My personal journey to creating more than just a haircare brand!
Life is an interesting story, you think you need to go one way but nope… The universe has other plans! Follow my story over the last 20 years through business, and how I took so many turns and changes that I had no idea I would be where I am today, doing exactly what I love! am so excited to share with you my story and business development.
Let’s take it back to the beginning, the year is 2000, current location Canberra, ACT. I am young, eager and ready to make a name for myself. I thought my passion for travelling the world, visiting beautiful destinations and working with people would land me as a flight attended. I thought I had it all figured out; but I quickly realised life has a special way of guiding you down the right path. Some paths are meant for you and others… well, you just have to walk away. I believe life happens when you trust the process and your instincts! Although my desire to be a flight attended was short lived, it led me to an even greater passion I didn’t even know I had – the passion for hair.
With my new aspiration in life, my hairdressing career began in 2001. It came naturally to me, and was something I thoroughly enjoyed doing. Not only did I love hair but the science behind it too. I worked hard for four years and won many awards which gave me great confidence to take what I loved to the next level. I had a brewing passion and was bursting ideas and enthusiasm, it was time to take a leap of faith! That year I packed up my life into a suitcase and moved to the sunny Gold Coast in Queensland. It was just me myself and I, no friends, no guaranteed work just a young woman looking to kick some goals!
By 2010, I was working for myself doing mobile hair and a few clients from home. I was happy but wanted more, this is where life began to get a little more interesting. Meet Connie, a wedding makeup artist who was looking to go into the hair and beauty product industry – a match made in heaven. We decided to team up and become, Bliss Industries. We created a range of products like shampoo, conditioner, body wash, hand soap and face wash. Remember, we are only in 2010, no internet (insane I know!) No email marketing, no Facebook ads, no Instagram reels just good old fashion flyers, local markets, our clients and lots of letter drops. I found my niche and settled in quickly. I began styling hair for many photo shoots, music video sets and not the mention, in the toilets of popular Gold Coast clubs for bikini competition models (it was a time to be alive!) Connie and I really enjoyed the experience however; our careers began to drive us in different directions. The hairdressing side was taking off for me, and the film industry was calling Connie. We decided to end the products and focus on the separate direction’s life was taking us both.
I was once again on my own but stronger than ever! In 2011 I gained my first staff member Gabi, whom I absolutely adore and is still to this day working alongside me. Two years went by of building my hairdressing clientele and it was time to try something new. I thought I would incorporate selling fashion jewellery to my repertoire. I worked at local markets every weekend and sold to my clients once I opened up the salon. I thoroughly enjoyed it and if you can’t tell by now, I am a very driven person but it wasn’t my passion so slowly transitioned out of this phase.
A milestone year for me was 2013, I was turning 30 and a new chapter of my life was beginning. The adventure of owning and opening a salon on the Gold Coast. I found myself looking at a variety of locations, I felt the pressure of life pushing me to make a choice however, things weren’t falling into place and felt major resistance towards these vacant shops. Oh, and did I mention my lease had ended and I was actually homeless for 2 weeks? This was an extremely testing time for myself, thankfully Gabi took me in and that’s when I remembered; if you have to fight for a situation that is clearly not working out then stay open to different paths. It was that very next day the most perfect, ideal location became available just for me! Let me introduce you to Miss Bliss, my very own hairdressing boutique. I couldn’t believe it, all my hard work and ideas were coming to life. To have my own space where I could grow and create was an incredible moment. The salon grew quicker than I ever could have imaged and before I knew it I had six girls working for me and was crowned the best hairdressing salon on the Gold Coast. It was a fast paced, stressful but exciting few years for us! You can find more about Miss Bliss here.
My first real challenge of growing the business was handling the staff. As I got to know and become close with these girls, it really felt like a family. With that being said, I also had to be their boss, pull them up on things and deal with the different personalities. I not only had to train them but guide them through personal issues and salon problems, this was a completely new experience for me. I have to say though, I am grateful for each and every one of them, they taught me things about myself and helped me understand that everyone is different – this has greatly impacted me to this day and had a huge influence in what I am doing with Yen Body. These girls taught me how to create a strong and energised team, I believe these are really important skills to have when wanting to create a company foundation and strong support system. My goal for Yen Body was to ensure I could always help and support our team. If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself!
By this time in my life, I had also begun wedding hairstyling on the coast, it was an exciting change of pace and I still love helping brides sparkle to this day. To work with these women and help them feel beautiful on their special day is something that brings me so much joy. A little fun fact about me, I have been in the wedding industry for 20 years now and I don’t see myself leaving anytime soon! You can find more about my wedding hairstyling journey here
2017 was upon us and my desire to get back into the hair care product game was stronger than ever. There was a deep passion for helping women with damaged hair and felt I wasn’t quite done with this chapter. So, I said to myself, this time I am going to be more precise and more educated on what my clients need and how I can help them – not just sell products for fun. My plan had work and work well!
I now turned my focus to creating what was Journey Hair Care. A treatment that was going to help repair over bleached and chemically damaged hair. The response I received was so incredible and overwhelming! It not only helped my clients but it also reached ladies from all around the world who were also struggling with damaged hair. I realised what I was capable of and began brainstorming further.
My most exciting year was about to unfold! In 2019 Yen Body was formed with the help of my husband Mark. To create a new company with the man I love, who also shared great passion for business and clean haircare was a truly special moment for me. Yen Body is a follow on from Journey Hair Care, you can read more about that story here. I continued to expand the Yen Body range in 2020, working closely with cosmetic scientists and labs, to create all of our products and ensure their purity. Our clean haircare range includes a curated routine to help repair and bring back to life chemically damaged hair. Just like Journey, I didn’t want to just sell a product, I wanted it to work and work well. My background is hair, and I love seeing women have beautiful, healthy, shiny hair that makes them feel confident and stand tall. That is why I do what I do.
Fast forward to today, and you’ll find a fantastic support system of people who all share the passion for hair. We are always continuing our research and brainstorming new ideas for Yen Body. Keep involved with our journey we love sharing it with you and I am so happy I get to share my personal story with you too.
I want to inspire you and tell you to never give up on an idea or be afraid to take a different direction! If I got on that plane all those years ago, I wouldn’t be here, where I am today helping people doing what I love. I am so grateful for this journey and the direction life took me in. The universe has a plan, you need to trust in yourself and you will be guided in the right direction, for the right reasons!
Remember to enjoy the journey and be kind to yourself along the way.
Thank you to all of our clients and customers, I hope you love what Yen Body is giving you and you are receiving the best results. I look forward to sharing more about myself with you.
With love, Kristy
copywriter: www.thelillyedit.com.au