What advice would you share with female rising stars of the Australian aesthetics industry?
This was the fifth poignant question out of six asked of our guests over lunch as Professional Beauty’s Industry Roundtable as part of the conversation focused on Empowering Women.
Our panel of strong, successful and smart women – Carley Dowdle from asap skin products, Yvette Wyeth from Activeskin, Tina Copland from Jax Wax Australia, Emma-Rose Dermody from Ivy Brow Co, Mandy Gray from True Solutions and Sonya Annesley from InnerSense Beauty & Day Spa – emphasised the importance of following your passion.
They also stressed how crucial it was to be flexible when it came to business and, most importantly, to be kind.
Emma said it was important to find your niche market, an area that you love and were passionate about, and to continue to educate and train yourself in that area.
“I’ve always found that specialising in something, especially in the salon, has always worked best for us,” she said.
Tina said to never, ever, ever, give up and to have a clear direction.
“You have to be sure what your philosophy is. You can’t be all things to everybody,” she said.
She referenced the quotes: ‘The man who never made a mistake never made anything’, and ‘Always be nice on the way up because you’re going to meet them on the way down’ as great mantras to follow.
Mandy said it was crucial to always make changes and to choose wisely who you worked with.
“You have to be prepared to make changes. You have to add newness,” she said.
Sonya said a successful woman was only successful if she had a tribe of women who had her back.
“Women are fantastic at supporting each other,” she said.
Yvette said it was important to never say never, as even the grandest plans could change at the last minute.
“You’ve got to be able to change course and evolve your business,” she said.
Watch the video below for the full discussion.