The Girl Who Did It Yesterday

The year was 2018. It was a cold, windy day in July, and Emily was celebrating. With her new husband Wim, she had just bought her very first business - and at just 18 years old!

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Emily is my younger sister, and growing up we jokingly called her “The girl who did it yesterday”.

Let me explain why.

Em is someone who always has a project on the go. Going to school didn’t interest her, and she dropped out as soon as she was able to. But not because she was stupid.

Instead, she focused her efforts on studying something that interested her - beauty. She aced every course she took in record time and learnt as much as she could in her spare time.

It seemed like every time someone asked her about her latest training, she replied with something like:

“Oh, I finished that last week. I’m doing such and such now!”

And this proactive attitude extended throughout her life - hence “the girl who did it yesterday”.

But anyway, I digress.

By the time she turned 18 in June 2018, Em had already begun negotiating the purchase of Saltacious, an established - though somewhat neglected - health and beauty business in Albany, Western Australia.

Following her wedding at the end of June and subsequent honeymoon, she threw herself at her new project, eventually opening for business at the beginning of August.

Of course, things were far from smooth sailing to start with. The previous owners had run the business into the ground, so it was up to Em and her new team to rebuild its reputation and transform it into Albany’s premier health and beauty salon.

And she did just that.

Starting with a full renovation (all done with the help of family and friends), she quickly showed people that she meant business.

And they responded.

Soon, her treatment rooms were full, and she was taking bookings weeks in advance.

Then, when her hard work was finally paying off, Em told us that she was pregnant.

Of course, that was incredible news!

But it also added yet another burden onto her shoulders. Don’t forget that at this time she was just 18 years old and managing up to 15 employees on any given day - and being a new mum certainly wasn’t going to make things any easier!

As you’re probably starting to see, Em is a very hard person to stop when she puts her mind to something.

That’s why it came as no surprise to us when she returned to work just two days after giving birth to Ada, my chubby little niece. Again, her drive and passion for her work helped her juggle a newborn baby and the day-to-day running of the business.

It wasn’t uncommon for her to work 14 hours a day, seven days a week, just to keep things running at a profitable level. All with a baby hanging off her hip.

Unfortunately, this began to take a toll on her, and earlier this year Em decided to downsize her business so she could spend more time with Ada.

Everything went smoothly until one fateful morning.

The day that Covid-19 hit.

The Australian beauty industry was effectively closed down within hours, and thousands of people across the country lost their jobs.

And for business owners like Em, things have been even worse.

Not only has she had to close her doors, but she still has to cover ongoing costs like rent, insurance, and more.

This has been a devastating blow to someone who has dedicated the last two years of their life to building a successful business - all while juggling a new family and continuing to study.

Oh yes, I don’t think I’ve mentioned that. Em actually never stopped studying. As we speak, she’s nearing the completion of a remedial massage course - adding yet another qualification to her already impressive portfolio.

Anyway, things were looking bleak on the morning Saltacious’s doors were closed.

But as always, Em embraced the challenge with open arms.

She obviously wasn’t going to be able to continue providing the treatments that she’s built her business around, so she began looking for an alternative source of income.

And she found one. Of course she did. Were you really expecting anything different?

Instead of spending her days giving massages and painting nails, Em has spent her free time improving the Saltacious website and building an online store. And on the plus side, she now has a lot more time to spend with little Ada!

She currently has hundreds of products listed in her store, ranging from organic herbal teas and skincare products to salt lamps and relaxation sprays.

The income from her sales does help, of course, but the business is still struggling. However, there’s one thing that we all know for sure:

"Em won’t give up. "

I mean, that’s just not how she does things.

Saltacious will be opening its doors again the moment it’s allowed to, and it will be opening with pleasure.

In the meantime, though, she’ll be doing everything she can to stay afloat.

If you would like to support a small business, you can head over to the Saltacious store and have a look around. Share this post on social media, and encourage your friends and family to get involved.

Shop here: www.saltacious.com.au/saltacious-online-store