Happy Birthday to our CEO
My first day on the job as an in-clinic coordinator at Brazilian Beauty, I stood in the middle of the salon’s reception area looking at a series of photographs and quotes on the wall. Pictures of plain and make-up free women captioned with “Once you see your own beauty… so will everyone else” and “If you feel confident… you look beautiful”.
I remember thinking… pfft, who’s idea was this? I mean, in a world where ‘how to contour your nose’, ‘fake big lips’ and ‘clip-on your hair’ floods our social media scrolls; who the hell actually believes that “Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself”... ?
Then I met Francesca Webster. The BB as I call her (Big Boss)…the Head Honcho. She is the CEO and founder of Brazilian Beauty, the Australian Skin Institute and the newly launched Skin & Beauty Training Centre; each highly successful beauty brands Francesca built from the ground up.
I knew the time would come when I would meet the ‘BB’ face-to-face but Francesca was not what I anticipated. My 30 years in the beauty industry had indoctrinated me to expect a slightly overbearing, possibly dysmorphic, know-it-all with a ‘it’s my way or the highway’ attitude. But, here was Francesca… door to her office wide open, sitting at her desk with seemingly a million tasks on the go, casually dressed in a denim skirt and sneakers, chatting to me like we’d been friends forever.
At a glance she could have been any one of the 20 or so HQ staff that work behind the scenes to keep the Brazilian Beauty brand of companies running like clockwork. Fresh faced and unassuming, Francesca totally embodies the fundamental essence of her beloved quotes… “Believe in beautiful”. And not just at face value either.
She calls me ‘Miss Marina’...as if I am the teacher, and she my student (lol). I love that about her. In fact, there’s not much that doesn’t impress me about Francesca.
An IT professional who moved here from the UK in 2003 and with no previous experience in the beauty industry, Francesca took a big chance in entering the heavily saturated beauty market, opening her first clinic in Brisbane’s New Farm district in 2004. Within 18 months, two more clinics were opened and the beginning of the Brazilian Beauty jaganaught was born, now with 21 Brazilian Beauty Clinics operating across four states. That’s impressive.
And it’s that kind of courage and girl-power attitude that Francesca instills in our team. From the junior Beauty Therapists through to the Clinic Coordinators and Operations staff, her “Let’s give that a go and see what it looks like” philosophy inspires us to step up to the plate and believe that anything is possible. To feel seen and heard makes one feel confident and confidence, my friends, is a beautiful thing.
So, that brings me back to my question… Who the hell actually believes that “Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself”?... well, it seems I do Miss Francesca.
From all the team at Brazilian Beauty, Australian Skin Institute and Skin & Body Training Centre, we wish you the most BEAUTIFUL of birthdays! Thank you for inspiring us to be the best versions of ourselves every day, not only by working hard alongside us but also by leading so beautifully from behind. Know that, not just on this day, but on every day… you are loved.
I remember thinking… pfft, who’s idea was this? I mean, in a world where ‘how to contour your nose’, ‘fake big lips’ and ‘clip-on your hair’ floods our social media scrolls; who the hell actually believes that “Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself”... ?
Then I met Francesca Webster. The BB as I call her (Big Boss)…the Head Honcho. She is the CEO and founder of Brazilian Beauty, the Australian Skin Institute and the newly launched Skin & Beauty Training Centre; each highly successful beauty brands Francesca built from the ground up.
I knew the time would come when I would meet the ‘BB’ face-to-face but Francesca was not what I anticipated. My 30 years in the beauty industry had indoctrinated me to expect a slightly overbearing, possibly dysmorphic, know-it-all with a ‘it’s my way or the highway’ attitude. But, here was Francesca… door to her office wide open, sitting at her desk with seemingly a million tasks on the go, casually dressed in a denim skirt and sneakers, chatting to me like we’d been friends forever.
At a glance she could have been any one of the 20 or so HQ staff that work behind the scenes to keep the Brazilian Beauty brand of companies running like clockwork. Fresh faced and unassuming, Francesca totally embodies the fundamental essence of her beloved quotes… “Believe in beautiful”. And not just at face value either.
She calls me ‘Miss Marina’...as if I am the teacher, and she my student (lol). I love that about her. In fact, there’s not much that doesn’t impress me about Francesca.
An IT professional who moved here from the UK in 2003 and with no previous experience in the beauty industry, Francesca took a big chance in entering the heavily saturated beauty market, opening her first clinic in Brisbane’s New Farm district in 2004. Within 18 months, two more clinics were opened and the beginning of the Brazilian Beauty jaganaught was born, now with 21 Brazilian Beauty Clinics operating across four states. That’s impressive.
And it’s that kind of courage and girl-power attitude that Francesca instills in our team. From the junior Beauty Therapists through to the Clinic Coordinators and Operations staff, her “Let’s give that a go and see what it looks like” philosophy inspires us to step up to the plate and believe that anything is possible. To feel seen and heard makes one feel confident and confidence, my friends, is a beautiful thing.
So, that brings me back to my question… Who the hell actually believes that “Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself”?... well, it seems I do Miss Francesca.
From all the team at Brazilian Beauty, Australian Skin Institute and Skin & Body Training Centre, we wish you the most BEAUTIFUL of birthdays! Thank you for inspiring us to be the best versions of ourselves every day, not only by working hard alongside us but also by leading so beautifully from behind. Know that, not just on this day, but on every day… you are loved.
