State of the Art Parisian Beauty By Louise May

Beautyologist is a state-of-the-art, St Kilda beauty salon, set in a luxurious environment that evokes the indulgence of a Parisian perfumery. This innovative business delivers a wide range of cutting-edge, advanced, and indulgent treatments so even the most demanding beauty aficionados are satisfied. More than just skincare, they also offer a retail experience, including their own range of products, so the clients can nurture and spoil themselves the way they deserve.

Owner and 2021 AHIA Business Director of the Year Sia Psicharis started her career studying fashion and visual merchandising at Melbourne College of Textiles before working for a few years in the fashion industry. It wasn’t until a trip to Hong Kong that she fell in love with beauty.

Beauty Biz Editor, Louise May, recently spoke with Sia, to find out more on her journey to date in the industry...

It was 9pm one night during my stay in Hong Kong… Said Sia, my fingers had indents from the pencils I had been sketching with for hours, my boss could see that I was in a bad way, so she booked a massage for me at the Blind Institute, in Kowloon. It was such a profound experience that it completely changed my life from that day. These women were magicians with the sense of sight shut down, the sense of touch became much sharper. I was immediately blown away with the connection and feeling of this treatment.

That was 2001. The year I entered into the Natural Skincare College to be interviewed by Beverly Greenwood. From the first moment I was hooked. I studied aromatherapy, makeup, massage, waxing and tinting. I began working in Melbourne. I always dreamt of owning my own space. I could imagine using my experience in visual merchandising to create a space that would leave clients feeling more nurtured and beautiful than when they arrived.

I took my first baby-steps toward this goal by renting a small room in a hairdressing salon. Then in 2007, Beautyologist was born. From humble beginnings, with a shoestring budget and a part-time staff member, we have grown to six full-time staff plus a highly skilled nurse who delivers injectables and an eyebrow tattoo specialist. Though I am salon director and spend much of my time working “on” the business rather than “in” the business, I still commit ten hours a week to working directly with clients. This not only keeps me hands on in the latest techniques, but it also lets me stay in touch with clients I have developed relationships with over many years. My job is to always listen, not just to my clients and suppliers, but also to my staff. Beautyologist is there to nurture and support people the way they need.

How did your business come to be?

I knew I was a talented therapist however I lacked confidence to pursue this on my own. I spent years, reading, perfecting, saving, planning, and wanting however didn’t have the courage to leap… until one day. It was a mixture of being inspired by a mentor who believed in me, a sweet little push from my clients and family and then a huge leap of faith from my own soul… I guess I was just finally ready.

How do you juggle work and personal life balance?

It is always a tough one as work can change at any given time and you need to step in to support your team. I do the best I can and therefore I am organised and have a great routine which includes lots of rest, home cooking and barre.

Are there any must haves that you love to start your day with?

Barre and a Flat White!

What are your top 3 tips for managing people?

Communication - Open, fast, and clear communication is paramount to any business this includes visual and verbal. Mentoring and Development - Having a training plan in place to inspire, motivate, excite, and energise team members so that they can constantly learn and develop their skills. Awareness - Be aware of brilliant work and praise it. Equally be aware of areas that need further development and don’t be afraid to workshop these.

Share with us your philosophies around staff selection and development. How do you find, keep, and grow high performing staff?

Staff selection has been a tough one of late post pandemic. Generally, I do look at who moves me creatively and passionately. I put myself in the clients’ shoes and think about what they need from their therapist and by reverse engineering I choose better. I look for mindsets that are open to ongoing education and feedback. High preforming staff are not just born, they take training and development. I believe that constant training is the cornerstone of delivering the best possible service, which is one of the reasons I not only continue to grow my skills each year, but also encourage my staff to participate in courses that I cover financially. We have all just completed a Dermapen 4 Course and also a Lymphatic Face Massage Course with Beverly Greenwood and I have just been accepted into AACDS to study Dermal Science.

What do you consider your own top 3 pillars of success to be?

Creativity - Excited to always try new things. Organisational - Balancing many projects at once systematically. Moving Forward - Not sweating the small stuff, always acknowledging the lessons, and moving on.

Why do you do what you do and what do you love most about it?

I do what I do because everyone deserves nurture and great skin. I love that we bridge the gap between relaxation and medical, we give you both in a beautiful peaceful environment.

How do you stay strong but agile during these times?

We really did not have a choice but to toughen up and move forward. As a leader I am responsible for my team members, suppliers, and our clients. I do not have the luxury of being bogged down in a negative mindset. It is a difficult time for small business at the moment, however it has also taught us so many lessons such as resilience.

Covid hit and hit the Beauty industry hard, you had to pivot. and pivot you did! Can you tell us about that?

Despite the fact that business was closed for eight months during COVID-19, it was the most profitable year I have had. During Oct 2019 - April 2021, we only endured a 19% reduction in sales, and our online sales grew by 72%. The way I managed this was to live by the mantra we can’t control everything, but we can control how well we adapt. We had to pivot! My first thought was to protect my staff. To do that meant protecting my business. I have been in the same building for 14 years. My store is like a home to me. Despite some initial heated discussions with my landlord, we reached a resolution on rent reduction that meant we could hold onto our store. That was day one. I looked around to see what else I could do. We began consulting online, setting up a virtual skin consultation room and using our back bar products to make custom home facials. We created a “Good Vibes Only Kit”, a spiritual kit with a Sage stick, crystal, and Palo Santo stick. I sold out three times, selling 172 units. I launched my very own Candle range called Ieros Sacred Candles. We have sold 862 units to date. I used my fashion & production background to develop a merino wool fitted SNOODS. We sold 1124 units and still have them in store. My Liberty of London print Australian Wheat Packs are now being wholesaled to other stores. We have just manufactured 790 and already have orders for a combined 220 units. We arranged dropoffs, set up a contactless drive-through at the back of the shop, click-and-collect, couriers and postage. Whatever we could do it help our clients. In this way our orders to suppliers only dropped by 23% even with our doors closed. We did save on two full time wages as our team dropped from eight to six. We were helped enormously by Job Keeper. But we also saved because we didn’t need cleaners, linen, and consumables. To increase these savings, I took over all graphic design and social media. This not only saved me $38,000, but also connected me more with my clients. I have increased interaction and engagement through my content, and we managed to bring in 40% of our normal revenue through online sales alone.

You have massively given back to the industry, what have you been up to?

After ensuring my business and my staff were okay, I next looked to my industry. If there was ever a time to give back it was during a year with so much disruption. I was offered a place on the HBIA board as a beauty industry spokesperson, working under Paul Zhara. We joined forces with ARA (Australian Retail Association). The hours of work I dedicated to this each day involved: how to make clinics safer reviewing COVID plans for QLD, NSW, and VIC constant meetings with DHHS and Business Victoria researching and taking media interviews Despite the endless hours and incredibly frustrating outcomes, I didn’t give up. I became much better at saying No, that’s not acceptable. I was invited to be a board member of The Port Phillip Mayor’s Business Advisory Group. This assisted with small business recovery post-COVID. My proudest moment was watching the money flow to encourage local community support for struggling local businesses.

What is on the agenda for the future?

I am really excited about the future. We have learnt so many lessons during the pandemic and pivoted business in a way that allows up to grow outside these 4 walls. We are also growing our team and launching a new menu which is going to be our best yet.

Owner and 2021 AHIA Business Director of the Year Sia Psicharis