22:40] Grow My Salon Business: yeah. Yeah. No, that, it's very interesting the culture that it's creating,
[00:22:44] Luke Reynolds: Yeah.
[00:22:44] Grow My Salon Business: Within the business. And, and it's a really good example of, I mean, you just said it wasn't that it just happened organically, and I must admit, I mean, it's a while since I had my salon, but we did something a little bit similar.
[00:22:58] Grow My Salon Business: We didn't do it every month with the same person or whatever, but we, we had. It, first of all started with a, a stylist of mine. In fact, he was a colourist and he had problems with his shoulders, uh, and his back. One of his clients was a teacher of, uh, the Alexander technique. And so his client was talking to him about posture and how he should, hold himself and whatever, so that you know, his body would last as a, as a standing behind the chair colourist.
[00:23:26] Grow My Salon Business: And he absolutely loved it. So we did exactly what you've just talked about in that we got her to come in and do a class for the whole salon. Because all of us, we are doing, look, every job. Is, can be stressful and put strain on your body in different ways. In the context of a hairdresser, doing blow dry all the time.
[00:23:44] Grow My Salon Business: It is obviously, or even cutting hair all the time in terms of RSI, et cetera. All of these things can, put pressure points on your body and things wear out quicker and shoulders as one of those things, you know, for, for colour is hairdressers full stop. And uh, and that went down a treat when we had her come in and do Alexander Technique class and all of the people that I used to do this with, 'cause I had another one who was a real estate agent.
[00:24:11] Grow My Salon Business: And he came in and did a talk to all of my team about what you needed to do to get on the property ladder, how much of a deposit you needed, and, you know, just sort of gave them the sort of 1 0 1 of getting into property. And then another one was a financial controller. And she came in, spoke to all the team about really simple things like credit card debt and why you need to avoid it and and how those, compounding interest rates can.
[00:24:38] Grow My Salon Business: Destroy your credit reference and all this sort of stuff. And so I think that what you're doing is fantastic. Stepping outside the, the realm of, it's not just about going to a hair show and learning another haircut or another colour technique. It's about building the person the complete person.
[00:24:54] Grow My Salon Business: And I think that is a really important thing to do. And dare I say, I even think it's more important at the moment, more than ever, because we are in this era of a lot of people transitioning from being. Working in an employee based salon for sort of thinking, well, I can just do this by myself, but if you are doing what you are doing, which is creating this great culture that is about more than just doing here, but it's about, wow, what a great place to work, then you are bringing a lot of other benefits to why you might want to be an employee as opposed to self-employed.
[00:25:28] Grow My Salon Business: So have you got anything to add to that before we move on?
[00:25:32] Luke Reynolds: Yeah, absolutely. Um, I think it's really important, and I could not agree with you more than, it's more important than ever these days to really create that culture and community. And I think we hands down have probably the best sell on culture that I. known or, that that is going around.
[00:25:49] Luke Reynolds: And I, and I'm really proud of that. And I think the community side of it is, really valuable as well, because you're giving them a place where they feel comfortable and it's really great community and they're happy to come to work every day. And, you know, the whole you know, training on from, you know, on a professional level in hairdressing, you know, we can do all of that, that's fine.
[00:26:13] Luke Reynolds: But this is just something that just adds that extra layer of really getting that staff s advocacy, you know, um, where somewhere that, where they really wanna work and they really. Belong and they know that we care about them. So you get lots of longevity and if ever you know, you need anything from them, they're really happy to do it because
[00:26:35] Luke Reynolds: Giving right.
[00:26:36] Grow My Salon Business: good. Good. Okay. That's fantastic. I know that you also told me, you know, in this conversation we were having, that you had taken them on a, on a team Teambuilding day and it was all about equine therapy.
[00:27:11] Grow My Salon Business: And I know that you are really into your horses and your, you know. Yeah, you're very into, uh, horses and polo and all that sort of stuff, and that you said to me that you'd bought at an auction, a team building day that was all around equine therapy. And I went on and had a look at the website that you were referring me to, and it was very, very interesting that whole thing.
[00:27:32] Grow My Salon Business: Talk to us about that one. What was the goal there? You got 'em out of the salon, you took them. Off to wherever it was. And, uh, this whole thing about working with animals and stuff, I was very intrigued by that.
[00:27:44] Luke Reynolds: yeah, it was a fantastic day. But I will, just before I get into that, um, I'll just explain. So once a quarter we have, uh, what we call a team building day, um, which is, is it, it's not normally based around, or it's not normally educational, it's more normally. You know, about the team and about them kind of with a bit more of a social aspect. So we might go and do an escape room together or, you know, there might be a team building kind of element of it, and then we might go for lunch or there's all sorts of different things that and that's generally something that I put back onto the team and I say, right, you guys need to organize it.
[00:28:23] Luke Reynolds: I'll turn up with my credit card and we'll go, we'll go from there. But it's it's more, again, it's about them and about them spending the day together where it's not so heavily educational based where it's more about them having a bit of fun and spending some time together that's not in the salon. There's an interesting, beautiful full circle here. So the charity race day that I was at was for a charity that I do some work with too, for, um, domestic violence against women. Um, and it's a charity that we've supported. Quite a lot over the last couple of years, and then also to the L-G-B-T-I-Q domestic violence one as well.
[00:29:03] Luke Reynolds: So we've donated lots of prizes and we've been sponsors. And so this race day, we sponsored the race day. And so I was at the race day and then had a few too many champagnes and started bidding at the auction. And so that's where, and I bought this 'cause I thought, well if I'm gonna buy an auction piece that is. Gonna make a contribution towards domestic violence. I was very lucky that it was something that then I could also get the beneficial use out of for the team. And I'd heard about equine therapy before. Years ago, I was at a, um, a health retreat called Gwyn Ghana on the Gold Coast in Australia. And, um, they had acquired therapy there.
[00:29:43] Luke Reynolds: And because I've got a I used to ride horses professionally, um, and I play polo, so I've had a lot to do with horses over. My life. I thought, oh, I won't do that. Because I don't, you know, I don't see the use, I know horses kind of thing. and then everyone kept coming back in, uh, when I was at this health retreat to dinner or to lunch or to whatever it was saying, oh my God, it was so amazing.
[00:30:05] Luke Reynolds: It was so incredible. And I was like, oh God, I, God, I wish I had have done that. So years later when this prize came up or this auction piece came up, I, thought, great, I'll grab that. And so the time finally came, uh, and a couple of weeks ago for the team building, we, I took the team out and some of them had never even touched a horse before, or a few of them were petrified or scared of horses and and everything.
[00:30:31] Luke Reynolds: Generally the audience. It's a very, you know, they get corporate audiences, they get all sorts of things, but the more importantly, they also run some very, very fantastic programs through this company. I. For underprivileged youth. Youths that have been like, or children that have been the witness of domestic violence who have been in, uh, violent families. All of those sorts of things. And they run programs for young, young men trying to stop domestic violence at a root level. And very fortunate to learn that the money, the amount of money that I purchased this auction item for able to put eight of these underprivileged youths through the program,
[00:31:13] Grow My Salon Business: Wow.
[00:31:14] Luke Reynolds: through this real. So that was a really lovely little extra gain to it. But back to my team. So equine therapy, basic the basic sort of form of it is that horses are a pack animal. And so they're always, their, your relationship built on trust, um, and there's always a leader of the pack and a follower and then team members.
[00:31:40] Luke Reynolds: So it reflects very, very directly into communication styles all sorts of things within the team. And it was, it, it worked really well. So you go in and a couple of the team were shaking like leads because they hadn't, touched a horse before, or they were scared of horses  or, or whatever it was. Um, one in particular was literally visibly shaking. And then within a couple of 10 minutes she was brushing the horse and patting it and, and there was just this really amazing, you know, her and the horse and with everything. And then that then is her a fear, which then. Provides internal growth. And it was really remarkable. And there were lots of really beautiful little moments like that where you know, the, at first everyone was really scared and really tentative, and then by the end of it, everyone was just so happy and because they had achieved things. So then what happens is then you then have to break down into groups, and then each group is given a horse, it's about the team communicating. So you've got to use really good communication methods between the team, and then you have to then instruct the horse to go through obstacle courses and do particular things and exercises.
[00:33:04] Grow My Salon Business: Without riding it, you're not riding the horse.
[00:33:06] Luke Reynolds: just leading the horse.
[00:33:08] Grow My Salon Business: Yeah.
[00:33:08] Luke Reynolds: But, without explaining the whole thing.'cause that would take forever.
[00:33:11] Grow My Salon Business: Sure. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:33:12] Luke Reynolds: it's about leading the horse 'cause a horse will only follow someone that it trusts.
[00:33:17] Grow My Salon Business: Yes. Yes. Okay.
[00:33:19] Luke Reynolds: all about, it all comes down to basically to trust and communication,
[00:33:23] Grow My Salon Business: Yeah.
[00:33:23] Luke Reynolds: communication style and and energy. And so the horses, you had guided the horses through. The horses would only go with you and allow you to guide them through these obstacles if they trusted you and you were communicating clearly.
[00:33:38] Grow My Salon Business: Yeah, 
[00:33:38] Luke Reynolds: the was the basis of it. Then the facilitators blindfolded. One of the people in each team that was actually physically leading the horse. And then there was this another whole level of communication that needed to happen and the vulnerability of the person that was blindfolded and then they needed to trust in their team and the horse and be guided through these exercises.
[00:34:06] Grow My Salon Business: Wow.
[00:34:06] Luke Reynolds: and that happened
[00:34:07] Grow My Salon Business: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:34:08] Luke Reynolds: those moments really, really incredible. Um, and then at the end, everyone regrouped. And they basically just, we discussed as a group what came up for you. Was it, you know, accountability? Was it trust? Was it communication? Was it, what was it? What were your key words?
[00:34:27] Luke Reynolds: And they had a whiteboard full of words, and you were able to pick the words that most reflected with you and then explain back to the group what you got out of it and what it meant for you. Yeah.
[00:34:38] Grow My Salon Business: That's fantastic.
[00:34:39] Luke Reynolds: yeah, it was really incredible.
[00:34:41] Grow My Salon Business: no, it sounds it. 
[00:34:45] Grow My Salon Business: I know that when we spoke about this I happened to mention to you that my favourite TV program at the time was Yellowstone. And that I weren't naturally a great, you know, horsey person, but if if you are listening to this and you haven't seen Yellowstone do yourself a favour and, uh, and watch it, it's the most amazing TV series.
[00:35:06] Luke Reynolds: It's great
[00:35:07] Grow My Salon Business: the thing that I, and I really fell in love with horses watching that 'cause they are such beautiful, creatures and, uh. You have to watch the, you know, Yellowstone to understand what it is I'm talking about here. But there was a particular scene in there, and I was just googling this while you were talking, so I hope you didn't think I was just checking my emails or something.
[00:35:29] Grow My Salon Business: But, um, no, I, I googled it because I couldn't think of her name. And you know, his daughter Beth Dutton uh, she. She was a fantastic character. I absolutely a daughter, her in the show. And she had a problem with horses and there was a particular scene in there where she jumped on a horse.
[00:35:51] Grow My Salon Business: And the horse, was completely lacking in what you just said. There was zero trust between her and the horse. And she was getting quite angry with the horse. And this cowboy came along and he started talking to her about how to connect and relate to the horse and what she's doing psychologically, uh,
[00:36:13] Luke Reynolds: Yeah.
[00:36:13] Grow My Salon Business: negatively that's impacting on that horse.
[00:36:16] Grow My Salon Business: And I just listened to it. I can't remember the exact words now, but I just thought, oh my God, that is amazing. I mean. There was another movie years ago, I think it might have even been called The Horse Whisperer, but it was just that ability to have that degree of intuition and empathy and like you said, all those things that came out of it.
[00:36:37] Grow My Salon Business: The words that you had on the whiteboard, you know, it's about trust, it's about communication. It's about not being afraid to lead. It's about all these other things. I mean, they're just as relevant in a salon situation. So it's good sometimes when you can learn while you're having fun, while you are in a completely different environment at the same time, because it, it gives you the lesson at a much deeper, more connected emotional level, so to speak.
[00:37:04] Grow My Salon Business: Yeah, I, I, I think that's amazing. So what else have you got planned? Uh, you know, what other, events, are you gonna take people on?
[00:37:10] Luke Reynolds: next one that I can think of, um, obviously my wonderful manager, Rachel, organises most of it. I think the next one is actually a real social event. And we're just going to, eat street markets which is a, for those of you who dunno what that is, um, it's like a marketplace with a whole bunch of food vendors and you can hire like your own kind of container and with, you know, has a dining space and there's all different types of food from all over the world.
[00:37:39] Luke Reynolds: And so you can, you know, we can just go eat and have a few drinks and so it's a, it's a lot
[00:37:43] Grow My Salon Business: Okay.
[00:37:43] Luke Reynolds: work where it's, purely social based.
[00:37:47] Grow My Salon Business: But it's also exploring, isn't it? 'cause you're exploring different cultures, different foods, and, and. And mixing with your team at a different level. 'cause what people are like and the sort of hierarchy that exists on a salon level can be very different to them. When you're all out socially, people can have different personalities that come out, et cetera, can't they?
[00:38:05] Luke Reynolds: they Can
[00:38:05] Grow My Salon Business: yeah.
[00:38:05] Luke Reynolds: hundred percent
[00:38:06] Grow My Salon Business: Yeah,
[00:38:06] Luke Reynolds: And we quite often find that, and I think sometimes too they really enjoy doing something social with me.
[00:38:12] Luke Reynolds: Obviously at work I'm boss man. I'm super busy both running the business, running a full column, 
[00:38:18] Grow My Salon Business: yeah.
[00:38:19] Luke Reynolds: wear, however
[00:38:21] Grow My Salon Business: Luke they like doing it socially with you because you have the credit card, so you know that's why they like it. Don't worry. So listen, um, look this has been fantastic. There's been so many good things here that I, I don't want to dilute by talking about another subject. And I would, if you are up for it, I'd love to do another podcast with you.
[00:38:45] Grow My Salon Business: We'll give it a few weeks, but I'd love to do another podcast because you have. Recently expanded a salon and you've closed down one and you've moved into a much bigger and better space. And I've been privileged to sort of be on that journey with you over the last 12 months. And it's been a lot of fun.
[00:39:03] Grow My Salon Business: It's been a very interesting, insightful journey and I think that you would have a lot to share. About that as well. But I don't want to, I don't wanna rush that and try and cram it in 10 minutes 'cause there's a lot of really good things that have happened during that. So if you are up for it, are you up for it?
[00:39:19] Grow My Salon Business: We can do another podcast further down the line. Yeah.
[00:39:21] Luke Reynolds: I'd love to
[00:39:21] Grow My Salon Business: Great.
[00:39:22] Luke Reynolds: back on again because there's a lot to go through there. I agree with you.
[00:39:27] Grow My Salon Business: Good.
[00:39:28] Luke Reynolds: And I'm glad you had fun while I was the most stressed I've ever been in my life there.
[00:39:34] Grow My Salon Business: Yeah. Yeah. Well, you didn't, you didn't always show it. Okay. So there, there were maybe moments. Well, listen, I think it's all about we won't start that conversation there, but it's all about change and it's all about, there's a risk involved huge financial risk huge amount of uncertainty.
[00:39:52] Grow My Salon Business: There's lots that can go wrong and for you. There's lots that's gone, right? I mean, you've had a few ups and downs during the process, but where you are now compared to where you were a year ago is a very different place. On that note I'll leave that and we'll pick up on this and do another episode about your salon because it's a beautiful salon.
[00:40:13] Grow My Salon Business: We've done a, a fantastic job of it and I think there's a natural fit with this great salon. And why are you being able to afford to do it? And while you are attracting and keeping good staff with the culture that you are developing and have developed, I think the two things are sort of, you know, hand and glove.
[00:40:32] Grow My Salon Business: So, uh, I'll leave that there for now. But before we do that whereabouts can people connect with you on Instagram or any other social media channels if they wanna, you know, just follow you, check out your salon, or even find out more about what you're doing with these sort of events that you're doing with your team.
[00:40:50] Luke Reynolds: Sure. So our Instagram handle is, uh, just Luke Reynolds hairdressing, all one word. My personal one is Luke c Reynolds all one word. I  share obviously across both platforms. Uh, we have Facebook as well, um, but mainly our work. Instagram is where we share most of it. But feel free, if anyone would like to reach out, you're more than welcome.
[00:41:11] Luke Reynolds: I'm, I'd be happy to share anything that I can.
[00:41:14] Grow My Salon Business: Great. Okay. Well listen, I'll put those links in, uh, the show notes for today's podcast. Wherever you are listening to this, uh, podcast, I'll be in the show notes and I'll also be on our website grow My Salon business.com in the show notes for this episode. If you're listening to this episode with Luke Reynolds and have enjoyed it, do me a favour, share it with people who you know would also enjoy it.
[00:41:36] Grow My Salon Business: And don't forget to subscribe and leave us a rating and review on the Apple Podcast that, or wherever you happen to be listening to this. So to wrap up, Luke Reynolds, thank you very much for being my guest on today's episode of the Grow My Salon Business podcast.
[00:41:53] Luke Reynolds: Thank you for having me, Antony. It's been a fantastic experience. It was an absolute pleasure to share with you all, and I hope you all got a little bit of something out of it.
[00:42:01] Grow My Salon Business: Good. I'm sure everybody did. I did too, so thank you.