A Pathway to Inner Health and Vitality By Louise May

Kathy Kiedrzynski has over 20 years of Beauty and Wellness Industry knowledge and experience and is a certified Beauty Therapist & Cosmetic Tattoo Artist.

She is known for her attention to detail and a perfectionist in her trade. Recognised now as the creator of excellence and finesse in beauty services, she has empowered thousands of lives by assisting them in gaining control of their wellbeing and inner beauty, helping them reignite their self-love and bring confidence back.

She shares her passion and purpose through experience and her five-star rating and numerous awards reflect this.

Kathy has taken her passion for helping others to new levels and created a pathway to inner health and vitality, from the inside out by launching her own brands. Recognised globally for her work, she strives to provide the daily nourishment they require to function optimally. She continuously furthers her studies and training to ensure extensive knowledge and creation can be applied in her range. She is one of the most renowned in her industry and created Belle Vous Day Spa, which too is one of the most popular visited today, to experience a peaceful and private retreat, a haven for contemplation and discovery. She has created the ultimate space for rejuvenation of mind, body & spirit.

Her love for all things beauty, and dedication to her clients and their needs prompted her to create a daily routine and nourishment range to assist them in feeling healthier and happier within. Kiyomee Blends has been carefully designed with natural food-based ingredients to assist in various health and beauty benefits. The unique blend was created to help aid, assist, and nourish our bodies. She has included particular ingredients that complement the collagen and together create a greater health system, greater immunity and with a balanced diet and exercise program may assist with weight loss.

Beauty therapist and mother of two, Kathy Kiedrzynski, launched Kiyomee Blends supplements during the COVID lockdown in Melbourne. The brand saw fast success, making six figures within the first 6 months of operation.

Since launching Kiyomee Blends, Kathy and her team have sold over 10,000 products and reached an impressive revenue.

The idea to create Kiyomee Blends came to Kathy when she saw a gap in the market for high quality, luxurious skin supplements. Kathy wanted to help people restore confidence in themselves by using a natural path to healing.

“One of the biggest keys to our success was creating a safe space where people could share their concerns about their skincare journey. We wanted to support them ensuring we answered any questions, giving them a good understanding of our products and how there is still hope,” says Kathy.

Kathy has held strong to her values of being authentic and transparent with her customers. Influencer marketing and no obligation gifting, paired with genuine, high-quality products has resulted in Kiyomee Blends being a trusted supplement provider.

“Launching the brand during the COVID lockdown was no easy task,” says Kathy, “my family would be around the kitchen table, helping me pack orders as they came. They were amazing and stuck by me through it all.”

Pretty soon Kioymee outgrew Kathy’s home and moved into its own headquarters. Kathy now has a team of 8 working on the business.

When new entrepreneurs ask Kathy for business tips, she says to dream big, remain true to yourself and your purpose, “invest in yourself, as you are the driving force of your business. Knowledge is power and above all surround yourself with those who align and share your beliefs and values. We are so blessed to work with some amazing people.”

Beauty Biz Editor Louise May had the pleasure of catching up with Kathy recently, to find out a little more about her journey in the industry.

Tell us a little about you and how you got started in the Beauty Industry

I was studying law after finishing year 12, my passion was always beauty therapy but that was a career my parents didn’t support. After beauty school I worked in a few highend salons and just didn’t enjoy the moral and constant need to compete with your peers. So, in 2003 I went out on my own and started Belle Vous Day Spa, it was a place where our clients would feel comfortable to return and not have products pushed on them due to staff targets, they could turn up with no makeup and feel confident, babies were welcome, and they felt safe with us knowing the extensive training and industry knowledge we had. I am a Beauty Therapist by trade and heart, 21 years later I still love seeing clients in the salon.

What do you enjoy most about your businesses?

I love the energy and vibe within our spaces, we have creative freedom and personal satisfaction in all we do. As a business owner, I get to work in a field that I really enjoy and hire staff that each bring something unique and are able to put their skills and knowledge to use. I get so much personal satisfaction from implementing my own ideas, working directly with customers, and watching my business succeed.

Share with us some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the journey and how you overcame these. What’s the most challenging aspect?

Over the last 18 months we hit many roadblocks and hurdles, from packaging to postage and more. We just take it one day at a time, learn from each issue and do it better next time. One in particular was an issue with trademarking, so in the very early days we had to actually change our brand name which at the time felt like such an issue, however looking back now it was a blessing in disguise.

What would you say are the core values or philosophies which define your business and leadership style?

I love working with like-minded creative people, those that have our customers best interest at heart. We pride ourselves on education, transparency and creating trustworthy holistic beauty blends that taste amazing and nourish your body from within. Our Philosophy at Kiyomee Blends is selfcare and selflove should be simple, true beauty comes from within.

You have only recently launched your beauty supplement company Kiyomee Blends. Can you tell us what started you on this journey to creating inner health products?

After 21 years in the beauty industry, I’ve seen a gap in education and nurturing our bodies and simplifying self-care, that could revitalise and nourish our bodies from within. I wanted to help women restore their natural inner glow. With so many products and brands on the market, it can be confusing to choose which best suits you. Which is what inspired me to redefine the future of simple and tasty ingestible beauty.

You launched Kiyomee Blends in the middle of Covid Lockdown, can you talk to us about that and what that was like for you?

It came with its challenges and added many extra hurdles you may not usually face. Things like meetings face to face were non-existent and everything had to be corresponded via zoom, pretty much you relied on postage for samples, emails and the entire setup and running of a business had to be taken online. We couldn’t have tastings with our distributors, had to solely depend on relationships and reputation to actually get our products into the hands of people. There were postage delays, wrong products sent which in turn meant waiting again, you couldn’t set anything up direct and cross it off your list, it became quite the waiting game as 100% of the business had to be launched whilst in lockdown.

What has been your greatest lesson or piece of advice along your business journey?

I’ve learnt a lot over the last 18 months and have had many lessons that have made me so much stronger. In a perfect world I would implement the things I have learnt but would I change anything, probably not as it’s made me the person I am today. In years to come I’ll be able to look back on some of the learnings I have now and be grateful for them. Some advice would be that knowledge is power, and always trust your gut feeling.

How do you balance business life and Family life?

It has come with its challenges and can become quite the juggling act, and there can be days that it all gets too much, but I remind myself that nothing great comes easy. Fitting in work commitments, kids school and activities, groceries, everyday life duties, time with our friends can be hard to fit in occasionally however we all work off a family calendar and ensure we make time for each other.

What advice would you give others who dream of building an impactful brand?

I think stepping out of your comfort zone can be daunting, however believing and backing yourself will prove positive in the long run. Invest in yourself, education is key. Also, develop close relationships with the people and companies you deal with, it’s so important to have that strong trust with each other. Believe me, you won’t always settle with the first company you meet. It’s not easy to find your team of professionals, but when you do, you’ll never work another day in your life. Understanding each other makes for an incredible result and I consider myself grateful for those I get to work with to create this amazing range from development right to the shelf.

What’s on the agenda for the future?

We have some pretty exciting new products launching soon, we’ve been working on these particular products for quite some time now and we’ll launch them at our 2nd Birthday on June 18th so watch this space!