For Jayde Weare, life a few years ago was quite different to the one she has now. Married to a professional sportsman, she travelled frequently and when she had children felt it was time to put roots down.
Not content to leave her work experience in the corporate world behind though, she found the perfect match of business challenge and family-friendly lifestyle in a Dream Nails Beauty franchise she bought in February 2013.
Getting involved in franchising
“I knew franchising made sense: It provides a well-known brand, an expected level of service that attracts customers, and you’re buying a certain level of success. Learning about the Dream Nails Beauty brand through Imbalie franchisor Esna Colyn, I realised its values fitted with my own passion for beauty and wellness, and it was something I wanted to be involved in,” says Weare.
Weare struck it lucky with her store’s location, “It’s 500m from my house,” she laughs. “I had looked at a number of other brands in different sectors, but the store in La Lucia Mall became available and it made perfect sense from a family, passion and interest perspective. I financed it by selling an investment property, and my dad and a financial advisor helped me with analysing the financials of the business.”
Getting started
“I experienced two main challenges when starting out: My business is the flagship store for KZN and although it had been running for ten years, it wasn’t running to its potential. It was also looking tired with a layout that didn’t align with a good customer experience, so it was gutted and rebranded with the new look.
“My second challenge was coming back to business after four years of being a stay-at-home mom. Fortunately Esna is a mother and business woman too, and through her support I found my feet quickly.”
Managing staff
Key to a successful store is an excellent manager and staff. “I found my manager after she gave me excellent service at a clothing store. She had a good eye for detail so I offered her a job even though she didn’t have industry-specific experience, and I haven’t looked back,” says Weare.
To ensure staff retention Weare also pays her staff very well, “It’s almost double the industry standard and they get commission too. But money isn’t everything, I also emphasise personal development so that my staff can grow in the business and get fulfilment from their careers.”
Letting everybody know
Weare has an honours degree in marketing and a diploma in social media management, and owning a business has given her the chance to practice her skills.
“An established franchise is great because you get national marketing, but it’s still important to invest in local marketing,” she says.
“I invested in education-based advertising in local glossy magazines and linked an official offer to it over a period of three months. Although costly with little traction at first, I’ve already gained ROI from the campaign and 20% of my new customers came from it. Local marketing is an investment, not an expense.”
An unexpected challenge
When Weare took ownership of the franchise it became clear she’d missed an important part of her homework. “I didn’t realise how many vouchers had been sold but not claimed under the previous ownership, so by the time I took over customers were appearing with vouchers to redeem. This presented a cash flow challenge in the beginning and I’d advise franchisees to find out how many vouchers are outstanding.”
Advice for franchisees
“In a beauty brand it’s important to live the values, not just be in it for the money. So with Imbalie franchises that live by the mantra ’Live.Life.Beautiful,‘ franchisees too need to live a healthy lifestyle, strive for fitness and wellness, and be an example of how looking after your inner beauty can then be matched with outer beauty.”
Daily routine
- 05:30 – 06:45: Wake up and get kids ready for school
- 07:00 – 08:30: Drop off kids and gym or go for a run
- 08:45: Arrive at the store for opening and discuss previous day’s business, current day’s targets, and motivate staff
- 09:00: Open for business
From 09:00 to 12:00 clients tend to be non-time sensitive and have time to enjoy various treatments. From 16:00 to 18:00 though, time-sensitive professionals start arriving wanting 45 minute or express treatments.
- 15:00: Some days Weare leaves early to be home for her kids. Once a week she works a full day in-store
- 17:00 – 18:00: Go for a bike ride
- 18:30: Dinner and family time
- 19:30: Put kids to bed and relax
Weare has a reliable and experienced manager to help run her store. This gives her the opportunity to balance her work and family and me time, enjoying the best of all three.
Contact
- Dream Nails Beauty
- Visit: www.dreamnails.co.za
- Call: +27 (0)12 621 3300
- Contact person: Cronje Burger
