Beauty bar boss' billion-dollar dream and feelings of 'imposter syndrome'

Friday, 2 August 2019

Kiwi company Ethique has saved over 4 million plastic bottles entering landfill in New Zealand and around the world. (First published May 24, 2019)

Brianne West wears a lot of hats - businesswoman, chief executive, founder, formulator.

But West, the founder of beauty bar company Ethique, feels out of place in the world she has built.

'Imposter syndrome', as she put it, is an 'ongoing challenge'.

'[I] don't really feel like I belong here, it all feels very much like that,' she said.

**READ MORE:

Brianne West, founder of the natural and environmentally friendly beauty brand Ethique turned a 'side hustle' into a profitable business.

* Beauty bars stop over 3 million plastic bottles entering landfill

* After plastic bags, what's next? Government tackles 'circular economy'

* Aiming to rid the world of plastic bottles, company crowdfunds $500k in two hours

* A Christchurch-made range of solid shampoos and conditioners is turning heads

* Beauty boss Brianne West is named a global thinker**

In just seven years, West has gone from making shampoo bars in her 'little kitchen' in Christchurch to stocking stores around the world, but the journey has had many ups and downs.

'Anyone who runs a business will tell you it's full of challenges and exhausting.'

When she was first building Ethique, she 'wasn't in a great place', but as her work began to resonate with others, she blossomed, albeit quite gradually.

Ethique was born out of a desire to help the environment and make a difference with its products reducing plastic waste one bar at a time.

She said she went through a period of time in her early 20s where 'I lost my sense of self' and fell into the cycle of doing 'what everyone else thought was cool'.

'At the end of the day, I got very depressed and miserable.'

Entering the cosmetic industry was never really on the cards for West. She always thought she would be an oceanographer, a vet, or end up 'dashing around the Amazon'.

But the cosmetic industry was where she landed, where she found helpful mentors and advisors, and where she learned not everyone is there to help.

'Just because someone comes along and claims to be an expert, doesn't mean they are.

'I've certainly had people … offer advice and help along the way, which I wouldn't take now.'

Ethique founder and chief executive Brianne West said a practicing sustainable business is 'one of the most impactful ways to change the world,' but she stumbled on this idea 'kind of by chance'.

She warned against people who claim they have all the answers, when 'some of them really just want to ride on your coat tails and waste your time'.

West created Ethique at just 24 years of age after watching her liquid shampoo spill down the drain.

She then spent all of her spare time between university classes and her social life formulating and making beauty bars in the kitchen of a flat she shared with her boyfriend at the time. He was 'grumpy' with her turning their kitchen into a lab, she laughed, but very supportive of what she was creating.

But there was never that 'a-ha' moment where she realised this was going to be her career and life's work. It just gradually took over her life, she said.

Her family works alongside her – her mum is a production and account manager and her dad is always on hand to give advice. Their support, and the support of her Christchurch-based team have been very helpful in what she described as an 'intense, chaotic environment'.

'Having an amazing team makes a huge difference,' she explained. '[It's like] coming to work with a family everyday, which is really lovely.'

When she went into business she dreamt of building a million dollar company.

Her company has since saved 4.2 million plastic bottles from entering landfill based on one shampoo bar saves three 350ml plastic bottles, while one condition bar saves five.

Sales have increased 250 to 300 per cent year-on-year. Now, the new dream is making Ethique a billion dollar company.

'When you start something, you have this [idea], jokingly, [that] I want it to be a million-dollar company, and now I say I want it to be a billion-dollar company.'

'I never thought I'd be exporting around the world,' she said.

Her life is drastically different to the one she was living at 24. She's no longer working out of her kitchen on her own, she doesn't have as many social outings as she once did, and she works 'a lot more than I ever thought I would'. She said her business is 'all consuming'.

'[People] say that you need balance in your life, and that's true, I'm sure, but you don't need balance all the time,' West said.

During her 60 to 80 hour work weeks, she still sets aside time to create most of the brand's concepts and formulate new beauty bar recipes.