5. Sheridan Rose Shaw: Building a Hairdressing Legacy

Sheridan Rose Shaw left school at 14 and found her way into hairdressing after struggling to fit into traditional education. What followed was far from a straight line. Over the next decade, she experienced career highs and personal lows, including addiction, homelessness, recovery, and the challenge of rebuilding her life from the ground up. In this episode, Ally sits down with the founder of MAMAWEST to discuss the experiences that shaped her, the lessons learned through 13 years of sobriety, building an award-winning salon business, and why her biggest mission now is helping shape the next generation of hairdressers. In this episode, we discuss: Sheridan's unconventional path into hairdressing and the mentors who shaped her early career Addiction, homelessness, recovery, and the experiences that transformed her life What 13 years of sobriety taught her about leadership, accountability, and self-awareness Building Mama West from a solo operation into one of Australia's most recognised salon brands The challenges of scaling a creative business while maintaining strong commercial foundations Why Timely alongside consultation systems, client experience, and data have become central to her business strategy How motherhood has changed her perspective on ambition, success, and work-life balance The importance of mentorship, community, and learning from people both inside and outside the industry Letting go of hyper-independence and learning to receive support The vision behind the newly announced Mama West Academy and her mission to improve apprenticeship education Resources Mentioned in This Episode: The Beauty Grail | Online Education Timely: New customers receive 50% off for 3 months when you use the CODE: TBG Natalie Anne Haircare Kaine Vakai x Jadore Hair Supplies Fone King: Get 15% off all purchases when you use the CODE: BEAUTY15 MAMAWEST Salon Melbourne Connect with Sheridan Rose Shaw on Instagram Check out MAMAWEST Salon on Instagram