At this year’s Salon Owners’ Summit, Phorest invited Katie Piper to deliver our closing keynote for a reason. The salon, spa, and clinic industry is powered largely by women – approximately 85% to 93%, according to the National Hair and Beauty Foundation. It is built on resilience, emotional intelligence, and the ability to adapt under pressure. Her message spoke directly to that reality.
In rooms like that, you see it clearly. Owners managing rising costs while protecting their teams, front-of-house staff holding the energy of the day, stylists and therapists giving confidence to others, appointment after appointment. Leaders making decisions that shape livelihoods.
Katie Piper’s words centred on agency, and living in the present tense. She spoke about choosing hope as an active stance, rather than a passive wish. She reminded us that confidence isn’t about universal approval, but about trusting that you will be fine, even if someone disagrees.
For an industry built on relationships, reputation, and human connection, that mindset matters. The way leaders speak to themselves influences their business. Self-belief travels outward. It shapes teams, and it shapes businesses.
The Voice Behind the Business
Every salon, spa, and clinic has a tone, a rhythm, and a way of being. Much of it begins with the person in charge. When leaders question their own judgment, hesitate to set boundaries, or speak to themselves with doubt, the culture absorbs it. Teams pick up on hesitation long before they hear the words.
Katie Piper’s keynote returned to this idea again and again: the stories we tell ourselves shape the way we move through the world. When owners live in the present tense, when they stop defining themselves by difficulty, when they allow themselves to reinvent, their teams feel it. Clients feel it, and the business feels it.
There’s research to support this, too. Studies on self-affirmation theory show that grounding yourself in core values reduces stress and strengthens decision-making. Work on emotional contagion explains how a leader’s mindset influences the atmosphere around them. Internal narratives don’t stay internal for long; they set the temperature of the entire space.
A confident leader creates confident teams. A hopeful leader builds hopeful environments. And self-belief, practiced consistently, becomes part of the culture clients return to.
Hope Is A Practice
Hope can sound like a soft concept, but in this industry, it behaves more like a strategy. Salon, spa, and clinic owners navigate shifting economics, evolving client expectations, staffing challenges, and the constant pressure to remain competitive. Hope, in this context, is not wishful thinking. It is the belief that you can act, and the belief that there is a way forward – even when the path is unclear.
Katie Piper spoke to this through the lens of resilience. Difficult moments don’t exist to break us; they reveal the capacity we didn’t realize we had. That idea aligns closely with psychologist C.R. Snyder’s Hope Theory, which frames hope as a combination of agency and pathways. You recognize your ability to take action, and you trust that alternatives exist when circumstances change.
In practice, that mindset affects everything: pricing decisions, team communication, client experience, long-term planning. A hopeful leader resists stagnation. A hopeful leader adapts. A hopeful leader keeps moving, even when the landscape shifts.
Hope, treated with intention, becomes a business tool: one that’s steady, and hopeful, and powerful.
Leadership Means Backing Yourself
Across the salon, spa, and clinic industry, women lead the majority of businesses. They manage teams, guide client relationships, and carry the emotional weight that comes with service-based work. And yet, many still underprice their expertise, hesitate to set boundaries, or second-guess decisions long after making them.
This is where one message from the keynote lands with force: confidence doesn’t come from universal agreement. It comes from trusting that you’ll be fine if someone disagrees. That mindset frees leaders to make choices rooted in sustainability: raising prices when the business requires it, protecting their team’s wellbeing, and communicating boundaries with clarity.
These decisions shape long-term stability, and company culture. They shape how emerging leaders within the business learn to advocate for themselves.
When a woman in this industry backs herself, she models a different kind of leadership: with grounded confidence, with respected boundaries, and where the next generation sees what is possible.
What Backing Yourself Sounds Like at Phorest
Self-belief shows up differently for everyone. At Phorest, we see the same pattern across teams: people ground themselves with simple phrases they return to when the day gets a little overwhelming. They’re cues for focus and for clarity. They’re tools for leadership.
- “If it’s not a strong yes, it’s a no.” –Sheri Francis, Strategic Partnerships Development Specialist, North America
- “It’s this or something better.” –Kimberly Martin, Regional Marketing Manager of Australia
- “What’s the worst that could happen?” –Daria Michalik, Creative Copywriter
- “Nothing is ever that serious, and you shouldn’t overthink it.” –Vanessa Schander, Technical Support Specialist, DACH
- “Today’s going to be a great day!” –Brittany Dennison, Senior Creative Copywriter
- “All is well, everything is working out for my highest good. Only good will come out of this situation. I am safe.” –Cristal Martinez, Support Agent for North America
- “Everything will be okay. You can do it.” –Fernanda Brunhara, People Operations and Talent Acquisition Coordinator
- “There’s no wrong or right path, just different ones. Every decision is leading you towards something new, and the intention you bring makes it the right one.” –Emily Treacy, Senior Graphic Designer
These small phrases shape the way people lead, communicate, and make decisions. They influence team culture, and reinforce the idea that confidence begins internally, long before it becomes visible to clients, or colleagues.
Three Leadership Lessons to Carry Forward from Katie Piper
Katie Piper’s keynote left the room with a clear sense of momentum. Her message centred on agency, perspective, and the choices leaders make in the moments that shape a day, a team, or a business. For salon, spa, and clinic leaders, a few lessons stand out.
Live in the Present Tense
The past can offer insight. The future invites planning. Leadership happens in the present moment. Decisions made today set the tone for teams, clients, and the direction of the business.
Detach from Universal Approval
Confidence grows when leaders stop chasing agreement from everyone in the room. Pricing decisions, team boundaries, and strategic choices require clarity. Trusting your judgment keeps the business moving forward.
Treat Resilience As Discipline
Challenges will surface in any service industry. What matters is the response. Consistency, adaptability, and the willingness to begin again build strength over time.
Back Yourself, and Bring Others With You
At the 2026 Summit, Katie Piper’s message returned to one idea: the way we speak to ourselves shapes what we believe is possible. That belief influences how we lead, how we adapt, and how we respond when the pressure rises.
In an industry powered largely by women, that mindset carries weight. Salon, spa, and clinic leaders set the tone for their teams every day. The way they approach challenges, the language they use around growth, the confidence they model when making difficult decisions… it all ripples outward.
International Women’s Day offers a moment to pause and reflect on that influence. Backing yourself is not a private act; it becomes culture, and leadership. It becomes an example that others can follow.
Share this article with your team and talk about one idea that resonated. Start your next meeting with a simple question: how are we backing ourselves this year? Consider mentoring a young person entering the industry, or encouraging someone on your team to step into a leadership role.
When leaders back themselves, they create space for others to do the same. And over time, that belief travels far beyond a single room.
