[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Also check our interview with Just Lashes with inspiring and empowering director/franchisor, Aleena Maney here!
Follow @justlashes_au[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”27125″ img_size=”large”][vc_column_text]How did you get in the industry?
I think I was born to work with Just Lashes! I’ve always had a passion for the beauty industry and was already a client for about 2 years before working here. I loved the brand, I loved how the girls made me feel when I attended my lash appointments. I was a serious brand advocate and it was a no brainer for me to apply when Aleena posted the job advertisement. I had about 12 people tag me in the post!
Best advice you have followed?
“A smile goes a long way!”
I live by this. I feel I can make someone else happy by smiling. If I can do this, then a happy face is very powerful. I ensure I have my smile on every day no matter how I might be feeling! We might not be able to control others or situations, but we can choose our own attitude.
What’s the future for Just Lashes?
A lot of growth! We have established ourselves as the leaders in the lash industry and we’re excited about what the future holds. We have a continuous focus to help our existing franchises to grow their business. The best part of my role is that I provide field support and one on one coaching sessions with both our franchise owners and Salon Managers. We love to get feedback from our team about how we can improve our systems and so we’re working on some ways we can make our recruitment and training processes even better! Our training process is unique in Australia, with the most comprehensive lash extension course and a 9-month long program that focuses on upskilling our team members.
In the short-term future, we are welcoming our first Just Lashes baby! I am excited to be due to have my first baby in/around July!
It’s so hard to know what to expect, being new mum and balancing a corporate career at the same time! I imagine it hopefully being relatively normal, but I see myself taking the baby on my site visits with me sometimes! Maybe doing phone meetings from home. Setting up a creche at the office. I think baby will have five mums with all the team at the support office. It’s great to have a family friendly work environment.
What’s your favourite vacation spot?
I just returned from Paris! We went for 3 weeks and it was an amazing experience. Just a few days after we left the Notre Damn burned down. I feel so blessed to be one of the lucky ones who got to see and experience it in its glory.
They have riots happening in Paris, pretty much every weekend since January. We were walking around near the big shopping centre Les Galeries LaFayette. Security told us to move on as the riots were going to be there at any moment. We kept walking for about an hour and settled into a nice little café for lunch. Turns out the security officer told us wrong place and we ended up right in the centre of the riot! Sitting at the front café for lunch, a mob of people screaming, getting louder! Throwing things in windows, lighting bins on fire – causing chaos! Police Swat and emergency services swamped in and threw tear gas at windows, we got hammered with tear gas and couldn’t see anything! We had to get escorted by café staff into the back room and we had to wait for it to pass! It was crazy! Cool to look back on it but at the time it was so scary.
Something people don’t know about you?
I have an obsession for Lady Gaga. A lot of people know that. What most people don’t know, is that I have a tattoo dedicated to her– it’s a quote from a manifesto that she wrote.
“We’re nothing without our image, without our projection”
It’s the way that we hold ourselves and the way we show ourselves to the world is the most important thing. Like I was saying previously about always smiling, we have a choice in how we present ourselves and that directly influences where you go in life. Life is about connecting with people.
Your idea of a perfect Sunday is?
Camping with friends, by a river with big fire, music, reading and relaxing. While at work I’m all gammed up, my absolute favourite hobby is camping – the rougher the better! My husband and I love to go on big road trips across Australia. One time we got lost and I honestly thought we were going to die! We trekked to find a talked about camping spot in Lithgow, turns out this camp spot didn’t even exist, we spent 2 days trying to find it, 4WD’ing through the bush and terrain. We got so lost and literally had no idea where we were, we were running out of fuel, water and food. We had no phone service. Just kept driving and driving until we eventually found a road!
Last year, we were travelling in South Australia, it had been raining the night before and dirt roads were really slushy. I got caught in a rut from a road train and lost control of the car and we flipped and rolled! That was pretty scary.
On another trip to the Northern Territory, I got engaged on Uluru (Ayres Rock)![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
