Blog 4: The end of an Era
It quickly became apparent how bad this situation was, some of the clients came to see me and suggested I get the first flight back to the Gold Coast to find a lawyer—urgently. Rob, even though friends with Clair had been extremely supportive as he knew what she was like.
“You need to tell Claire you’re going back to work. And you need to get a lawyer. This isn’t good, but we’re here to support you. We’ve got your back.” Said Sarah.
I’m so grateful I built a genuine relationship with those patients—despite having no formal training in plastic surgery or in business. I booked the first flight home, riddled with anxiety and feelings of shame and guilt. I had failed. I knew I should have trusted my intuition that day when I saw her car. I knew something wasn’t right, but I’d been so desperate for the business to succeed that I ignored my gut instinct.
I immediately organised a meeting with a lawyer. I arrived in Brisbane, went straight to her office on the Gold Coast, where the lawyer went over the contract—telling me it was locked down, airtight. That the contract was impossible to get out of.
In the days that followed, Claire continued her antics—her disappearing acts, skipping dinners, neglecting the clients. She stayed in her hotel with a Thai man who visited her every few days. One client even saw her buying prescription drugs from a shady pharmacy in town.
The stress and anxiety nearly killed me. Claire was due to return to Australia in just two days. I was still working at Embody Beauty, Dale unaware I’d bought a franchise and gone to Thailand for work. I’d told him I was taking a holiday with friends.
The lawyer had made it clear there was no way out of this five-year contract. The thought of working with that woman for five more years made me feel physically sick. I knew I had to do something.
I stayed in daily contact with the clients still in Thailand. One of them suggested writing statements about her unusual behavior and lack of due diligence. The lawyer told us that if we could prove Claire had breached the contract, there might be a way out. One by one, the clients sent in their statements—I ended up with 12 A4 page statements by the end of the week.
One detailed a very specific account of her behaviour—from the way she dressed to her strange behaviour. Another described her lack of professionalism and neglect for her clients. Their statements all painted a clear picture: Claire had breached her side of the agreement, which was supposed to be a training trip for me.
I will be forever thankful for those clients—without their support, I’d have never been able to escape that nightmare. Some of them even encouraged me to start my own business, to create my own version of “Cosmetic Holidays International.” But the post-traumatic stress from that event and my first business venture was to much to handle.
For months, the legal battle dragged on. Claire wanted the money I owed her, even threatening to go after my parents’ house, they’d been the guarantors. I still believe she was sleeping with her lawyer because some of her requests were so outrageous. One day, she wanted my parents’ house; the next, she insisted I keep working for her for the full five years.
Finally, she settled. She kept the deposit I paid her but agreed I wouldn’t have to pay the rest. In exchange, I was required to sign a gag order, preventing me from discussing her business or the events that transpired for seven years, or I would face a lawsuit.
My lawyer told me that was as good as it was going to get. So, I signed the agreement and never saw her again. I buried it deep down—never really talking about the trauma for years.
I was 26—my first attempt at running a business. What a failure.
After my final trip to Europe with Embody Beauty, failed relationships, and a deep sense of unsettlement, I knew it was time to leave the Gold Coast and start over.
I told Dale I wanted to move back home and leave the company. At the time, I was the National Representative and the only person in Australia who knew our skin needling equipment and method inside and out. Dale suggested we expand our reach into other locations, since we’d exhausted the Gold Coast, Brisbane, and Sunshine Coast, maybe I could keep my job while working remotely from Melbourne. My focus would be on building a client base in Victoria.
We both agreed, and so I packed up my orange Suzuki Swift with the black racing stripes, ready to drive to Melbourne. The best thing about working for them was they trusted me to do what ever I wanted. I had the freedom I always longed for in a job.
Within just two days, I said my goodbyes to friends, packed up my bedroom (I never owned anything that did'n’t fit in my car). I was a gypsy, always on the move. The Gold Coast had been my longest stint, 9 years, and the only place that felt like home. Every time I landed on Gold Coast soil, I felt a deep sense of belonging. That feeling stayed with me long after I left. It was bittersweet—sad to leave, but excited for a new adventure.
With a tiny car packed full of my possessions, including an IPL machine, a skin needling device, and a microdermabrasion machine, I set off to conquer the Victorian beauty scene. I was ready to build something new, to prove myself all over again.