Delusional
Every founder is called delusional before they're called successful.
The world has never been changed by people who thought realistically.
Every breakthrough, category-defining business and industry leader was once dismissed as too ambitious, too risky or completely delusional.
DELUSIONAL is where entrepreneurs, founders, creators and high performers come to challenge conventional thinking and hear the conversations most people never get access to.
Hosted by Sammy Kennedy, each episode goes beyond the highlight reel to uncover the decisions, failures, mindset and strategies behind people building extraordinary businesses and lives. From multi-million-dollar founders to industry disruptors, you'll discover what it really takes to create something that everyone else thought was impossible.
This isn't motivation.
It's the blueprint for thinking bigger, leading differently and building a life most people will never have the courage to pursue.
If people aren't questioning your vision...
You probably aren't thinking big enough.
New episodes every Monday.
Welcome to DELUSIONAL.
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Delusional
My 79-Year-Old Grandma Taught Me More About Business Than Any Course Ever Could
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She came to Australia from Hong Kong with nothing familiar. No friends. No family nearby. No safety net.
She built a business with my grandfather and ran it for decades.
👉 And she never once paid herself a salary.
This episode is different from anything I've ever done on the show.
I'm sitting across from my grandma, Julia Lau. I call her Po Po. She's turning 80, and she's never been on a podcast, never done an interview, and until a few years ago, had never said "I love you" out loud to anyone in our family.
But she's the reason this podcast studio exists. She's the reason my parents' bowling alley survived. And she's the woman who quietly held our entire family together through eight businesses, decades of financial hardship, and more sacrifice than any of us fully understood.
In this episode, we go deep into the real, unfiltered story behind everything I've built:
- Leaving Hong Kong and raising kids in a country where she knew nobody
- The miscarriage, the homesickness, and the depression she carried in silence
- How my grandfather pivoted from nursing to acupuncture with no business training
- Running a business at breakeven for years because no one told them how to structure their finances
- Paying 17% interest on their mortgage on $300 a fortnight take-home pay
- Her honest reaction to my mum choosing a non-Chinese husband
- The moment she and Gong Gong decided to back my dad financially, even when they weren't sure
- What she really thought when my degree was cancelled and I pivoted into marketing
- And the cultural wall that kept her from ever saying "I love you" until I challenged her on it
I also share some hard lessons I've been sitting on about pricing, investing, fire sales, and why the belief system I inherited almost kept me stuck at $60K a year forever.
This is the most personal episode I've ever recorded. And if you've ever built something with your family, or you're trying to create something that outlasts you, I think it'll hit home in a way you don't expect.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
→ Profitable Pricing Calculator: https://beautyindustryleaders.com.au/profitable-pricing-calculator
→ Breakeven Cost Calculator: https://beautyindustryleaders.com.au/breakeven-cost-calculator
→ ATO Industry Benchmarks: https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/income-deductions-and-concessions/small-business-benchmarks/in-detail/beauty-services
Connect with me and join the Beauty Industry Leaders movement:
→ https://www.instagram.com/sammykennedycoach/
→ https://www.instagram.com/beautyindustryleaders/
→ https://beautyindustryleaders.com.au/
If you have any questions about the episode, have a burning question you would like me to answer on the show, or want to join our movement of ambitious beauty leaders, connect with me and the rest of our incredible community on Instagram:
→ https://www.instagram.com/sammykennedycoach/
→ https://www.instagram.com/beautyindustryleaders/
