SALON REVIEW - VENUSTUS

FAMILY VALUES

Many businesses say they’re ‘a family,’ but few come as close as Jeannie Burke and her team at cult-beauty destination Venustus, Paddington. Jeannie and her therapists have worked together for over 20 years. She talked to Ruby Feneley about training and retaining the people who bring your beauty business to life.

The Venustus philosophy:

Clients who have visited Venustus find it hard to describe the experience. One Google reviewer writes: “An incredibly special space that cannot be described as simply “a spa” or “salon,” the staff give so much of themselves to heal their clients.”

Staff training at Venustus goes beyond beauty therapy: they practice reiki, aromatherapy, remedial massage, hot rock, shiatsu and crystal healing – and work with shamans on a regular basis. None of this is covered in a dermal or beauty therapy diploma, all of it is taught by Jeannie herself – interdisplinary training that takes years for each team member.

Jeannie Burke has built a business focused on healing the physical, mental and spiritual. A trip to Venustus starts with a consult in which Jeannie works through pain points in your life, the way a physio might target knotted muscles. Jeannie said when she received her first facial, she realised the power of beauty therapy to shift emotions. This is what she wants to achieve for her clients, “I wanted to make people feels that good!”

Venustus’ offering draws from practices found all over the world. Jeannie’s approach to the beauty business came from an unexpected place: a steak and onion sandwich. She says: “I grew up in a very traditional family. On the weekends we sold steak and onion sandwiches at Flemington markets. But around us were all these different stalls: Lebanese food, Greek food, people from all different cultures selling flowers and oils.”

She then travelled to Europe where she was enamoured with the holistic, and dynastic approach to trade and agriculture. She says: “In Italy you see generations of families who work as bakers, and when you have that intergenerational accumulation of time and knowledge – they are incredibly gifted at what they do.” However, in the beauty industry, where turnover is high, this accumulation of knowledge can seem unachievable.

JEANNIE’S TIPS FOR CONNECTING POST-COVID:

• Speak mindfully: “Conversation is so overrated – you don’t need thousands of words. It’s about reconnecting, and doing treatments is our connection to people. If you’re going to speak, make it count.

• Assess afresh: “In terms of clients, I’ve told my staff to treat everybody like a new body. Don’t do what you’ve done before. Everybody will have dealt with the lockdown differently.”

• Connect with nature: “We work with shamans a lot, but they’re simply there to remind us to get out in nature. Are you out under the sky? Being in nature helps heal, whether that’s the ocean, the forest, the grass. Whatever you can land on.”

• Practice gratitude: Every day, I run gratitude. “I am grateful I can hear; I am grateful I can see, I am grateful I am a free woman – because half of the world is not. Find what works, but running gratitude starts your day differently.”

• Create space: “Think about how you can be your best self for yourself. “It’s not about doing more work. It might be opening my son’s door to let the puppies in to wake him up instead of yelling at him! It creates a happier moment.”

The “people problem”

The beauty industry “talent shortage” has been brought into sharp focus during the rush to clear bookings following four months of lockdowns. Wendy Michetti, Director at HABA says, “Everyone is screaming out for staff.” Pandemic border closures have cut off the supply of British and Irish beauty therapists on working Visas. Meanwhile, increased specialisation has made positions in full service businesses harder to fill: “The therapist answering a job application may only want to specialise in skin, brows or lashes – so your pool of applicants is reduced,” says Michetti.

Jeannie tackled this issue early in her career: “Everyone is shocked when I say I’ve had the same staff for 20 years” she laughs. Initially, like many business owners, Jeannie had a two to four year turn over. As her offering evolved and the services performed became more complex, “It very quickly became a nightmare.” She explains that staffing turns many entrepreneurs away from the industry. “You’re recruiting and training constantly – you get one person skilled up, and then someone leaves and a lot of my peers quit because it became such a grind, the common thread was ‘the staff are the biggest problem.” Jeannie decided she wanted to keep her staff for life.

Creating a lifelong dream team:

Her first step was removing herself from services. “When I realised ‘this is not working, I was on the floor doing treatments – I realised I needed to get off the floor.” As the owner and “the brand”, she was told this was a colossal mistake - “fortunately, I rarely listen to other people!”

She then looked at recruitment. She says “When you’re hiring, it’s not a perfect scenario where you’re simply scaling your business. It’s usually been going great, and then someone leaves, and you’re scrambling.” Jeannie concentrated on what she needed from potential candidates - their time. “We train intensely and broadly. Even if you’re diploma qualified and experienced you will spend years training. What I needed was a willingness to learn.” She soon found a way to establish whether the therapist had any intention of spending that time: “When you say, ‘I want your whole career’ you can very quickly tell which ones are not going to stay longer than a year – because they look horrified!”

Cultural fit is also as essential as native ability. “I will have candidates in for paid trials, sometimes over multiple days. They can also see what it’s like to work here and if it’s right for them, which is important.” Often Jeannie says, this process doesn’t result in permanent employment. “It’s not because that person isn’t great, they just might not fit, or they might not be ready. I have told people to come back in three years and re-apply.”

Jeannie says the staff who “make it” at Venustus are drawn to the philosophy. “We had someone write on Instagram ‘don’t even bother applying if you’re not a vegan – which is not true! My staff are drawn to that alternate world, but they want a structure of a career. Beauty therapy is our Award. But we are also involved in energy work, healing and crystals. The men who work across the road think we’re witches because they see us saging!”

Keeping staff requires more than an alignment of values. Permanent contracts and competitive salaries are part of the picture. A culture of trust is another. “You can’t tell someone ‘I want your whole career’ and not give in kind. My philosophy is, very simply, to say yes to everything they ask for: from flexible working arrangements to the tools they need to do their job.

She also encourages them to use the training they receive at Venustus to find themselves as beauty therapists. “I tell them, you need to work in a way that’s authentically you. You can’t be a replica of me. If they’re working that way, they feel relaxed, they’re not burnt out at the end of each day.” One hour at Venustus means something different for every client “My girls are free and encouraged to personalise and work on the fly.”

Jeannie has also found that some standard salon practices exclude fantastic team members. While Venustus has a product range, there are no sales targets. This allows more introverted therapists to feel comfortable in the workplace. “Just because you’re not a salesperson doesn’t mean you don’t have strengths to contribute. Some people like myself and Fleur (Fleur and Haruko have been with Venustus for over 20 years) are great talkers. Others are quieter - that’s wonderful because it allows us to relax.”

Tailoring feedback for different team members is essential. Sometimes Jeannie might have to remind a talkative therapist to draw some boundaries: “You can talk a bit but only for so long! Clients are just polite. Ultimately they’re there to relax.” Then for quieter staff encouraging communication can be a challenge: “I need them to tell me when they’ve made mistakes. Some people have learnt that they need to hide their mistakes – they may have dropped a glass and got in trouble as a child! They need to be encouraged to come to me because otherwise, I won’t know, and they won’t learn.” She says the best thing you can give your staff is advice, and not just about your career. “Sharing information and ideas costs nothing. Suppose they need a broker to get their own home I’lll share what I have, my accountant, my people, any tips about school, kids, finances. I never had that with anyone professionally. I never had a boss who gave me ideas about how I could make my life bigger or better or more!”

Jeannie’s team weekly WIPS have taken a different flavour during Covid. Like Jeannie, all her team have sons, although most of them are school age. “We’ve come from a very feminine world of serving and caring for people who are grateful, and constantly tell us how wonderful we are,” to what she calls “the male banter zone.” Jeannie says that her team’s video calls “get very real – we let it all out!”

The horizon:

For the first time since they opened, Venustus will be moving in 2022. But their clients won’t have to travel far to the new location - it’s right next door. Renovating from scratch, Jeannie’s team dialled in their shaman, based in Paris, to guide them as they buried slabs of crystal under the earth. Mementos from long-time clients and supporters were also included (Elle Ferguson was so shocked Jeannie hadn’t posted to Instagram that they had to do the ritual twice).“We might hire one or two more people, but it’s not about scaling up - if anything, it’s scaling down and allowing more space for our existing clients. I will have a rooftop garden where I can do my energy work. I like doing installations, so I see a window full of roses.”