Beauty

The plea
Brazilian Beauty is a concept unisex salon that provides the complete range of beauty services, geared to the active modern professional — a demographic a lot like its creators. Francesca Webster and Andrew Bryant had no background in the beauty industry. They took a calculated approach to developing the brand, applying strict business principles to get it going. Their venture paid off with Brazilian Beauty experiencing significant growth in a short time. In just 3 years they’ve opened 6 salons in Queensland, including three franchises, with another two on the drawing board this year.

The challenge
The Commonwealth Bank Business Health Check shows that Brazilian Beauty services its franchisees extremely well and they have excellent teams and training procedures in all their salons. Now it’s about how to transfer and maintain those standards interstate. Franchising has alleviated some of their capital requirements but they want a way to leverage further growth and find ways to build their client base.

Advice from Our Business Mentor: James Nixon-Smith — Battery World
Battery World is the country’s leading supplier of batteries for every sort of appliance. They stock over 3000 different varieties of battery with 85 stores nationwide. James Nixon-Smith was instrumental in creating a franchise model from the existing business.

Business tips from the floor:

1. Always exceed the customer expectations. The retail experience is paramount.
2. Attracting and retaining staff is a key element for business success.
3. Promote and protect your brand at all costs.

Advice from Business Consultant 1: Jeff Stibbard and Matthew Johnson Tang –— Commonwealth Bank
General Manager Local Business Banking Queensland, Jeff Stibbard and local business banker Matthew Johnson Tang, helps SME’s with ways to use capital in the business to invest for the future.

Business tips:

1. Debt isn’t necessarily a bad thing. There are ways to leverage growth from debt.
2. Local business bankers are there to assist SMEs. They look at profit and loss, financials, the business plan and market position to get an overall view of the business.
3. Local business bankers focus on developing a relationship with their customers. They see a lot of value in getting behind a business brand and being associated with building the equity value in a business.
4. Local business bankers are able to link SMEs to experts in all areas of business from 36,000 experts around the country.

Advice from Business Consultant 2: Jane Toohey — Marketing Angels
Jane Toohey prides herself on providing marketing director level expertise, at an affordable price — in both planning and implementing marketing that works.

Business tips:

1. Fully define the target market, profile them and really understand what their hot buttons are. That will help in defining the best vehicle for reaching those people.
2. Consider an integrated approach of outdoor, print, PR, email and viral campaigns for advertising — it’s the whole thing coming together that produces the result.
3. Build your personal profile through the media.
4. Your brand is the blueprint for your business.
5. Track the effectiveness of your brand through research with your current and prospective customers.

Costs and Contacts:

Commonwealth Bank
Contact your Commonwealth Bank local business banker for more about all the products and services available to small to medium businesses at www.commbank.com.au/lbb

Marketing Angels
Marketing Angels delivers marketing that works. To contact them go to www.marketingangels.com.au

Battery World
To find out about a Battery World franchise go to www.batteryworld.com.au

Contact Details:

Battery World
Contact: James Nixon-Smith
Location: QLD
Phone: 07 3373 1761
Website: www.batteryworld.com.au

Brazilian Beauty
Contact: Francesca Webster & Andrew Bryant
Title: Owners
Location: QLD
Phone: 07 3857 4181
Website: www.brazilianbeauty.com.au

Marketing Angels
Contact: Jane Toohey
Title: Senior Consultant
Location: QLD
Phone: 07 3257 1019
Website: www.marketingangels.com.au

Commonwealth Bank
Contact: Jeff Stibbard
Title: General Manager Local Business Banking
Location: Brisbane, QLD
Phone: (07) 3014 0737
Website: www.commbank.com.au/lbb

Commonwealth Bank
Contact: Matthew Johnson-Tang
Title: Local Business Banker
Location: Brisbane, QLD
Phone: (07) 3237-3831
Website: www.commbank.com.au/lbb