We were lucky to catch up with Laura Orr recently and have shared our conversation below.

Laura, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

Prior to starting aussie glows, I worked as the Vice President of Property Management at a startup. It was an incredible learning experience. I got a lot of autonomy to operate as I felt was needed, to grow a team of 150 people, and make fast decisions to accelerate growth. The company grew so quickly that I really learnt a lot about growing a business and a team. However, I wasn’t really involved at the corporate level in a way that I could really impact the growth and direction of the company. It was at this point I realized that I was ready to start my own business and to own that journey. I have always been passionate about beauty and have been fake tanning myself for over 20 years so I started to explore competitors and the spray tanning landscape in Dallas. While there are a lot of salons and many do mobile, I found that there was a gap in the luxury end of the market for mobile spray tans. The quality and ‘cleanness’ of the product was really important to me so I spent time exploring different brands until I found Naked Tan. I chose this brand because they are Australian, they use all natural ingredients, and their mission is similar to mine, inspiring women to feel like their best selves both inside and out. Since starting my own company I have found myself re-energized to work and build something that is uniquely mine. I have creative license to make the brand feel right to me, and that is really exciting. I can continue to iterate and grow as I learn. I am constantly experimenting and tweaking to be better. And I am truly passionate about my products and what I do, which makes it easy to be my own best salesman! I plan to continue my growth and expansion in the future and look forward to growing an amazing team.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am from Sydney, Australia and moved to the US 10 years ago. When I first moved here I was working for an Australian company that owned and managed property across the New York Tri-State. After 7 years there I started a new role as VP of Property Management at a startup that grew incredibly quickly, starting with 2,000 homes under management increasing up to 17,000 in the space of just two years. I grew the business and grew my team from 25 people to 150 in that time. It was a crazy busy period and I learnt so much. This experience really taught me that I am capable of anything, and highlighted to me how much I love being in control and having the autonomy in my work. It was from here that the desire to start my own business really became apparent and so I started to explore different things I am passionate about and what might be an opportunity for me to start a business.

I have been getting spray tans and self tanning since I was a teenager because it makes me feel so good about myself. I’ve made all the possible mistakes you can make when tanning and have really perfected it on myself. After some market research in Dallas, I saw an opportunity for a high-end mobile spray tan service. While spray tan salons are prominent, and mobile spray tanning does exist, I feel there is a general trend today of people wanting convenience and if they can get a service done in their own home, more and more people are taking this option. I wanted to differentiate myself from other companies and to be memorable, so I decided to lean into my routes and start aussie glows, a company that offers high-end mobile spray tans using Australian products that are of the highest quality. The quality of the formulas used for spray tans makes a big difference to how natural a tan looks and how long it will last. I consistently get feedback from clients about how much they love the color, how well it lasts and how naturally it fades.

What I am most proud of is the personalized and customized service I have developed. While the products I use are amazing and really do have clients looking and feeling their best, I make sure each appointment is tailored to the individual. I pride myself on getting to know my clients so that I can customize the tan to them and make sure it meets their needs. Getting a spray tan is also a vulnerable experience, so I want to make sure my clients feel relaxed and comfortable so they can enjoy the experience.

The best part about being a spray tan artist is how I can make people feel good about themselves. It is so rewarding to see photos of my clients and hear feedback about how much it helped their confidence, or cheered them up.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

The hardest part of starting my own company from scratch has been getting new clients. Once I manage to catch someone at the right time and they book for a spray tan, it is really important to me to maintain them as a client so they will continue to come to me for their spray tans, and recommend me to their friends and family as well.

To do this, providing a personalized service is really important. While I do have text and email automations, I like to reach out to my clients before the appointment to learn more about them and make sure I bring everything I will potentially need to meet their goals.

After the appointment, I will always send a message the next day to check in and make sure their tan developed and that they are happy with the result. If they have any questions or issues, they know they can send me a text or give me a call and I will always be happy to help. I think doing this is the key to success because even if something goes wrong, giving clients the personalized time and attention lets them know that I care, and they are more likely to be forgiving. It is also great for me to grow and learn about each of my clients so that each time I do a spray tan for them I have a reference point to continue to ensure it meets their needs every time.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

While I don’t currently have a team working with me, in my prior role I had a team of 150 people, most of whom were working remotely. This can be extremely challenging to manage from the initial training, to ongoing support and engagement.

There are so many different ideas and viewpoints on how to maintain morale. At the end of the day, I think the most important things are giving people true ownership, accountability and responsibility, and making sure you are a leader, not just a manager.

Giving people ownership of their role or tasks allows people to have purpose in what they are doing, and feel as though this work is contributing to the companies’ success. If someone feels like they are just simply doing tasks and can’t see how this contributes to the overall, or they feel like the work they are doing is always micromanaged, they will feel as though they are just task operators and will be far less motivated to produce and go above and beyond.

Making sure you are a leader, not just a manager, is another important way to maintain high morale. People want to follow someone they believe in, someone that inspires them, someone that they feel is invested in their growth and success. If you can demonstrate that your role is to support your team in their growth and success, they will be more likely to trust you, and also more likely to want to work hard for you. You can’t be successful without the work of your team, so the more you can lead your team to always grow and improve, the more successful you will be. When each individual in the team is successful they are happy, and happiness and a feeling of ownership will ultimately lead to great team morale.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.aussieglows.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aussieglows
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aussieglows
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-anne-orr/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/aussie-glows-dallas

Image Credits

Kate Marie Gardner