310 Hustle, Grit, and Growth: Building a Salon Career in a New Country with Mikki Auld

In this week’s episode, I’m joined by Australian salon owner and stylist, Mikki Auld. Earlier this year, Mikki left her Brisbane salon in the hands of her team and took a huge leap, moving to Los Angeles to start over from scratch.

Within no time at all, she was fully booked, not because of luck, but because of hustle, grit, and sheer determination.

We talk about why she made the move, how she built a client base in a new country with no connections, and the strategies she uses to keep her Brisbane salon thriving without her being there day-to-day. 

I love a bit of hustle and seeing people get out there, build their book from scratch and doing that in another country, when you don’t have a social network, takes courage and a lot of self-belief.

IN THIS EPISODE:

[00:29] Mikki’s move from Brisbane to Los Angeles 

[02:36] The O-1 visa process and making the leap
[06:24] Why LA was the right fit and finding a salon space
[09:55] Getting licensed in the US
[12:13] The power of hustle: flyers, posters, and ads
[15:44] Building clients through Meta ads and old-school marketing
[19:17] Starting over: what it feels like to build again
[22:20] Differences between the US and Australian salon industry
[25:00] Pricing, tipping, and client expectations
[26:00] Running her Brisbane salon remotely with systems and leadership
[34:54] Lessons from building structure and management teams
[37:51] Learning from US salon culture and service standards
[44:00] Employee entitlements vs US benefits

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RATINGS + REVIEWS

🙏Thanks so much for joining me this week. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! 

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Until next time!
Antony

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