Mala McAlpin You may have heard us mention lately (more than a few times!) that we are very exciting to be hosting our very first B2B aesthetics industry event. Leading industry titles SPA+CLINIC and Professional Beauty have joined forces to present BEAUTY & SPA Insiders on May 27th – a unique summit for spa, salon and clinic practitioners and business owners alike.
Early Bird registrations have just been extended until Friday April 5th, and now that we have finally completed announcing our stellar line-up of industry speakers, we thought we’d give the chance to get to know them a little better before the big day.
Natalie Papadopoulos, from The Parlour Room in Sydney, will be speaking on the topic ‘How I Found My Dream Team – Tips and Tricks On Recruitment’. Natalie opened The Parlour Room when she was just 24 years old. She began studying beauty courses when she was 17 and went on to complete both a Diploma of Make Up & Special Effects, and a Diploma in Beauty Therapy. She worked in a number of businesses learning from the best in the industry & she opened The Parlour Room in Clovelly in December 2012.
Natalie believes that beauty shines from the inside out. Her approach has always been to create an inclusive, fun and caring space where clients can relax and spoil themselves. From her days of doing friends makeup while they got ready together before parties, to treating women from all over Sydney at The Parlour Room, Nat has always loved to help women realise just how beautiful they are.
Tell us why you’re looking forward to speaking at BEAUTY & SPA Insiders
I am looking forward to meeting other passionate and driven people in the industry and sharing what I have learnt so far with them.
Tell us your daily routine in a nutshell
I wake up early every day due to my two cheeky cats, get a coffee from Clodeli and head into the salon. Quite often I have meetings in and out of the salon. If I finish early in the afternoons I go to Fluid Form pilates or Italian Lessons which is my ‘me time’. My boyfriend and I both finish work around 8 so we often have a late dinner together.
Who has been your biggest inspiration?
I’m not too sure, I don’t really have one person that inspires me. I think there have been so many people that have influenced me along my journey in different ways. Some small, some larger. I think my family has taught me the most about customer service and how to treat people which has influenced my business a lot.
What do you find most rewarding about your job?
Having the opportunity to reach so many women and help them feel how amazingly beautiful they are.
What’s your favourite quote?
‘If you’re trying to influence the world quit trying to be like it.’
If you were a car, what kind would you be?
I don’t know much about cars, but I guess a Mercedes. A classic that doesn’t need to draw attention. A brand you can always trust.
Your proudest moment to date
Opening our new salon last September. It was how I dreamt of having my salon since the day I started planning The Parlour Room 7 years ago. I spent 12 months 24 hours a day working on every detail to make sure it was perfect, I have such an amazing team of support around me in and out of the salon and together we made this beautiful dream space. You can feel when you walk in that so much love has gone into the space and I love that.
What is the next step for you and your business?
I’m not a huge planner on the future of the business as I think life always changes along the way. I just like to focus on where we are now and growing the business that I am in. I don’t think I ever want to have multiple salons as I never want to loose the quality of the parlour room experience, which I think often happens when businesses expand. Our reputation is everything. If I did expand it would be something completely different that the Parlour Room rather than just a second salon, to challenge myself all over again.
Most loved AND most hated industry trends you’ve seen throughout your career?
I LOVE thick brows, I am so glad that this trend has stuck around and so many people have embraced their big bold brows.
I’m not a huge fan of everyone trying to look the same. It’s boring! I love when you see someone that has embraced their natural look and enhances their features, rather than changing everything to look like everyone else.
How do you separate business from pleasure?
You can’t. I don’t think I have switched off for 7 years. You just learn to balance the two together.
