In the last episode of season 3 Carly and Julie talk to Katie Howell from KH Spa Consultancy about her journey from working as a therapist on cruise ships, to managing profitable spas and now running her own successful business. Early on Katie realised that when you are passionate about what you are being taught it can remove all barriers, and her passion was fired up when she found skin and beauty care. As a therapist she witnessed first-hand what a vital role you can play in changing people’s lives. She wants to inspire therapists to know how important they are and what a gift they have, and for them to be recognised and told more often how special they are. So, no surprise that she had the calling to build spas that are operationally and therapist successful, with a strong focus on building teams. She shares the journey to starting her business while being a new mum and how important it was to have a solid support structure around her from her partner, to family and the business mentor who empowered her by getting her ideas out of her head, onto paper and into action. She certainly does smash the stereotypes of what it takes to run a business with a new baby. We love her vision for making spas more fun and adventurous; when you’re asked to build a spa that lives on forever you certainly need to think outside the box! Since talking to Katie she has also now established her own academy – The Talk Skin Academy - there’s no stopping her. We wish her much success. #podcasting #therapistlife #careerjourney #spaindustry #spalife #spa #workingmum #femaleentrepreneur #livingyourpurpose

In this episode Carly and Julie talk to Arif Isikgun, founder of Ai Beauty consultancy whose mission is to redefine education within the Beauty and Spa industry. In part 1 Arif shares his insights gathered over 16 years of working in many of the top luxury beauty retail and spa brands. He discusses the concept of retail and sales being an extension of the heart giving service we provide in the treatment room. Therapists have nothing to fear if we move away from the traditional ideas of what a ‘sale’ means and believe in themselves and their expertise. His no-nonsense educational approach is based on helping therapists and beauty consultants build confidence to create an emotional connection to deeply engage with their customers, empowering them to offer exceptional client and brand service.

Helen Cain talks to us about her journey from cabin crew to global head of spa! Her optimism, risk taking and trust in the spiritual path have all been fundamental to her growth. Aside from all of this, Helen has designed a treatment catalogue to be proud of with therapists' health and wellbeing at the forefront of her creative process. #therapistlife #spatherapist #spalife #careerjourney #spirituality #holisticliving

To mark the end of season 2 Carly and Julie celebrated with a day out in London. They were invited to the Hydrafacial Flagship Store for an experiential morning discovering the signature facials and the amazing therapists who deliver these services. Then to really get in the Christmas mood they passed the afternoon at the Mandarin Oriental Christmas fayre, of course finding time to connect with the wonderful spa team.

With thanks to all the guests who gave up their time to share their stories and messages in this season. Wishing you all the very best for the holiday season and a fabulous 2023! Look out for us in 2023 because we've got a great new season planned! Carly & Julie.

The road to realising your dreams is invariably never a straight one. In this episode Carly and Julie talk to Fikemi Adeyemi, a therapist who has chosen an international career, one she has had to persevere, against the odds, to achieve by using her can-do attitude, curiosity, openness and passion for the industry.

Firstly, she chose to study abroad in South Africa to become a CIDESCO, ITEC and SAAHSP certified therapist, but right before the end she was unable to complete her final year writing her international examinations. Then a few years later she got the opportunity to go back and finish, and despite this break, she passed with flying colours!

She's worked in her home country, in the Middle East and is now currently in Lithuania working at the prestigious V Spa & Wellness at the Vilnius Grand Resort. She shares what it has been like moving countries, building a new life each time, adapting to the language, traditions, culture and new people. What does she see in her future? Well, she's back studying again to get a nursing degree this time as she wants to be more involved in the medical aesthetics field. We hope you find her journey inspirational, and we wish her much success for the future.

Can it be true? A pay rise for everyone? In this episode, Carly and Julie speak to Lesley Bacon, Senior Spa & Leisure Manager for Handpicked Hotels. Listen to Lesley's first-hand insight into how staff responded to the big announcement. One of the most moving Spa Sisters Podcast episodes to date.

Carly and Julie interview Gosia Newell in this episode. She leads the award-winning spa team at Fota Island Resort, in Cork, Ireland. She shares her incredible journey to become a spa manager, from her childhood dreams of being an oceanographer, to ultimately training in cosmetology, then becoming a therapist, a spa educator, and salon owner.

It is clear that her ethos for managing teams is strongly human-centred; she tells us how she cared for her spa team during the pandemic and how she used the time to study. She is passionate about employee wellbeing and tells us about the fun things they do as a team. She is an inspirational leader that gets her team involved in deciding what goes on the spa menu and the how the spa is managed. She provides tips and tricks for other spa managers and reinforces the importance of working closely with colleagues from HR.