Meet Be Bronze

Be Bronze is a small business who specialises in Hair dressing and Spray tans, based in Papamoa Tauranga. My beautiful cousin Natasha owns this business and I am so excited for you all to hear her story and learn about her journey within the beauty industry. I have seen her business evolve over the years and would recommend her salon to everyone as she always knows what's best for client!

I truly encourage you all to go and follow her at @bebronzetan and get out of those winter blues by treating yourselves to a cute spray tan to make this winter that much more bearable!

Meet Be Bronze...

HOW DID BE BRONZE START?

I started Be Bronze when I was pregnant with my second baby. I was working part time as a hairdresser at a salon across town and the hours were no longer working for me and my family. I wanted a job that allowed flexibility and also allowed me to work from home, I started tanning friends and family over summer and it didn't take long for me to grow my clientele.

WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND WITHIN THE HAIR AND BEAUTY INDUSTRY?

I started my Hairdressing course on my 16th Birthday, I completed a full year at polytechnic and got an apprenticeship at a salon down Mount Maungaui. I worked there for a few years while completing my apprenticeship and then I moved to a few salons around town.

When I was 20, I moved to the GoldCoast and was lucky enough to get job as a salon manager, I was only hairdressing in GoldCoast for about a year before I had a career change. I loved the job but I struggled being 20 years old with the responsibility of running a salon, working every weekend and trying to find the time to socialise with my friends, an opportunity came up for me to work in a finance firm and become a loan consultant. I worked there for almost 6 years before I was made redundant when I was 30 weeks pregnant with my little girl. While working in finance I became a weekly spray tan client at a salon in mermaid beach, I loved the brand so much and always said to my husband I would love to do spray tans from home, and thought it would be such a great side hustle but I just never did anything about it.

Fast forward to the age 26 we moved home to New Zealand with our little girl. I had big plans to start a home Hairdressing & Tanning business. I completed my Spray Tan course last year and have grown a great clientele for Hairdressing and Tanning, it has taken me 3 years to build up a steady clientele.

HOW DO YOU FIND JUGGLING LIFE, RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS AND HAVING CHILDREN?

I try and stay focused and prioritise my time, my hours are generally in the middle of the day when my boy is asleep or I work a lot of late nights and weekends, working from home gives me the flexibility to have a lot of time off during the week with my children as my husband works full time and when he has finished work he is normally taking over so I can focus on my clients.

Having 2 children aged 3 and 1 means I don’t get a lot of spare time. We also don’t get a lot of family time as I am generally working most weekends and have clients back-to-back but we do make the most of our time together when we do get an evening or day together. I am lucky that I don’t have to do a lot of marketing to get clients as I have built my clientele up by word of mouth.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN SIX WORDS?

Caring, Loving, Loyal, Ambitious, Friendly, Perfectionist

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE TREATMENT?

My favourite treatment is a full body spray tan, I especially love doing tans for someone going to an event.

WHAT ARE THE ESSENTIAL ITEMS IN YOUR SALON?

The Essentials for Tanning salon are Tanning Solution, Spray Tan Machine & Gun, portable tent, clean towels, hair nets & paper G-strings, Baby wipes, moisturiser or pawpaw & a blending brush

WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO WORK WITHIN THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY?

The biggest thing that motivates me is the smile on my clients faces when they leave the salon, there is no better feeling then making someone feel good about themselves or giving them a whole new level of confidence with a Spray Tan or a new colour and cut.

DO YOU HAVE A DREAM THAT YOU WOULD LOVE TO FULFILL?

My Dream/Goal for Be Bronze is to continue to grow my business and have another Tanner working for me, I would love to specialise is Wedding Tans or Event Tans and travel around to do group Tans/Tan parties with groups of girls with Platters/Wine all while they are getting Tanned for a big event.

WHAT ARE TIPS FOR SPRAY TANS?

My top tips for ensuring a perfect long-lasting Tan is Prepping the skin correctly and following the aftercare. Below I have listed the pre and post tan care. Pre Tan

• Exfoliate 6-12 hours before

• Wax 48 hours pre tan

• Shaving to be done no more than 6 hours before tan (24hours is best)

• Arrive to your appointment with clear skin no moisturisers, Deodorants. perfumes etc

• Shower Right before appointment (Ensure soaps/shampoo is fully washed off the skin)

• Wear loose baggy dark clothing

Post Tan

• Wash Tan after desired time only with water (no soap)

• Wash with soap the next and moisturise daily

• Drink minimum 2ltrs water daily

• Limit Showers/Swimming

WHAT IS THE HARDEST THING ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS?

The hardest thing about my business is Tans tend to be a sessional treatment in New Zealand as it gets so cold in winter, once we get to the cooler months you aren’t tanning as often. I am very fortunate that I have my hairdressing clients so I remain busy year-round.

WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR ANYONE WANTING TO START A BUSINESS?

My Advice for anyone wanting to start a business is go for it, focus on your passion and back yourself and never be afraid to ask for help.

HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE CREATIVITY? AND HOW DO YOU PUT THIS TO PRACTICE IN YOUR WORK?

Creativity to me is using your imagination and finding things that inspire you. Every hairdressing client that comes in with an inspiration picture of what they want their hair to be like it is then up to me to re-create that hairstyle to suit my client's hair type. Spray Tanning you cannot be as creative with but i still have to analyse every client skin and ensure I am selecting the correct solution best suited to them and their desired results.