Entrepreneur Katie Jane Goldin lives in Rathmichael, Co. Dublin with her husband Barry Scallan and their son Spencer, 15 months.
The Managing Director of Gold Hair Enterprises (her Gold Fever Hair Extensions are adored by stylists) and Zolotov Distributors Ltd. (if you own an InStyler you have her to thank), Goldin has just launched the LanaiBLO, a game-changing 2400 watt hairdryer.
“The five words that sum up my business are: Vibrant, focused, committed, engaging, fair.
I officially opened LanaiBlo one month ago. It was a long time in the making and it’s the culmination of all of the experience and knowledge that I have accumulated over the course of the last number of years working in the hair industry and interacting with both salons and end consumers.
Interaction and conversation can spawn ideas in the blink of an eye. Having an idea and spotting a gap and then backing yourself to bring something new and unique to the market is a longer process and one where the balance between risk and reward must be analysed carefully before you commit. I have dealt with hundreds of salons and end consumers over the years and was always intrigued by hairdryers. After a lot of research and planning I decided it was something that I was ready to pursue. I am now one month in and delighted that I made the decision.
What makes my offering different is that the LanaiBlo hairdryer is powerful and lightweight, a difficult combination to find, in addition to being ionic with an extra long cord, especially at our price point of €99.99. We also offer a personalisation option for your hairdryer, which is proving extremely popular.
Research, planning and more research was key. We are only in the very early stages of our roll-out, it was very important for us to have an understanding of the market and environment that we are now operating in. Once we achieved this we were ready for launch. From concept to production was a lot of time and hard work, the business really only starts now that we have gone to market.
Working hard to keep customers happy is the best way I know to create a successful business. With some of my other businesses that have been successful I never really stopped to consider success and pin it to a certain moment, although there is probably a moment in every successful business where you can pinpoint a momentum kicker or shift. I have always felt the need to look forward and not think too much about success.
I am of the belief that all of the experiences you have had along the way, both positive and negative, contribute to the effectiveness of your decision making in the long term and help you to grow and evolve, ultimately teaching you to make better decisions. If you were to know what is involved beforehand you might never start!
There are a vast amount of private and state sponsored programmes available and accessible to people and start-ups these days and they provide guidance and advice. From what I have heard Enterprise Ireland provide excellent assistance and information for people who have an idea or are looking to start a business.
The benefits of working for yourself include: Satisfaction, flexibility, control: all of the things you would associate with being your own boss. It’s a huge commitment and takes effort and planning but it is worth it.
As a new mum, childcare is a constant juggle. I am very lucky that I have a nanny and a mother-in-law that contribute hugely to my ability to work freely and know that Spencer is being looked after. That peace of mind is priceless and allows me to work.
Working for yourself is a lifestyle, it requires total commitment with no set work hours. Weekends, nights; nothing is off-limits which, if you are a mum especially, means that there can be times you have to sacrifice your time to travel, work long hours etc.
I think all children should be encouraged to explore their interests and passions when deciding what they want to do with their lives. If this leads to them organically to having an entrepreneurial mindset then that is a fantastic thing. Generally speaking, people that want it enough and are self-driven will have that desire to create and innovate and build businesses regardless of the influence.
Failure in some form, however big or small, is an inevitable stage in the evolution of your business and being an entrepreneur. How you rationalise and cope with it can be a decisive factor in long-term success, do not get dissuaded or demoralised and look for the lesson and take it forward with you.
We have annual goals, plans for growth and expansion but our primary objective is to establish the company and increase our footprint. We have some additional innovations and exciting forthcoming projects.”
Watch this space.
For regular updates, follow @katiejanegoldin on Twitter and check out LanaiBlo on Instagram.
