A vision to own seven beauty salons by the age of twenty-five has driven Tabatha Wynne to business success.
In 1995, at the age of eighteen, Ms Wynne opened her first beauty salon in Woodlands. In December, the sixth store bearing the Tabatha’s name will open in the Morley Galleria shopping centre.
Her goals have changed since the early days. She now wants to have a beauty salon in every major Perth metropolitan shopping centre.
Ms Wynne said she wanted to be a beauty therapist from the age of thirteen.
After finishing school and learning the trade, she worked at a beauty salon in Floreat for five months before the opportunity arose to open her first store.
“I found I was managing and running the Floreat salon and thought I might as well be doing it for myself,” Ms Wynne said.
Her father loaned her the funds to open the Woodlands store and her mother worked behind the counter for the first eight months. Within six months Ms Wynne had repaid the loan.
She said good customer service was crucial in the industry.
“You have to make sure the clients receive attention from the moment they enter the salon and try to not keep them waiting for more than five minutes,” Ms Wynne said.
“When you are working on them you have to let them know they are very special to you. They are what makes your business tick every day.”
When she opened her Subiaco salon, Ms Wynne ran a discount promotion for two weeks. The salon has retained most of the 400 plus customers who used the promotion.
Ms Wynne now employs sixteen staff ranging in age from sixteen to fifty.
Ms Wynne said she had a lot of support from her mother and father and her sister Samantha.