Having traveled thousands of miles to pursue her dream of building a successful business in another country, Claudia Fallah shares the challenges and hurdles of starting and building a leading skincare brand from scratch.
Highlights
Biggest Challenges:
- Starting a business from scratch in another country with no connections and no contacts
- Expanding the brand into retail and leaving the comfort zone of the clinic
Words of Wisdom:
- Invest in good legal advice
- Don’t let fear hold you back
- Surround yourself with positive people
Links and Tips
Check out the incredible Claudia Fallah range
You can also find the Claudia Fallah range at Danesfield House Spa
Full Interview
You’re listening to She Owns Success and this is episode 7
AO: Hey everyone welcome to this episode of she owns success, thank you so much for joining us today I am truly honoured to be speaking to be speaking to the fabulous Claudia Fallah of Claudia Fallah cosmeceuticals. Claudia is the founder and owner of the Claudia Fallah brand, the London based leader in natural corrective and preventative skincare. She is the sensitive skincare expert and aesthetic specialist. Asthestitian to the stars, Claudia’s skincare range can be found not just at her own clinic in London, where she treats her loyal clients but also stocked in prestigious clinics, exclusive day spas and high quality pharmacies with one of Claudia’s top products cover rescue having made its way to Harley Street.
Hi Claudia, thank you so much for joining us, I’m so excited for our listeners to hear your story as it’s really one of such determination and bravery and such an inspiration.
CF: Thank you Antonette, I’m so excited to talk about it
AO: So we’ll dive straight in, what inspired you to start Claudia Fallah Cosmeceuticals
CF: The inspiration goes back a long time, to when I was 16 or 17 when I was introduced to Rudolf Steiner who is the founder of Biodynamics. I was really fascinated by his theory of bringing in an organic compound into whatever you’re wanted to achieve, whether in farming or cosmeceuticals, making nature work for you and we use nature to get the best out of it and bring it back into my cosmeceuticals to get great performance with natural ingredients.
AO: What were the first steps and actions that you took specifically to get started?
CF: Again that goes a long way back as well. When I first came here to London which was over 20 years ago, I arrived with £300 in my pocket not knowing anybody or anything, my English was like school English not as good as it is now and I just had this dream to come to England, to London and to establish myself, it was like a beautiful dream and I’m somebody that if I say I want to do something I go and do it, I don’t just talk about it forever I just go and do it, so that was the first step.
AO: And that was such a brave thing to do, to go and start a fresh in another country.
CF: Exactly, not just doing it in your own country, trying to succeed in your own country but in another country, not have the connections, not having the contacts, it’s just so much harder. To create these connections and build the knowledge because it is totally different with the law and the council and treatment licences. Also, my Dad had said, if you go, you’re on your own, I will not support you in anyway. I think he tried to threaten me so it would stop me and I would not go, I would stay. But I went and I’ve done it and I’m so glad that I did.
AO: And it probably made you more determined being so determined
CF: Exactly, well, then I’m on my own and I’ll give it a good go!
AO: You’ve touched on it, you must have had some challenges along your journey and along the way, tell us about the most difficult challenge that you had to overcome.
CF: Talking about the most difficult challenges, I think as you grow and progress, you as a person but also in your environment, you think you’ve had challenges but you’ll always have challenges the different challenges or growing pains that come with your business. So, when I first came to London knowing no one and nothing in London, I thought that was my biggest challenge, then growing the business, you get so many other difficult challenges. Having a team, knowing how to deal with the team as a director, getting the best out of your team, dealing with suppliers, when they don’t perform as you expect. Because you’re paying suppliers you expect them to perform and do well for you. Even to this day, I come across such challenges and I think, wow. There are so many difficult challenges along the way, it is just how you approach them, how you perceive them and how you deal with them, and it is up to you how difficult the challenge becomes.
AO: You talked about how your challenges change and it’s about how your respond to them, can you give us an insight into a recent challenge that was new to you and how did your respond?
CF: So far so good, but for example, last year, I had to take a lot of new suppliers on in order to grow the business. I expanded my team. Dealing with the whole team was a huge challenge because I’m a therapist, I’m a nice person I like to deal with people in a nice way, just because I’m in business it doesn’t mean I have to be a bitch. But sometimes, as the director you have to put a certain hat on, be somebody else in order to direct your team, your suppliers, in order to meet the deadlines and have a smooth running business.
AO: That is such great advice, thank you for sharing that. The fact that you have to put all these different hats on and sometimes they may not be comfortable or what you’re used to and stretching you out of your comfort zone.
CF: It’s the comfort zone definitely. It will really stretch you outside of the comfort zone. And talking about comfort zones and challenges, one of my worst challenges I still think was when I actually left the clinic in order to focus on the cosmeceuticals, to really focus on the retail market and get it right. Therefore I decided to close down the clinic for a while in order to really focus on the retail market. The clinic had been my comfort blanket. It is everything I know everything I’m passionate about, helping people to get their skin confidence. Give me the worst skin and I know what to do, and suddenly I was stepping into unknown territory, you don’t know what will happen because you’ve never been an apprentice in this new business and suddenly you get overwhelmed with all the new challenges and all the new things that get fires at you. Looking back that was one of the biggest challenges, when I closed the clinic that was the worst challenge because I cried for 2 weeks, I thought it was the worst thing, leaving my comfort zone. For a lot of people that feel that it’s so hard once you’re in your comfort zone and you’re passionate about it. But sometimes you need to change your business or your business model.
AO: Thank you so much for that insight. We’re going to move to your day to day because so many people who want to start their own business or may want to launch their own product might be wondering what goes on behind the scenes. Give us a brief insight into what a great day looks like for you.
CF: A great day means that I have time for me. As a business owner you get so wrapped up that you forget really easily about yourself and for me time is something that is very important. To have a day where I can take time for me is so special and that for me is a great day because time, you can never get back, once it’s gone you can’t get it back that’s I.
AO: They still haven’t created that fantastic time machine that I’m waiting for yet
CF: It would make things so much easier
AO: It would be amazing
CF: If you think about having a time machine if you then make single changes it will effect everything else along the way and wouldn’t be who you are anymore, you wouldn’t have had that learning process in order to become the person you are and have that knowledge because it’s all the stepping stones you have in between your learning process and your perception of things that make you who you are a s a person
AO: On that note, if you could do anything different looking back, is there anything that you would change or do differently?
CF: My first answer would be you can’t change anything you can’t change the past you can just change where you are right now at the present to effect the future so there is no point crying over spilt beans as they say, but, thinking about it, scientifically if I could, the only thing I would change is that I would get really good lawyers and have proper contracts in place. In the past I was too trusting if people said they would do things I trusted it, but things change as you grow and you go along and If I went back I would make sure I was more protected by contracts.
AO: Another great tip and you’re not the first person that has said that because ultimately it is business and just because you have these thoughts and these ethics, it doesn’t mean to say that everyone else works the way that you do.
CF: That’s a big thing I would tell people to watch out for. Don’t try to save too much on a lawyer, if you haven’t got a big budget you can always go outside London where the rates are cheaper. But I would always say now, get yourself a good lawyer and protect yourself.
AO: Exactly. So, what inspires you?
CF: A lot of things inspire me. People who inspire me, I always think of Walt Disney and I bet lots of people do. He went to all these banks and everybody rejected him and he hasn’t given up. Unbelievable strength, continuing, wanting to achieve his dream. Always if I feel that I’m not getting anywhere I think about it because look at where Walt Disney is now.
AO: Exactly, such an incredible legacy. I have to pick up on that point that never giving up. I think so many people can get discouraged, it is really tough and you have to be so persistent and one of the great things I’ve heard is that we should go out there to get no’s and get used to hearing no’s because you’re going to get lots of them.
CF: And you need to have your inspirations, people who have achieved their dreams and who have gone through the ups and downs. It’s important to hear that. I just heard at a networking event at the table crowd, someone was giving a speech about business and he said sometimes I just wanted to give up and I’d go in and I’d say to my team there’s no point I can’t take it anymore. Then the team would say, we could do this and we could do that and suddenly he felt better and he continued. We all have our ups and downs and we all have down days. To run a successful business is not easy, yes, your passion will carry you but you get lots of traps thrown in your way and it’s not easy these days anymore.
AO: That’s why it’s so important to surround yourself with positive people and people that will give you that positive input.
CF: Looking back I really thing that’s the key point, surround yourself with positive people not people who say things like what I was told- Why would you do your own range of skincare products there’s so much out there already- you know that was 20 years ago and I was told why would you want to do that! If I had listened to them, I wouldn’t be where I am now, I would have thought they’re right so I’ll leave it. So it’s good to have inspiration and have really good positive people who are also in business around you, because they have been through the same thing, they know the steps and they can give you positive feedback It would also be good to join mastermind groups where you have tasks where other business entrepreneurs challenge you and also you don’t feel so alone and isolated as a business entrepreneur.
AO: Exactly, I love that old argument – there’s so many people doing this already, we don’t need anymore. So why is there Pepsi and Coca-Cola and Burger King and McDonalds, at the end of the day, people like variety and you’re bringing your own creativity ad your own different way of doing that thing.
CF: Exactly. And there’s a lot in this mass market that’s not quality. People these days are very educated through the internet. They know the ingredients they know what they want. People was quality and mass market is not always quality.
AO: You touched on motivation and the fact that it can be really tough. How do you keep motivated when things get really really tough?
CF: I see the challenges as the weather. They come and they go, one day it’s raining and cloudy the next day the sun is shining. It’s perception, how you deal with that. Please don’t beat yourself up, just get going. Have your goals, have your dream and be determined to achieve that and don’t allow other people to throw in some negativity please keep on going.
AO: Such great advice. Don’t beat yourself up. We can be our own worst enemy, I know I’ve done that in the past and you have to just think stop it!
CF: That little voice inside your head, it might not be positive and you have to ask yourself, – do you want to be your best friend or your worst enemy. That’s the way I see it. I’ve decided I want to be my best friend.
AO: You’ve talked about time and the fact that we’re so limited on time so, can you give us a couple of productivity tools, things that save you time day to day
CF: I make lists, I’m still very old fashioned. I write down what I have to achieve and what I need to do so I don’t drift, I don’t think I need to do this then that, then start one thing then move onto the next. It’s focusing on one thing at a time and then have lists, do a diary. Breathing is very important. I find when I get really busy I find myself holding my breath, I catch myself out and I think – you need to breathe!
I think it’s important to have a sort of list or notes so you know exactly what your day to day plans and goals are. Have dates to your goals, know exactly when you want to achieve your goals otherwise it’s another year gone and another year. So, it’s important to stick to your goals- do goal mapping
AO: Dare I ask, are you an organised person naturally?
CF: Yes I am, I’ve been brought up this way in Germany. Just been much organised my whole life and everything is like clockwork. But as an entrepreneur you get so many tasks put on your plate so even if your organised it can still be very overwhelming so I do my lists and a good day is when I have achieved everything on my list, things have gone smoothly and everyone has replied to my emails.
AO: I did have to ask although I did think that German organisation and precision…. Give me some of that please
CF: You have to be organised, lists or diaries, whatever works for you, some people have charts or write on a big wall or on a bathroom mirror with lipstick, whatever works for you.
AO: So what exciting things are coming up for you and your business?
CF: I’m smiling because I have so many exciting things already that have come up. I’m very excited looking back to last month’s pop up shop which was in Shoreditch, a 4 day pop up shop and it was really amazing who came to see me the support, the new people I met. Training al the key therapists at Danesfield House at the condone Spa Hotel was amazing and other clinics I’ve trained in the meantime. So what’s coming up now is Christmas really.
AO: That is exciting
CF: Yes really exciting because I might have some time for myself!
AO: And that is a great day
CF: That is a great day
AO: And what is your ultimate vision
CF: My ultimate vision is to grow the business organically and sell it. All the suppliers I deal with and all the SPAs, and high end Pharmacies we’re stocked at, I want to support them as much as I can, to see it more as a family and to grow with really strongly and have a solid foundation rather than looking for the next thing. That’s the reason we had our 17th Birthday the other day, 17 years of Claudia Fallah Cosmeceuticals, because I’ve always been very, let’s grow organically, build a solid foundation, be strong. If you grow too fast and too quick, your house will collapse. That’s why I really want to support everyone that we have on board right now.
AO: That is such a great message Claudia, don’t try and rush things and do things quickly. Build something of solid substance
CF: Yes, I think that’s key. A lot of people want success fast and rush. By rushing you make mistakes. I’ll give you an example, last year we had a deadline. We were supposed to be in a very high end well known Pharmacy and we just had a few weeks, it was literally impossible and my whole team was rushing and rushing and I though this is not the way. It is going the wrong way, people lose their creativity by rushing and everyone wanted to get the project done in order to have the success. It was to the extent that I said – everybody for 2 days take a day off, reflect, and take time out. Then everybody came back to the drawing board, they had much better ideas and it was amazing and I thought if we would have continues rushing that project t would have cost a lot of money because we would have made a lot of mistakes. Sometimes it’s really important to step away, take tie, and reflect because when you start breathing and reflecting you get more energy and more creativity than if you’re under pressure.
AO: I love that and that’s the thing, even if you’re doing something on your own as well, it’s important to step away from things rather than pressing forward in the wrong mind-set.
CF: You get so wrapped up because you are the business and you’re in the business that you overlook things because you’re so IN the business so you’re focussing so much that you don’t see the bigger picture anymore.
AO: That is such a great visual that you have created, stop obsessing about that one tiny thing, step away and look at the bigger picture. So, that’s your vision, moving on as we come towards the end of the interview. I know our listeners have taken so much away as you have given so many hints and tips already. What’s the one thing that you wish someone had told you when you were starting out that you think every single entrepreneur should know heading into this?
CF: It is exactly what I have already covered- again I think it’s legal. Make sure you cover yourself. Make sure you have the knowledge. Make sure you have the right team. Be focused, know your message, your key message, what is it that you want people to know. Be clear about your message. Sometimes you can be very incongruent, you want one thing but you then do something else.
It is very important to have the passion and the knowledge. To have your key ingredients that make your business successful. And be really focused because where focus goes energy flows. What you focus on you become.
AO: I love that, thoughts become things, what you focus on is what you become. So focus on positive things focus on what it is you’re trying to do and achieve and what difference you’re trying to make because that’s the most important thing.
CF: Absolutely. And be passionate because that passion is so important, other people can feel your passion and connect to that passion. I feel it is very important. But passion alone isn’t enough because you also have to cover yourself with the knowledge and sometimes, not having studied or been to university to have that knowledge- I must say one thing here- in business, I know have great knowledge about my own company and about skin are and skin concerns and everything that involves my business but when you go out there to create your business there are so many challenges and I find sometimes if you have studied too much or have business degrees you become more scared and because you are more are of the risks you don’t go out there to do it because you think ooh… I’m too scared I don’t want to do it. If you’re not so aware of these risks and you just go with your intuition I think sometimes that can be a more positive thing to have on your side.
Look at other famous people or business entrepreneurs out there who haven’t had all the knowledge of how to run a business. Look at Debbie Moore for example from Pineapple studios, she started when she was 17 and it was amazing, look where she is now, a very successful woman.
AO: That is something we have to all have to take on board. It’s not about knowing the most out of everybody in the room or in that whole industry it’s about having that passion and having the bravery to take some action on it. And if you don’t know something there are people that can support you and it’s about reaching out to them.
CF: I totally agree yes. Another thing, is ask for help. Please ask for help. Don’t be scared. People are very happy to help, the right people who get your passion and really support your ideas are very happy to help.
AO: As we now come to the end, before we say goodbye do you have any other words of wisdom, you’ve blessed us with so many already. What do you want our audience, our wonderful top women to take away from this interview today if only one thing?
CF: Don’t let fear hold you back
AO: Don’t let fear hold you back people, be brave go out there and just take action.
CF: Seriously because if fear holds you back and you never the action, I wouldn’t be where I am today and lots of other successful entrepreneurs wouldn’t be either
AO: Thank you so much Claudia you’ve given us so much to take away, to think on and to take action on. So much actionable advice. You have been fantastic and very generous with your time, please, before we say goodbye, tell us, where can we find you and how can we connect with you?
CF: You can find me over at my website- www.claudiafallah.co.uk that’s where you will find me
AO: And where can we connect with you, can w connect with you on social media?
CF: Yes, on Facebook, linked in, twitter, Instagram which is my favourite because I love all the pictures. So you can connect with Claudia Fallah over social media anywhere.
AO: Thank you again it’s been such a pleasure
CF: Thank you I’m so glad I can give something back.
