Julie and Emma Woodruff are the first regional franchisees for Brazilian Butterfly. The mother and daughter partnership opened the Geelong West Salon in Victoria a year ago.

We were told to put our lives on hold for 18 months, reveals Julie Woodruff. In the first few months we thought, what have we done, but business has picked up and we’re building on our regular clientele.

She admits some frustration with the downturn which has impacted on their franchise but the pair are being active in promoting the brand, doing a women in business feature in a local paper and handing out vouchers to visitors who attended a multi-cultural festival in their street in Geelong. Company ads run on Melbourne radio and brand awareness are also helping set the salon on its path forward.

The two women never considered setting up by themselves although they had often talked of running a business together, and franchising offered ready made advertising and a brand name, says Julie. I’d had enough of the bureaucracy, she says of her previous career in local council.

Emma admits the security of an established business system with support was a big drawcard. I wouldn’t have known where to start running my own business so I wanted something that gave me the background information to give to the bank for a start. We had help picking the location too.

The pair have clear roles: Julie looks after reception and does admin and book-keeping with her husband, Emma is the beauty therapist who found the appeal of a waxing based business too good to refuse.

I like waxing and interacting with the clients, says Emma. You put in the hard yards but it’s fun.