Building the Bobbie Charles Brand

By Louise May

Danielle Renee is the Founder and Managing Director of Bobbie Charles Skin & Cosmetic Clinics. She is a qualified Dermal Clinician, a Lash and Brow Expert and a Life and Business Coach.

The Bobbie Charles brand and this industry are her purpose and passion. Day-to-day, you’ll find her working in or on the business, whether it be nurturing clients, developing her knowledge, coaching and mentoring her team, or working on the operations of the business and planning for expansion.

Danielle’s sole mission is making Bobbie Charles the best environment for her team and clients, which she ensures by researching the latest industry developments, sharing her knowledge, and empowering everyone that walks through her door.

When planning the total customer journey, Danielle hasn’t missed a beat. Danielle and her team have built a brand that is now nationally recognised as an industry leader and has raving fans voting Bobbie Charles as one of the top 10 clinics in Brisbane, and with all this being said, is the very reason why Danielle recently took out Dermal Therapist of the year at the 2022 Australian Beauty Industry Awards, and the Bobbie Charles Team taking out the Best Customer Care Award.

We chat with Danielle Renee and get an insight into her journey, her leadership qualities and building a strong successful brand.

Can you share with us how your journey in the beauty industry began?

My beauty career started back in 2015 where I worked out of my home studio for the first two years. I traded under Wink Lash Studio. I studied lash extensions through Joy Crossingham at Brisbane Lashes and will be forever grateful for that head start in the industry.

I then decided to get training in lash lift treatments, which I studied through the ‘ever so talented’ Otto Mitter at Elleebana. After adding on lash lifts, I recognised the importance of brow treatments to complete my services, so I went and studied through a trainer where I learnt what ‘not’ to do, which is also important in the industry. I believe the universe gave me that lesson and educator, so I could truly appreciate what INCREDIBLE trainers felt like. It taught me to always be ethical on my business journey, show up professionally and treat all my staff with courtesy.

Getting the right education is key to a successful career in the industry. Confidence comes from having the right knowledge, using the right tools, and having great mentors. I bought my first commercial property to fit out as a lash and brow studio. My life dream was to just have a small studio with 5 staff – How things have changed! I then went on to study something I am SO passionate about, being Advanced Dermal Science so I could treat skin concerns and give people confidence.

This is where the rebrand came into Bobbie Charles, to represent my mother Bobbie, and my father Charles. Something I could never outgrow and that meant so much to me. Our Flagship clinic at West Village Brisbane was launched in 2021 which was the step forward the brand needed for exposure and alignment.

What are you doing in the industry today?

Today my focus is launching the Beauty and Business Academy. I’m so passionate about giving other humans the right pathway in the industry and to be able to share all my insights, mistakes, challenges, and tools is just such an honour and something I wish I had.

Through the academy we will be teaching lash, brow & skin techniques but also sales psychology, leadership, and mindset work to funnel into a successful business with good health and balance.

Describe your clinics look and feel.

The brief to the designer was that I wanted the clients and employees to feel like they are a holiday as soon as they walk through the door. Going for a European feel to go with my heritage using the likes of olive trees and plants & soft neutral colours. I wanted a minimalistic feel to quiet the outside world and busy minds of people today. Just an escape! Bobbie Charles is big on a safe place with soft voices and inner calm.

What would you say are the core values or philosophies which define your brand?

Our Philosophy is being truly committed to empowering people to feel confident in their skin. We believe our personal and professional relationships will last a lifetime. We are truly client and employee focused before profits and believe that really shows in our success today with both the cliental and the culture. One of our core values are: Always come from heart. Being humble and understanding is something we look for in potential employees – that empathy.

Another value that I think makes us who we are is: Be an expert. With a student’s mindset. We want the clients and industry to know where we stand with our knowledge, but we also want to ensure they also feel that we’re welcome to feedback. We really encourage it and it’s everything to us to continue to learn. That’s where the power lies.

What’s your Leadership style?

I’m a leader that hasn’t and won’t always get it right and I’m the first person to admit that. It creates that openness within the brand to know that it’s okay to give something a go but not get it right. That’s how we learn, take accountability, and grow to be masters. I’m a very nurturing and giving leader that likes to celebrate the wins and challenge anything that is holding people back both professionally and personally.

If you asked my team this question, they would say I’m a strong and inspiring leader, and that I challenge them a lot. My purpose in my leadership is to leave have all employees 10x better than when they came into the brand through the right tools, care, and foundations.

What specific qualities or characteristics do you look for when selecting potential staff for your salons?

We let our brand values guide us because they’re our hiring, firing and performance guidelines. It really depends on the job role as we are looking for different personality traits and styles for our Leaders in comparison to Marketing department or Therapists. All staff must have a love for the industry, be selfmotivated, and value growth and contribution.

How do you find, keep, and grow high performing staff?

Our culture success comes down to asking the opinions of the current staff when we trial new member, so they know first and foremost that we are looking after their health, wellbeing, and happiness of our current staff. We find it’s easier to find the right human with the personal qualities we look for and then train them with our techniques. I always live by the rule that it’s harder to train personality than skill.

We keep our staff members by making sure the culture feels nice to work in, that we dedicate personal one on one time to them all individually and lead them all uniquely to what we know works. With performance we do 360 performance reviews where we shine a light on the growth, coach the working areas and give career growth pathways. Bottom line is they know how much they are valued, and the business wouldn’t be what it is without each one of them pulling together as a team.

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

Always put yourself first. I still fall back into this trap because when you’re busy building an empire we can often put ourselves last. Without our health, none of this success matters anyway.

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

Never lose sight of your purpose and the ‘why’. It’s easy to get busy in the doing! Take intentional time to be in your visionary state so you can build the dream life you’re after.

Can we have a fun fact?

Fun fact is I attempted to study makeup, which I was terrible at, so I decided to stick to my strengths. Sticking to your strengths is something I’m so passionate about leading people to do today.

What’s on the agenda for the future?

You will find me slaying dragons like Spyro and making the world a little better day by day. That’s all I can share with you for now – Watch this space!