Tell us why you started your business.
I started my business when I was a young mother with two little girls, who were 2 and 4. Although my husband at the time worked as an economist for the commonwealth government, his salary didn’t make ends meet. Between raising two young kids and renovating a very old Queenslander house, our funds were quickly disbursed.
The solution to making ends meet was for me to work. My aim in those days was to earn an extra $10 per week to carry us through.
As a child growing up in Northern Macedonia, my father was a cosmetic chemist and ran a beauty salon, where he sold his skincare products. We migrated to Australia when he was well into his 50s, so he did not develop his cosmetics business in Australia. However, he had a lot of knowledge, which he passed on to me as he taught me such things as facials and body massage.
This inspired my idea to become a beautician, which is what we were called in those days, in 1977.
At that time, I had no idea where that brain wave would one day lead me. The purpose of me becoming a beautician was to get a job in a beauty salon, even if I had to just sweep the floor for a few hours per week.
In those days, there were only about seven beauty salons in Brisbane, and I was very fortunate to get a job working 12 hours per week at the best waxing salon in Brisbane, while my mother looked after my little girls.
I knew how to wax already, as I had secretly been making my own wax since 1969 and taught myself how to wax using it. In my new job as a beautician, my wonderful employer taught me other treatments like eyelash and eyebrow tinting. Through the knowledge my father passed down, I already knew how to do manicures and pedicures, and I brushed up on my facials.
I recall that in those days, I took a long time to do an eyebrow wax, which frustrated my boss. The time allocation for an eyebrow appointment was just 15 minutes, and I took 45 minutes. She was very kind and invested in me to get me up to speed. I recall her buying a kitchen timer and setting it for 15 minutes every time I did an eyebrow wax, until I could beat it.
One year down the track, my mother could no longer look after the children, so I had to leave my employment. Making the most of this life change, I opened a beauty salon at home, armed with the wax I made, and some make-do skincare products, including face masks made from bananas and honey, cucumber eye compresses, and some other interesting homemade remedies.
My clientele grew very quickly, and the few salons in Brisbane wanted to buy my wax, which I reluctantly sold. The rest is history.
What is the one pinch-me moment you have had throughout your career?
There were some beauty therapy associations in the early 80s who held educational congresses in Sydney, which I attended. I found that there were people exhibiting beauty products at those conferences on plain trestle tables, which gave me the idea to bring my wax to show next time, to promote what I called in those days Lydia’s Wax.
Before I knew it, I was selling my wax all over Australia, followed by appointing agents all over Australia, at which time I rebranded the wax to LYCON Wax.
Best advice for other female entrepreneurs in the skincare landscape?
The best advice I can give is to have awareness that something may be pulling you in a certain direction and to not ignore it; have a dabble and see where it takes you.
If it is not shaping up, don’t throw money at something that is not working. But if it is paying you back, go for it and be prepared to work 24/7 for a long time.
How have you managed to adapt your business through the highs and lows?
As luck would have it, there haven’t been too many lows over the years. It has thankfully been on the way up year upon year.
One of the most consistent challenges we have had over the years has been keeping production up with the demand for wax and skincare lotion products. We know it can be frustrating for customers when their orders are delayed.
We had to keep increasing the factory capacity, which caused us to move to much bigger premises. Investing in more equipment and more space does impact the profits, but it has to be done and, in the end, it has paid off.
The mantra you live by?
Honesty and open communication. I strongly believe that communication is key to having a better understanding, and that honest communication builds trust between people. The more important part of communication is listening; otherwise, communication is one-sided, which does not work and can be confusing and damaging.
In some situations, it is not easy to have open communication as it can feel confronting and, we do not want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but guessing games are not good and often have a far worse outcome.
What would you tell your younger self?
Something I have had to learn is to trust my gut. I wish I realised I needed to learn that at a much younger age. So, I would say “Lydia, trust your intuition more and be confident about it”.
What does the future hold for you?
I am as busy as ever, still building LYCON growth, still enjoying all aspects, and looking forward to more global growth. I recently launched a new skincare collection, LYCON Skin, and I very much look forward to growing this new baby that is beautiful and gives everyone excellent results.
