Working in the beauty industry for over a decade now, Elaine O’Hara previously owned a salon for two years before selling it so she could spend more time at home with her kids.
Today, she’s since set up a salon on her home property so she can enjoy the best of both worlds.
Beauty Laine has been open since March 2019.
Elaine prides herself on Beauty Laine’s reputation of having a high standard of customer service and high-quality products and services.
Her priority is to make everyone feel welcome as soon as they walk in our door and to have them leaving feeling a thousand times better then when they entered.
Elaine started her business because while she loves the beauty industry, she feels like it is losing sight of its goal of providing exceptional customer service and was shifting in a more clinical direction.
With Beauty Laine, Elaine aims to offer the best treatments, including the clinical aspect, but at the same time ensuring the customer service and relaxation side of things are still there.
When we asked Elaine what being a small business owner means to her, she said it was about establishing connections with her customers.
“For me, being a small business owner means that you are providing a more personal experience to each and every person who walks through your door. You develop a relationship with each of your customers and they become part of your ‘business family.”
She also says that the thing that she loves most about her job is making people feel better about themselves.
“When someone has been battling skin issues for years and then they start to see improvements, getting to see their reactions is the best feeling!”
Elaine said she entered the BizGiver competition to help grow her salon. With her business still being relatively new, she is very budget-conscious and so winning the grant would allow her to purchase equipment that she otherwise would have had to wait months or years to get.
One of the main services Elaine offers are skin treatments, so she wished for a Dermal Pen Pro, a top of the line skin needling device. Elaine was elated with the news of her win, saying she looks forward to providing an even better experience for her clients.
“Winning this prize will help us provide up to date treatments, with the highest quality device, at affordable prices. It will allow us to give our clients the results they seek and of course, it will relieve some of the financial burden associated with purchasing these devices!”
Like all small business owners, Elaine faces different kinds of challenges every day. In the beauty industry however, there can be a stigma around small salons because people think those working there may not have adequate levels of experience.
Elaine struggles to get more clients in the door because of this but stresses to her clients that this stigma is misinformed and is not the case with herself.
“I am very open with my clients on what training I have completed, including Diploma of Beauty Therapy, further training in intimate waxing, Henna Brows, gaining my Skin Expert status, my Laser Safety Certificate And now thanks to BizCover and BizGiver I will be undertaking further training in Skin Needling. Most of all, I think this will definitely help my business stand out from others.”
As a mum of four, Elaine’s biggest achievement has been figuring out the key to a healthy work/life balance through starting Beauty Laine out of her home. The salon was brought to life from scratch, with Elaine doing a lot of the construction work herself, with her partner and some contractors helping with more of the heavy lifting. Elaine is also incredibly proud of building up her client base from nothing to now having a steady flow of people visiting her salon.
So, what does Elaine hope the future has in store for Beauty Laine?
“My goal is simple, to have a full book of clients coming to see her for their treatments, who are happy with their service and even happier with their results!”
