Tell us about Lady Lash.
Lady Lash is one of Sydney’s original boutique lash and brow salons! We opened in 2010, have four locations across NSW (mainly in Sydney) and many of our stylists are national and international titleholders.
We offer hundreds of types of lashes, classic, volume and hybrid styles, with each set completely customised to suit the wearer. Aside from lashes and brows, we don’t offer any other treatments – we’re experts in a small field. And our goal is for all of our visitors to leave our salons looking and feeling amazing – with the best brows and lashes they’ve ever had!
What inspired you to start Lady Lash?
Initially, it was just because I loved lashes, and wanted to be able to do my own (impossible!) and all my friends. At first, it was a hobby rather than a conscious business decision, but it became one when I realised how much I enjoyed it, and that it was something I could actually have a business doing.
Tell us about your career and background.
I love working. Since an early age, I’ve always enjoyed (or tried to enjoy!) every job I’ve ever had, and I do have a natural curiosity for how businesses operate from the inside out.
After school, I completed a Bachelor of Communication (Media and Production), and during this time I worked freelance doing PR and writing work (amongst other less glamorous hospitality jobs). I have a special interest in public relations for the arts, so a lot of my work was with galleries and creative types.
I eventually took a corporate role in marketing in a large real estate franchise system; this was a challenging role because franchises operate completely differently and under more complex rules/codes than what I was accustomed to. I was lucky enough to have a wonderful manager who taught me a lot; really I came in knowing nothing and winging it, and she made sure I had the tools to do my job properly. I learnt things every single day.
After a few years there, I became a national marketing manager, which was a big step up for me – fantastic as I was given a lot of autonomy and responsibility, and I thrive in those conditions. I like to get things done and not let people down once they’ve put their faith in me. I think at the time (as it was very busy and quite stressful; it was during GFC where most businesses were under a lot of pressure and shrinking budgets). I didn’t quite appreciate how much I was learning. But in hindsight, it was a really valuable experience and I learned how to be resourceful and resilient.
Then in 2009, I completed my initial lash and beauty qualifications, and then it was in 2010 that I decided that this was what I really wanted to do. I left the corporate world to open my own (tiny!) salon in Newtown. We still have our flagship salon in Newtown, a larger premises a few doors down from the initial salon.
I love creating and producing things, and although I suppose it’s a different path to say producing films or advertising or websites, which is what my degree was geared towards, having my own business is very much an outlet for me to be creative. With our salons, of course the treatments themselves are extremely important – but it’s also about the atmosphere, how things look, how our visitors are spoken to and made to feel, the level of warmth and customer service, the communications we send out, what image of us is held in visitors minds long after they leave the salon, and of course the team culture we have here.
Describe a typical work day for you.
We’re open seven days and some evenings, so for me, I don’t have a regular 9-5 schedule (but this suits me quite well!)
I might start the day with some energetic cleaning/small maintenance/packing away deliveries type tasks before the salon opens. I know this is a task that can easily be delegated, but I do enjoy physical work before I get stuck at my desk. Plus it allows me to keep an eye on things – in a big and busy salon, there’s always something that needs fixing!
Then, I try to do something boring and hard, that I don’t really don’t want to do, but has to be done – to get it out of the way. I once heard (I cant remember who!) successful say this was their strategy, and for me it helps curb procrastination, so that’s what I do.
So that might be reviewing suppliers and costs, going over insurance renewals, writing a complicated brief for a designer or web developer, going over commercial lease/renewals, reviewing account and budgets before a meeting, actually putting some of my ideas into a plan or chart – that sort of thing. Or writing web copy/blogs/marketing copy etc. I love it, BUT I also hate it. I have a confusing relationship with writing!
After that, mid-morning could consist of staff training or orientations, or maybe interviews/recruitment processes if we’re in a growth stage, or rostering. With a team of almost 40 across four salons, there is always something on the roster that needs attention, and it can take up a large proportion of the time.
Usually I reserve the middle part of the day for meetings – meetings with our salon managers to catch up on how things are tracking. Meetings with our GM about staffing and budgets and marketing initiatives, meetings with our administration manager, meetings with the accountant, meetings with my husband about how to make our website more awesome. I try to keep meetings short and action-focused rather than – i.e. identify problem, suggest solution, action it, schedule follow-up. Although most days I’m in in our main salon/HQ in Newtown, often I’ll be travelling to one or more of our three other salons. Though as my husband and my sister both now work with me in the business in management roles – often the meetings are informal and just us in the car on the way to a salon mulling over an idea or a problem!
The afternoon I tend to spend on easier, more creative tasks, like content creation for Instagram, Facebook, YouTube etc., organising marketing materials, and things like photo-shoots, plus internal communications. We have a big focus on keeping our teams interested and energised with internal competitions and challenges, and are constantly running training in different areas. We also have a training and products arm, Lash Game – and although I am not heavily involved in this, I still have some input and assist with product development and testing.
But no two days are really the same at all. I’m not really a creature of habit or routine – much to the exasperation of many of my colleagues!
There have been times where the entire day (or in-fact week) have been taken up by salon renovations, me doing treatments to cover someone who’s away, attending conferences or preparing for a competition, or spending an entire week on content creation, if that’s what’s needed.
What advice do you have for those wanting to start a business?
The one thing I was not prepared for is that the bigger the business gets, the more difficult conversations that tend to be required. And when it’s your business, these conversations often fall on you – so get used to handling confrontation and try to embrace it, because if you can’t, it will be hard to lead your team effectively.
Have some savings – it’s great to be optimistic, but it can take much longer than expected to see a profit – unexpected expenses do seem to pop up with new business ventures, and you don’t want to be panicking and making bad decisions because you didn’t have a buffer.
Do your research first, but I think the saying “good enough is better than perfect” is useful here. I think you can spend so much time researching and contemplating an idea, that you actually scare yourself out of it! Be sure to take your advice from people who truly mean the best for you. Google alone is not this. I think also, try to see every twist and turn in your working life (even shitty jobs when you’re studying) as a learning experience where you can develop skills and just general resilience that you can later use in your own business.
Have a go. At the risk of sounding like an annoying Instagram post; “we always regret the things we didn’t do” (*there are actually a lot of exceptions to this rule, mostly involving karaoke and subsequent tequila shots!)
What’s next for you, and Lady Lash?
Right now, our 10-year celebrations are underway – it’s an exciting time and I really don’t know it crept up on us so quickly!
Later this year, we’re attending a few major conferences and competitions, and are competing at Lash Open in various live lash competitions, as well as a finalist in the ‘Commercial Lash Salon of the Year” Category.
This year is not about expansion though, but more emphasis on consolidation and sustainable business practices – and wherever possible, running our business in a way that is least harmful to the environment.
So we’re focusing on working with suppliers who think this way also, and our own product arm Lash Game is developing various environmentally friendly solutions (recyclable and biodegradable) to various products that we use. The beauty industry is not known for being particularly great in this regard – regulations often stipulate single-use items must be used, due to hygiene, and the amount of packaging can be absurd. So we are constantly thinking of ways to cut down on plastics and unnecessary waste.
And as always, we’re constantly on the lookout for the next new thing in lashes and brows to show our clients!
Follow the journey at @ladylashau.
