Aleena Maney is a leader in the Australian Beauty Industry, being the director/franchisor of lash specialty franchise, Just Lashes. Aleena is an inspiring lady boss with a remarkable story to tell. In the below interview, Aleena contributes her knowledge, expertise and life lessons in order to inspire and motivate others wanting to get into the beauty industry, with the warmth and authenticity that is a part of what’s made her such a successful entrepreneur/boss babe!


We want to know all about you, the inspiring boss babe, Aleena Maney. Please give us some background info on yourself. 

I direct and own lash specialty franchise - Just Lashes. We currently have 10 locations including our HQ in the Newcastle region. 

I've always been very innovative, coming up with ideas and thinking outside the box. This has led me to be an excellent problem solver. I definitely have a glass-half-full mindset and sometimes I am told that I too optimistic! However, I feel that this is an important trait for an entrepreneur. 

I was a teenage Mum and due to life circumstances, a single Mum with two children by the time I was 20. I didn’t want to be a “teenage mum” statistic and I wanted my children to have more than the basics, so I worked full time as well. The cost of childcare amidst a childcare crisis and long trips to the day care centre, on top of being young and the sole housekeeper made it tough, but this experience gave me tenacity. I was quite Ms Independent! 

I met my now husband – Stuart, in 2002. He was a Navy Clearance Diver at the time and due to postings all over Australia we didn’t see each other much. True love will always prevail and here we are now, 16 years later married with another 2 children That makes four all up! Trust, good faith and integrity are at the heart of every relationship and it is a value that I implement every day in my business.

Prior to starting Just Lashes, I worked with the Public Sector. I enjoyed my career as I felt I was making a difference in the community and I learned a lot, everything from corporate structure to ethics. At one time I was the “face” of the department. They used my images for all sorts of publications and I presented a range of training videos and tutorials and I even recorded a few radio advertisements. I also represented the Australian Public Sector at an international conference and delivered a speech to a room full of Commonwealth delegates from around the world.

How did Just Lashes come into existence? 

I was ready to move on to something creative... so I decided to start my own entrepreneurial journey. I have always loved everything about beauty and I was looking for something that was unique and niche. 

I knew that women would go through extraordinary lengths to experience beautification services. I came across the then Melbourne based franchise – Just Lashes. As time went by my commitment and passion only strengthened. I operated a franchise for four years and then decided to invest out and acquire the whole company. I had a strong vision of where I saw the Just Lashes brand, who it should be and the future it was destined to have. So effectively, I was a franchisee turned franchisor which gives me a very unique perspective of franchising having experienced both roles.

With a variety of Directors having contributed to the model over the years, I identified that in order to achieve my vision for the future of Just Lashes - to build a successful franchise system for the lash service and cosmetic product space, a revolution was in order.
A complete re-brand was undertaken, producing an amazing brand identity with personality and consistency, to communicate the business culture, in turn fostering consumer engagement and loyalty. 

I also engaged business and franchising experts to revamp the business structure, develop the expansion model and to establish relationships with key stakeholders including retail landlords, manufacturers, and other service providers. 

What's your business journey been like so far?

It has been an incredibly rewarding journey so far, packed full of lessons and teachings that the only experience can provide. Have there been times where I wanted to throw in the towel? Absolutely – lots of them. 

Business certainly is a roller coaster and it requires persistence, consistency and a tonne of grit! Receiving support from a business coach, a mentor or even a family member who can keep us motivated and accountable, can often be the driver the success.


I am still on the ride! I love to learn and throw myself into as much education as possible. That’s the best thing about business, you can never ever know it all. I thrive on the challenges, it helps me grow and develop as a person. Every struggle, every obstacle is an opportunity to learn something new and I always seek that out.

Having such a successful business and being a busy Mum of 4 children, how do you make it all work? 

Work/family balance has been a challenge. I don’t think this is something that can be achieved, but rather a constant effort to maintain through prioritising and organisation. I have developed an incredible resilience over the years, but still, struggle with mothers guilt at times! As mums, we tend to feel responsible for everything. I’ve learned to try not to judge myself and instead think about the wonderful life lessons I am providing my children, especially about chasing your dreams and anything is possible. 

Being in business is challenging. Being a woman in business has some extra challenges. I still find there is a disharmony of balance between male and female roles, it is changing but not fast enough. I really admire successful businesswomen who have soured through the corporate or entrepreneurial world and I hope to be a similar inspiration to others one day. This is another reason why I love our business model so much, as we have a vehicle to empower young women and help them into their own businesses, a venture they may otherwise not have been able to do. While we predominantly attract women, we nurture gender equality. We do have some male clients and we also have male lash specialists – my husband is one of them! We are outside the box thinkers and we want to demonstrate that men can be in beauty too.

When I acquired the whole company of Just Lashes, I had a very strong vision of its future. I could see it play out in my mind like a TV screen. To be able to do this, I had to press pause on growth. I spent about 18 months re-developing the business, from the branding to the business model to the franchise model, while sourcing and securing experts and suppliers. We have now pressed play again and have opened 4 new salons in the past year.

What does the future hold for Just Lashes?

We have had one target market from the beginning and that is women who want to wake up beautiful and not have to think about their make-up for the rest of the day. Those who desire these services want quality beauty without the bother and this underlying desire won’t change. So much has happened with the eyelash industry over the past 10 years and we are proud to always be one of the first offering new techniques and services. Just Lashes are constantly scouring the world to stay on top of trends and will continue to evolve. Observing such developments over just a few short years is so inspiring.

Our ‘integrity in business’ principles has been a key to Just Lashes success so far and has placed us in good stead for our franchise journey going forward. We are expecting to open 3-4 salons per year, a steady rate which ensures that we are able to keep up with the growth whilst maintaining support to our existing franchisees. 

Today we are excited to be offering the new Just Lashes franchise opportunity for the right people who wish to join our family (the ‘Lash Fam’!) and have a number of locations ready to go. Franchise inquiries can be made Here.

We live and breath eyelash extensions and everything this industry has to offer. Contact us for franchise opportunities.
www.justlashes.com.au

Who should look at owning a Just Lashes Salon & what are some main points people who are looking at purchasing a Just Lashes franchise should know? 

The perfect owner is someone who has an entrepreneurial spirit. She's a natural leader, she’s ambitious and perhaps even becoming really frustrated with the slow-paced career progression and 9-5 rut. She knows that she has something special, she knows she can achieve so much more. She is fully aware and knows that she has a lot of learning to do - but is willing to put in the hard work and do what it takes. 

We are finding that young women aged under 35 are very interested in our franchise, as they are ambitious and want to make a difference and help others. The Just Lashes opportunity can help them to design their own lifestyle - buy what they want, go where they want, do what they want, work the hours that they want. We give them something to wake up and be passionate about and we are finding this more and more a big motivator for young people.

Many of our franchisees come from totally different backgrounds. A keen interest in beauty is necessary, but there is no need to have any prior working experience in the industry. We have a team that guides our franchisees for success every step of the way. 

What advice would you give to young women who want to become an entrepreneur?

Stay passionate and don’t lose sight of your goals.
Be smart about cash flow
Find mentors and get as much advice as possible, but – you don’t have to take everyone’s advice. 
Listen to your gut feeling
Learn every day, seek feedback at every opportunity
Most importantly – Believe in yourself
Now for some fun quickfire questions below: 

* The first thing I do in the morning is?…
Roll out of bed ready thanks to my lash extensions, throw on some gym clothes and head to F45!
* I would never leave home without? ……
A smile on my face!
* My three must-have beauty essentials are? …..
1. Lash extensions 
2. A good night time moisturiser. Right now I am loving the Drunk Elephant range 
3. My NARS longwear foundation 🙌
*My Guilty pleasure is? …… 
Sleeping in on a day off!
*One person I would love to meet would have to be? …..
Sir, Richard Branson. I love his people focused ethics and agree with it 100%
* The greatest life advice I ever received was? …….
My mother taught me to never judge anyone, seek to understand, have compassion and be forgiving. This really shaped the person I am today.

Thank you to Chantelle Delaney and Aleena May for taking the time out to do this interview.