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A year later, in 2019, instead of graduating high school, Miss Bratanavicius graduated from the Elly Lukas Beauty Therapy College with a Diploma of Beauty Therapy.<\/p>\n
Focused and ambitious, she was well on her way to establishing herself as a reputable beautician when her clear career path took a sharp turn when she lost her job in an established salon due to the COVID-19 lockdowns.<\/p>\n
But, instead of giving up on beauty therapy, Miss Bratanavicius set out to build her own salon, and at 19 she opened her now thriving salon, Brow & Beauty House, in Geelong West.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started the business myself out the back of a hair salon, just in a room there \u2026 and then it just grew so quickly from there. I was only there for four months,\u201d she explained. \u201cAnd now a year and three months later we\u2019re as busy as ever, and I have an employee now.\u201d<\/p>\n
After four months, Miss Bratanavicius was already looking for a larger salon to rent, and when she found a place at 112 Pakington St in Geelong West she said it just felt right.<\/p>\n
In just three weeks, with help from her business-minded mum and dad, she had set the space up and was ready to open.<\/p>\n
\u201cI loved designing each room and my beautiful reception area,\u201d Miss Bratanavicius said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMum and dad both own businesses so they have been really helpful with all the business things.\u201d<\/p>\n
And Miss Bratanavicius has navigated many challenges that come with owning a small business, particularly in the midst of a global pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had to shut down fully, we had to reschedule all of our clients. It was hard \u2026 it was so hard. In and out of lockdowns, they were booked in and then we had to cancel and then we had to catch up when we were back open and then we had to close again \u2026 just the catching up was really tough, and a very stressful time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The young entrepreneur said she persisted because she loves her job, and held onto the thought of being back in her salon, chatting with her clients.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know you don\u2019t expect anything like that to happen, but obviously we\u2019ve gotten through the toughest thing that\u2019s happened to the world so we know now we can get through anything,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Last month Miss Bratanavicius received the Timley Beauty Business Entrepreneur Award, presented by Elly Lukas.<\/p>\n
Her salon is quickly establishing a solid reputation as her cliental grows.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so happy with where I am now,\u201d Miss Bratanavicius said. \u201cYou go to school and you don\u2019t think you\u2019re going to get recognised I guess, and you just do your own thing \u2026 I always said I wanted to do this, but I didn\u2019t expect it to be this soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dream is to own several salons and possibly my own products one day.\u201d<\/p>\n
And she is well on her way.<\/p>\n
To follow Miss Bratanavicius\u2019s business journey or book an appointment, visit the Brow and Beauty House Instagram page @browandbeautyhouse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
IN THE midst of a global pandemic, young beautician Jaz Bratanavicius became a successful businesswoman. By 17, Miss Bratanavicius knew what she wanted to do and wasted no time in setting out to do it. Like many young people her age, she\u2019d spent hours watching make up tutorials online. But for Miss Bratanavicius this was […]<\/p>\n