Q&A
What Was the Most Important Part of Your Whole Business Journey?
For me – I have only been a part of Glam Candy for 2 years now, firstly through my capacity as founder for Illamasqua when Glam Candy became a stockist, even then I was intrigued by the business , the entrepreneur in me saw the huge potential in what they were doing and I knew from my experience with Illamasqua just how much there was a demand for true professional make up courses.
I would say that to date – the most important part of the journey would be receiving the SQA and City and Guilds accreditations as this is our ‘industry stamp of approval’ – giving our students even more confidence in our ability to deliver them something they are able to build on and make a career out of.
How did you get your idea or concept for the business and how is it different from the rest?
As I said, I haven’t been involved since it began but am very much a part of its evolution and I think Hayley and I are very aligned in our aspirations for the future of the business. We do want to stand out and evolve into something completely stand out which we are currently working on – watch this space!
What has been the hardest thing about starting a successful company?
The most important thing to remember is nothing is an overnight success. It may often appear like that to some when they first hear of a business or product, but in reality that business has likely been grafting for 4/5 years behind the scenes, building the brand and the awareness. I have seen and subsequently helped many businesses over the year start small, grow slowly and in the right way to become global brands, so for me patience in the biggest learning.
What are your responsibilities as the business owner?
For me, you are only as successful as the team around you. We genuinely have fantastic people working for us at Glam Candy all with their own strengths. I feel it is very much our role to keep people motivated and focused whilst encouraging them at the same time.
We have to ensure we do our best to work ‘on’ the business and not ‘in’ it which at times can be easier said than done!
If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?
Believe in what you are doing, if you don’t then you can’t expect anyone else too. Success isn’t overnight so keep focused on your goal and don’t give up.
What Drives You to Keep Going When It's Really Tough?
Not letting those down around me.
What Were Your Greatest Failures and What Did They Teach You?
Luckily no major ones to date! There have absolutely been set backs along the way which I hope I have taken the learnings from. I always believe in looking forward and not back.
Where do you see GlamCandy being in 5 years' time?
One word. Global
