Shropshire beauty trainer celebrates 10 year anniversary with franchisees in Milan
A Shropshire beauty trainer has celebrated her 10 year milestone by franchising her business in Milan.
Denise McGowan set up her beauty training company, Evanji, in 2002 and has since set up franchisees in two other countries.
Her latest three franchisees have launched in Milan, while she also has an Evanji trainer who has taken sugaring to the Ascension Island in the South Atlantic and another franchisee in France.
Denise, who runs the network of “Evanji Associated Therapists” with her husband Rick, from their home in Market Drayton, said it had been a “phenomenal” 10 years involving many hours of hard work but she was “extremely proud” of what she had achieved.
“If someone had said to me 10 years ago I would be running a beauty training business with franchisees around the world I would have laughed at them but that’s exactly what I’ve done.
“I set up my business model and ran my sugaring business which was a huge success because nobody else was doing it.
“I knew it worked so wanted to give other people the opportunity to do what I was doing but wanted to ensure they kept the same high standards which was vital to me and my reputation,” Mrs MCGowan said.
“The only way of doing this and to ensure the model remained regulated was to franchise my company.
“When I was contacted by the beauticians in Milan who had seen my training courses I was overwhelmed. They are running a fantastic business in Milan which all started here in Shropshire.”
The mother-of-two, who is a qualified teacher and was formerly a head of department in a secondary school, said the drive behind her business was to provide the best life for her two daughters.
Her UK-based franchisees run businesses across Shropshire, and also in Wrexham, Yorkshire, Devon, Bedfordshire and Warwickshire.
The 43-year-old started out using the ancient Arabic form of hair removal called Sugaring after seeing it demonstrated at an event in Stoke on Tern.
It is a technique using a paste of sugar, lemon juice and water and involves the trained beautician “flicking” the paste off the skin to remove the hair from the root.
In 2003 Mrs McGowan expanded her range of beauty training courses, all accredited by the Associated Beauty Therapists, to include massages, facials, manicures, pedicures, Reiki, make up and Hopi Ear Candling.
