What It Takes To Be Your
Own Boss
Opening a spa or salon is many women’s dream, but only a few dare to actually do it. We take a look at what it takes to be a #bosslady.
A
re you a business owner? If so, congratulations, you’ve taken the daunting step into selfemployment with all its risks, hard work, and independence. If not, you may be one of thousands of Australians thinking about founding their own business, but not having acted on it yet. In fact, new research released by CGU Insurance has found more than half (53%) of all Australians have self-employment ambitions, and we can only imagine how many of those are beauty business related (we’re guessing a lot). According to the CGU’s survey of 2,000 Australians in August 2018, more than two thirds of Australians (68%), and even more small business owners (75%) believe Australia has a culture of negativity toward those with ambition, and nearly half (44%) say they worry too much about failure to act on their ambitions, with women (48%) and Millennials (54%) are more likely to feel this way. So what exactly is holding us back? The answer is Tall Poppy Syndrome, which describes the feeling of being resented for one’s success as a consequence of being classified as a superior. What sounds a bit silly and like it should only apply to teenagers wanting to fit in with their friends, 30 | SPA+CLINIC
is actually a feeling many of us can’t shake even deep into adulthood. The survey found that 70% of us don’t like to talk about our ambitions or successes for fear of being labelled a ‘bragger’. This feeling can actually get stronger the older we get, along with the sheer fear of failing, which is why often success stories of business owners include fairly young people, who might have had just the right amount of naiveté and courage when deciding to be their own bosses. Such is the case with Natalie Papadopoulos, founder and owner of beauty salon The Parlour Room in Sydney’s Clovelly. Natalie opened the salon when she was only 24, and doesn’t regret her decision. “It honestly feels like a lifetime ago. I don’t know if looking back I was ready but I just jumped head first straight into it and learnt how to go as I went,“ she admits. 24 may seem young, but The Parlour Room was actually her second business. “Previously I had hired a room inside a gym in Melbourne and started to do my own clients out of this tiny space. I called it Lilamaya, I don’t even know what that means now to be honest! It had a bed, reception desk and a tanning machine all in the one
space. I had no idea what I was doing at the time and I found it really lonely working for myself at such a young age (I was 21 years old) but at the same time I was so passionate about trying to build something of my own.” Natalie admits that she wasn’t quite prepared for the first business as she didn’t know anyone in Melbourne (she’s from Sydney), and might have rushed into it, however that didn’t stop her from giving it another shot, this time better prepared and surrounded by family and friends who helped her. “For me it was never a big decision to open my own business, I was brought up in a family where you studied a skill as much as possible to start your own business. When I was studying I kept a note pad and I wrote down all my ideas and concepts for the dream business I wanted to create. When I went into working at salons I did the same thing and kept track of what worked and what didn’t work,” she explains. The Parlour Room was a success from the start, something that Natalie credits her focus on customer service to. “I was brought up in a family all about customer service and I think that made the salon successful from the start. Everyone
