Jessica Turner Returning to Australia after managing salons overseas, Rebecca Miller had one ambition: to bring her experiences and knowledge back to central west NSW. Kymberly Martin gets a glimpse of country life ‘La Bella Medispa’ style.
There is a saying that you ‘can’t take the country out of the girl’ and Rebecca Miller admits to being very much a country girl at heart after growing up in Forbes, NSW.
“I believe running a business where you can work with other local businesses makes for a happy community.” La Bella Medispa opened its doors in Parkes in 2008, and La Bella Advanced Skin & Laser five years later in Orange.
“Parkes is a vibrant town that has continued to grow and develop,” Rebecca told Professional Beauty. “The beauty industry is an evolving industry and my passion. I love what I do and I love the team who work around me.”
Asked to describe the ambience and Rebecca muses, “The clinic is a calm, professional environment where clients always feel welcome. It is where staff maintain an exceptional level of professionalism and knowledge with a unique personalised and caring experience. This is what separates our business and establishes our brand philosophy — ‘La Bella Medispa, where it’s all about you.’
Rebecca believes there are differences that set her business apart — work ethics, deep-seated knowledge and a passion for client results and care.
La Bella Medispa has built a loyal client base that tailors services to suit individual client needs from the pure relaxation experience to advanced skin corrective treatments. Rebecca says the main focus is, and always will be, her clients.
“Clients are what keep us driven and passionate about our industry. Without their support and trust in what we do, La Bella would not be the successful business it is today.”
Rebecca’s annual overseas travels also keep her ahead of trends, discovering the latest in technology and new treatments, later holding training sessions with staff to educate them on her experiences and insights.
A skincare innovation that that has proved to be a winner with clients, and one Rebecca believes sets the La Bella Medispa apart from competitors in the area, is corneotherapy.
“This innovative and progressive technique rebuilds the barrier defence systems of the skin, which in the past has been destroyed by invasive treatments,” she says.
Facials are a big part of daily business too. The use of Dermaviduals to customise prescription facials is a powerful tool and explains their growing popularity with clients. She says these innovative blends and customised solutions to care for every skin from the inside out — without the blanket approach — provides real results for all skin conditions.
However, there is no escaping fads and product lookalikes that seem to always catch the attention of clients and explaining the reasoning behind them can be challenging, she says.
“We understand that clients look for ways to save money, and often fall into the trap of purchasing online to save dollars. But this becomes a waste of money when it is not a legitimate product.”
The clinic offers a wide range of products that, as well as Dermaviduals, includes ASAP Skincare, Clean & Lean, Pure Fiji, Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics, Jbronze tan, Smiink lashes, Tea Tonic Organic Tea and Luminessence soy candles.
La Bella Medispa is set to expand with a complete shop refurbishment that will bring the number of treatment rooms to seven, including a specialist consultation room complete with state of the art skin diagnostic equipment.
Social media plays an important role in the La Bella marketing plan, enabling the business to reach out to more clients. “Our clients are constantly interacting with brands through the social media network so having a strong social media presence is the key to tap into their interest.” In-house promotions and local advertising are also used to promote La Bella Medispa.
“We leverage from our suppliers as well. La Bella Medispa is a Dermaviduals salon so we follow Dermaviduals on Pinterest and Facebook and we share relevant content. It is a similar story for JBronze, Pure Fiji and Youngblood brands.”
As to sharing her tips on the industry, Rebecca believes applying sunscreen is the best advice she can give in a country with one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world.
“Skin damage from the sun is normally irreversible and cumulative with each exposure, causing cell mutations leading to skin cancers. The use of an SPF is crucial for preventing free radical damage and premature ageing. I cannot stress this enough to my clientele.”
While sun protection is at the forefront of taking care of the skin, Rebecca has observed a decline in clients requesting invasive exfoliation treatments, especially since the introduction of corneotherapy.
“Clients still want the effective treatment but are steering away from invasive methods. As corneotherapists, we are working to rebuild the epidermal skin barrier defence system, rather than removing it.”
La Bella offers a range of exclusive treatments that includes Clear + Brilliant fraxel laser; Collagen Induction Therapy, Oncology Aesthetics and Dermaviduals customised skincare and specialist cosmetic doctors.
The medispa has taken out a long list of awards in the past two years, including the 2014 Dermaviduals clinic award for ‘Excellence in Marketing,’ ‘Most Innovative Blend’ and runner-up for ‘Best Before & After Photos.’ In 2013 it took out the Parkes Business Award for ‘Most Outstanding Business’ and ‘Excellence in Retail.’ In 2014, La Bella Medispa was announced as the winner of the Jbronze Business Building Competition after trialling the new Jbronze Professional range of salon tanning products.
Rebecca’s advice to anyone starting their own business? Be clear in knowing your market. “Set yourself short-term achievable goals and put together a road map of where you want to get to. Establish targets to keep you focused and career driven. The information available is endless but utilise any opportunity you are given to develop and progress your skills.”
