Mini Moment #14: The One Block of Time Salon Owners Can’t Afford to Skip
In this Mini Moment, Sam and Jen talk honestly about something salon owners rarely prioritise properly: a dedicated day to work on the business, not just survive inside it.
As they head into 2026, this chat is about boundaries, nervous system care, and why diarising your wellbeing is just as important as diarising clients. From admin Mondays to non negotiable “me days,” this episode is a reminder that sustainability is not lazy, it is leadership.
If you ended 2025 depleted, reactive, or running on fumes, this Mini Moment is your permission slip to slow down strategically and build a year that actually supports you.
What we cover
- Why a weekly business admin day changes everything
- The difference between maintenance work and true rest
- Nervous system burnout and recognising the warning signs
- Scheduling therapy, physio and health like real business commitments
- Booking holidays early so rest is planned, not reactive
In short: this episode is a reminder that you are the asset. When you protect your energy, your business becomes stronger, calmer and far more sustainable.
Mentioned in this episode:
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Transcript
[00:00:13] Samara: Uh, coming to you from my bedroom. This is my wardrobe coming to you from your lounge room. This is what, look, this is what's happening this year. We just need to find the time and sometimes it just cannot, even though Jen and I see each other every week, it just sometimes cannot be in the same place.
[:[00:00:36] Samara: No, neither.
[:[00:00:37] Samara: Neither. Yes. Agreed.
[:[00:00:43] Samara: Agreed. So sometimes it's just easier. I'm at home today, Jen's at home doing admin. I'm at home. It's my admin sale and rising day. So it's just easier to get on and and come to you from our homes.
[:[00:01:09] Samara: Yes, me too. Actually, this is the first year that WILD is going to kind on a Monday,
[:[00:01:15] Samara: so.
[:[00:01:17] Samara: Dedicated day. And also Mondays are my day, so it will be some of my salon rising day, but Mondays are my day, like you said, that dedicated business to do. You know, the money stuff that I always do, that I always talk about, but sometimes it's really jamming that in between kids and his sleep and all of the stuff that it just.
It provides a little bit more space for us. I'm also going to use that day, and I talk quite openly and honestly about this. I'm really, really being dedicated this year to my health and upgrading my systems, and so that will be a day that I see my psychologist. I have just, you'd be so proud of me now I am.
Booking in my, I've just booked in like three physio appointments because my body is really sore, and if I don't have those in, it's like I don't wanna go to meltdown stations this year. I really wanna be like resourced so that when the things hit, I'm good and I'm resourced up. What about you?
[:[00:02:20] Samara: Mm.
[:[00:02:24] Samara: Mm-hmm.
[:Sometimes you've just gotta work until you feel
[:[00:02:37] Jen: wall.
[:[00:02:40] Jen: that
[:[00:02:41] Jen: big, like there was
[:[00:02:42] Jen: changing. So I, I acknowledged that that had to happen. I also acknowledged, and we talked about the fact that this year had to come with more things in place to stop that being a downward spiral and really looking after myself, and I'm the same as you.
It's like if I, because I still have Mondays on my full admin days, it's when I do payroll, it's when I do reconciling and all that sort of thing. But if it came down to, oh, I need to go and get that ultrasound, or I need to go and get that blood test. But I would always put the work stuff first, whereas allowing that business day, it's just that
[:[00:03:20] Jen: Like to be like,
[:[00:03:22] Jen: those are things I still have to do that day, but the other stuff I wanna do for work or to go to that appointment, I'm allowing the
[:[00:03:28] Jen: in life to do it.
[:Moving away. So I'm gonna be in back in a little bit more while I, you know, get my, like, structure a new team or just, I just really enjoy being on the floor, to be honest. So it's just easier sometimes to be on the floor. But I have structured to take off a Friday once a month, and that's my me day.
That's not a work day, that's not a catch up on Workday.
[:[00:04:12] Samara: No. No.
[:[00:04:14] Samara: That is work that goes in on the Mondays. Yes, on the Fridays. It's like a facial.
[:[00:04:20] Samara: A lunch by myself, uh, soak, if I wanna lie in bed all day and binge watch something, or I just wanna lie in bed and read my book, it is no one home. It's just a day to not feel guilty to drop everyone at school and have five hours just to do something that I wanna do.
[:[00:04:43] Samara: But if you don't, I've booked it in, I have booked it in
[:[00:04:46] Samara: every month book in. So like book the things in like every month. I'm like, no, no, this is just a no day. If the sky is falling and everyone is off sick, we cancel everyone. 'cause that is my day and that's, and then it's like my non-guilty day because our team can take sick days.
We generally do not. So it's like this is our rest and reset day once a month. That's it.
[:[00:05:21] Samara: Yes, , it's in the work diary. It's in my diary. I am booking the therapy. I am booking the phys I'm, or it's just booked. So now I'm like, I can't cancel that. They are times at work. There's a few other things that I wanna book in as well, and it's just literally putting it in the diary so that.
You know, and I will revise this as you probably will at that six month mark because it's hard to make appointments much further than that. And then we'll put 'em in for the rest of the year so that we are really taking care of ourselves before that. So that come the end of the year. Jen's not texting me full sobbing photos with cold sos all over her mouth being like, oh, why?
[:[00:06:14] Samara: Agreed.
[:And then also, I have scheduled one larger holiday. Doesn't mean if something comes up, I won't take another holiday, but I know that that one
Yep.
which is what I'm working towards for the end of this year, is in the diary.
[:And I'm just like, if it's in and the salon's quiet, whatever, let's just work towards that. So I agree with Jen gets some weeks in, 'cause we all know how Christmas, how important Christmas is to us and book in those like little pockets of time where you can just take a little bit of a moment to like.
Regroup and have your life and be with your kids, and if you're prepped for that, it doesn't feel as stressful.
[:[00:07:21] Samara: just.
[:Your body is the same. So
[:[00:07:39] Jen: that guys, enjoy this mini moment and we will be back again with a full podcast episode very soon. Thanks for listening. Bye.
