Ten years after launching Aussie Bombshell, a range of sunless tanning products in Perth, Penni Towner has written her first blog revealing ‘The Truth about Being a Bombshell’ – and its definitely not about tanning:
“So much time has passed since I was a 20-something obnoxious little upstart who started Aussie Bombshell simply, because I didn’t want to work for anybody else.
I knew nothing about business, and I knew NOTHING about tanning…. but I professed (like every other 20-something obnoxious little upstart) to know everything about the world, and what life had to offer.
Wow, did I have some lessons to learn!
Fast-forward to today and I am a self-confessed tanning nerd, and believe it or not I’m a consummate professional… Ask me anything tanning, and I’ll answer your question… with the extended version.
But here’s the thing, my true message for Aussie Bombshell, has nothing to do about tanning. It’s about life. Our value and our worth – how we see ourselves, and how we show up for others in the world.
Pretty early on in this journey, I learnt that I had a good knack for making people feel good – above and beyond giving them a cracking spray tan.
Although people love the products I’ve created, the most important thing for me is making sure that I help people give their best to the world.
Can we show up and do this every day? Of course not. I am the prime culprit for having a good old-fashioned dummy-spit when things don’t go my way.
But what’s the secret to moving forward? We get up, brush ourselves off and we give it another go or we try something new that may serve us better.
Over the course of my 10 years in business, I have experienced some high highs and some seriously low lows.
If you could’ve asked me when I started this journey if I thought I’d be where I am today, my answer would be a flat out heartfelt ‘NO’ that I would scream for all the world to hear.
But isn’t that old adage so true: ‘Life is what happens when you’re making other plans’?
I have always had a love of writing and from a very young age my dad always suggested that I should a write book, but I never had the courage to do so. I spent a lot of time hiding behind things, and people, just so I wouldn’t be seen. I let my fear get in the way.
When he passed away in 2016, I truly lost my voice. There was not one part of me that wanted to be seen in the world, so I kept my head down and stopped going out.
I nearly even lost this business.
For someone with a rather large personality and social network, I became quite reclusive. Those close to me probably didn’t notice, because they were the people I felt safest with, but the pain and loss that I was suffering at the time was so immense, that I had no energy for anything or anyone beyond the basics.
That’s the thing about grief, it comes in all shapes and sizes, and it’s something that we all have to endure. At the time, you don’t recognise the ‘fog’ you are in, you just try and get through another day.
Nearly, three years on from this loss, I still shed a tear most days, but I feel stronger and ready to share my voice with the world again.
Aussie Bombshell was never meant to be just about tanning. It’s a lifestyle that I created for myself, and it’s something I want to share – a platform where we can all feel connected, and at home.
So here’s my promise:
If you show up in my salon for a spray tan, I will make you feel welcome give you the bronziest golden glow that still makes you feel like you, and I will leave you feeling better than when you first walked in.
If you have questions about tanning, I will teach you all I know to give you the best results in your salon for your clients, or at home for yourself.
And when I write this blog, I will show up, in my honest and most authentic self because that’s what I’ve learned being an ‘Aussie Bombshell’ is all about.
If there’s anything you’d like me to write about, please feel free to contact me, and if you think it’s just all a load of crap, take a deep breath and simply tell yourself ‘this isn’t for me’ and kindly keep moving, because not everything that I write will resonate with some people, and that’s completely fine with me.
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