Tell us about your business and how it started?
Having a passion and genuine love for the aesthetics industry I struggled to find my place in it as I suffered with an acne condition - trying to recommend someone a cleanser covered in pimples is never an easy task!
I remember sitting amongst my colleagues, all were so beautifully presented, such gorgeous fresh faces, manicured hands, flawless makeup and hair and thinking to myself, 'I don’t fit in here'. This made me wonder how a client must feel!
Rather than give up on my dream, I decided to create my own space where you could show up in your comfy pants, feeling dejected about your skin and to be treated by someone who has been in your shoes before.
Fuelled by my passion and a vision to create something close to my heart, I moved home from the big smoke back to regional Victoria, and Pearl was born.
Pearl is a clinic in Bendigo, Victoria with a highly trained and passionate team who love what they do and focus on all things skin. Some of the conditions that we work with include acne, rosacea, scarring, pigmentation as well as so much more.
What is your biggest achievement in business?
Given the last 12 months and the perspective I now have, one of my greatest achievements for my business is that I’m still here and I still have my girls by my side.
I think prior to the global pandemic, one of my greatest achievements in business was to place second globally at the skin games which was held in the USA, and the relationships I formed from that opportunity.
What challenges have you faced in business?
One of the more prominent challenges I have found in owning my own business would be the fact that I am a young women. It can sometimes be a constant feeling of not being capable or ‘tough enough’ or that when I am ‘tough’ it's deemed as 'too much' or 'unnecessary'.
As the years go by at the helm, it does get easier and my message to other young women either in business or aspiring to one day own their own business, is to jump in and have a crack.
What do you wish you knew before you started your business?
Before getting in to business, it would have been great for someone to sit with me and help me understand how to best allocate my resources.
In the early days of starting the business, there was a lot of trial and error and finding my feet and I think similarly to the human body, a business needs certain resources to stay alive and how you manage those resources is crucial.
What impact has COVID-19 had on your business and how have your changed your direction?
In all honesty the impact that COVID-19 had on our industry was devastating, having to undergo forced closures for over half the year in 2020. I took the time for additional reflection and refined my business, dropping away additional services and become purely a skin clinic.
COVID-19 taught me that everything I worked so hard for can be taken away through no fault of my own, so if I'm going to wake up everyday and risk it all, I may as well go for the dream.
What do you love about your product/service?
There is a deep science to what we do. The products and the treatments that we perform mimic the natural state of the human body. The reason I'm passionate about this is because it provides tangible steps for not only us as the clinician but also for our wonderful clients. Using our services we are able to see our clients restore their self confidence and become who they’re meant to be and to be along for the ride is why we do what we do.
What does success mean to you?
Although there are so many facets to success, for my business and I, success today means doing the simple things well. So long as my staff are taken care of and the doors are open, we live to fight another day.
One thing I have learnt over my years in business is that the definition of success continues to evolve and my aim is that Pearl similarly continues to evolve and grow
How can women support other women?
I love this question! At Pearl we have a very strong ethos regarding women supporting women, we’re all about the sisterhood. I firmly believe that women DO support other women, we always have and we stand on the shoulders of all the women that have come before us.
My business and I will continue to do whatever necessary to continue the work and always support other women. My view is that it is just about people being good people!
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Alexandra Trait is the founder of Pearl Skin Clinic at 55 Garsed Street, Bendigo. Pearl Skin Clinic offers skin care services, skin condition treatments, skin restoration and anti-wrinkle treatments.
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