In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Katie Godfrey, CEO of KG Salons and founder of the KG Professional Product Range and Training Academy. Katie shares a formative personal story of severe bullying that led her to drop out of school at 13, explaining how confronting anxiety, confidence issues, and rejection forged resilience that now informs her leadership and team management. She outlines key industry insights for the fast‑growing beauty sector, emphasizing the necessity of continual training, discerning lasting trends from fleeting fads, and staying ahead of competitors. Her broader business philosophy centers on persistence, focus, surrounding oneself with positive, like‑minded people, and constant learning through podcasts and books. She advises younger entrepreneurs to embrace mistakes, manage stress deliberately, and prioritize what truly matters. Katie identifies family and friends as the core of happiness, recommends books such as Rachel Hollis’s Girl, Wash Your Face and T. Harv Eker’s Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, and shares a favorite quote about humility and gratitude. The episode concludes with her online contact points: kgsalons.com and social media handles on Instagram and Facebook under KG Salon or Katie Godfrey.
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All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Katie Godfrey with us. She is the CEO of KG Salons, a beauty salon franchise, and KG Professional Product Range and Training Academy. So welcome to the show.
Thanks so much.
Of course. Grateful to have you on. So Katie, we start the show off going pretty deep. So the first one I got for you is, what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
It's a very, very deep question for the first one. Okay. It's a really, really hard one. There's obviously so many stories in our lives that make us who we are. But for me, I would say being bullied. So when I was back in school, like 12, 13 years old, I was severely bullied, so much so that I wanted to end my life. I couldn't take it anymore. I was really depressed. It was really bad, so to the point where I dropped out of school at 13 years old. So I left with no qualifications at all. Literally nothing. And with that, it gave me a lot of anxiety, confidence issues, and also rejection. Like, I can't understand, like, being rejected and that type of thing. But from that, everything kind of happens for a reason, and things make you stronger in life. And even though it was a horrible time in my life, I'm kind of grateful that it happened because it made me who I am today. And those things I had to conquer at that time, like confidence and rejection, anxiety, that type of thing, it's made me stronger dealing with that today in business because that's things that we have to overcome every day when we're managing teams and growing a company and that type of thing. So even though I still suffer from those things now, I know how to manage them. But it's also made me super aware of how I do deal with those things in business today. So I'd say that's definitely my best story and the reason of why I am who I am today.
Thank you for sharing that. I dropped out of college, but 13, that is young to drop out. That's like you entered the real world fast.
I know, definitely.
Yeah, but I mean, if anything, right, I think it made you stronger, you know, like today. So, um, so the next one I got for you, Katie, is what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
For us, obviously I'm in the beauty industry, and with this, trends are changing all the time. And so you have to keep up to date with training, and that's key. Um, you need to work out what is staying and what isn't. There's obviously lots of treatment and products that come out and everyone thinks it's going to be the next best thing and then actually a couple months later it's never heard of again. So you have to pick and choose what to train in but try and figure out what is staying around. Like I said, it's the fastest growing industry right now and there's so many people jumping on board and doing beauty, which is great, but it means you have to stay on top of your game at all times otherwise someone else is just— other clients are just— sorry, other customers are just going to end up going to your competitors. So you need to stay on top of your game at all times.
And it ties in, but what's your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry specific.
Don't give up and be focused, I'd say, is my main thing. I mean, business is hard, and if it was easy, everyone would be doing it. And so just don't chuck the towel in too fast. When you're first starting out a business, you're running a business 24/7. And even when you're established, you don't stop thinking and growing. So you need to keep self-focused, surround yourself with like-minded people, positivity, keep in touch with positive people to keep you on track. Also, my biggest advice is read and listen to podcasts constantly when you're driving, when you've got free time. They've been my savior over the last 10 years I've been in business. I learn from them, and also it helps me keep my anxiety at bay and just realizing that actually we're not alone, we all kind of think the same. So yeah, definitely reading and podcasts is huge as well.
Couldn't agree more. Podcasts and audiobooks, those are my two loves right there. So next one is, if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Take every day as it comes. And mistakes, mistakes will happen along the way, but they are not a bad thing. Mistakes are just a part of what your story is going to be in business. And they are going to make you the business person you're going to be. Also, to choose, um, what— it's obviously running the business is very stressful, so choose what you're going to be stressed out about. If there's different things that are coming your way that day, is that worth taking on the stress or just to drop it? Um, so just be careful what you're getting stressed about because you're going to be battling with that a lot in business.
And then kind of going a little bit down a different path, in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
My family and my friends. And obviously, life would be lonely and boring without your family and friends around you. So they are my key to happiness, and that they're healthy. It's all great having the cars, the houses, and materialistic things, but if you haven't got anyone to share it, then what's, what's the point? So my little girl and my family are definitely and always will be my happy place. Yeah.
And then going back to books, what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from it?
One book is pretty impossible. I read a lot and I'm dyslexic. It takes me a while to read, but somehow I still managed to get through a lot of books. Um, so I would say my latest one was Rachel Hollis. Um, she's actually American. Her last book was called Girl, Wash Your Face. And I learned a lot from that because it's all about positivity, visualization, So that was pretty good. And then I have to say, one of the first books I ever read in business was Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, which is— I'd recommend to anyone that's going in business or in business because it's all about the way that entrepreneurs think and how we're built. So that was a really interesting read as well.
And then what is your favorite quote and why?
I have loads of quotes as well. But I would say my favorite is, no matter how much wealth or success comes your way, always stay humble. Um, you can lose everything in a second. So I just always say, just remember, be grateful. Um, always remember where you come from or how you started, and just don't lose track of sight of who you are as a person.
Yes, I love it. Thank you so much for coming on. The last one that I have for you is, where can our listeners, uh, best connect and find you online?
And so obviously we have our website, which is kgsalons.com. And then you can get me on Instagram or Facebook again at KG Salon or Katie Godfrey.
Perfect. Thanks again for coming on.
No worries. Thanks so much for asking me.
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