We recently had the opportunity to interview Deb Farnworth-Wood, Owner and Managing Director at ISSADA. A serial entrepreneur, Deb is also the founder of a leading international medical-aesthetic franchise Australian Skin Clinics. Owing to her remarkable work life, Deb was named Gold Coast Woman in Business of the Year in 2017 and was a national finalist in the EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards in 2016.
Deb purchased ISSADA Cosmetics in 2020 and eventually launched the ISSADA Clinical Formula skincare range, a clean cosmeceutical range that had been in development for two years. In this interview, Deb shares her career trajectory and highlights of her business.
The Beginning
We started the interview by asking, “Can you walk us through your professional journey and how it led to where you are today?”
Deb shared, “I began my early career in hospitality but quickly moved into retail in office roles. As a natural problem solver, I quickly rose through the ranks in retail, becoming an office manager at 19. I adopted a ‘fake it till you make it’ approach, consistently exceeding expectations and demonstrating my capabilities. One notable instance was when I showed up to work in a suit, impressing the area manager who had previously met me multiple times and was asked to be identified – a testament to my successful strategy.
The manager joked that Debbie’s dressing for a promotion, but six weeks later, I got it. I excelled in systems implementation and store opening teams, taking on extra projects and problems so quick promotions followed. With London being the next step, but not my desired location, I reached a career plateau. Being panicked, I applied for a new job, seeking a fresh challenge.”
She added, “At that time, I was selected from 600 applicants for a commercial manager role with the UK National Health Service, helping GPs control budgets. Expected to last 6 months, it became an 18-year journey of challenge, growth, and reward. I received a partnership offer, navigated regulatory hurdles, built new medical premises, and took on diverse projects. Every 6 months brought new opportunities and intensity. Meanwhile, my husband and I grew a diet clinic chain, renovated properties, and raised two children.
Eventually, though I hit a wall and after burning out, I eagerly agreed to move to Australia with Shaun, my husband to retire at 45. We bought an aesthetic clinic for a visa, planning to sell it later. However, I soon got bored and unexpectedly built a $70M international franchise, which I sold in 2019. After that, I tried to retire again but my mind would not allow it, and when my friend asked me if I wanted to buy ISSADA, a brand I had been using for 12 years at that point. I knew I could scale it and make this my last adventure.”
Adaptability Amidst Adversities
Challenges are an inevitable part of every business journey. So, we asked, “Reflecting on your career, what have been some of the most significant challenges you’ve faced, and how did you overcome them?”
Deb shared, “Since a young age, I struggled with a lot of negative self-beliefs, fueled by a housemistress who said I’d never succeed. Despite passing exams through last-minute cramming, I battled with homework and spelling, feeling like I wasn’t trying hard enough. I was 35, before I realized, I had dyslexia and ADHD, which explained my challenges. Finally, the pieces fell into place, and I understood that my struggles weren’t due to lack of effort, but rather, undiagnosed conditions.
Despite the lack of day-to-day executive function, I was always good at seeing opportunities that others missed and so in my early career, I was often the youngest or the only woman in various roles. This often meant I had to navigate a lot of egos. When I was 22, I landed the Admin Manager role in a £7M department store and I had several staff in their 50’s and 60’s reporting to me. That was often challenging but I learned to be thick-skinned and not take the frequent digs at either my age or being female too personally.
That same year the company made redundancies and I had to lay off several staff. I was given only a 10-minute briefing beforehand and it was one of the most distressing things I’d ever had to do. A 64-year-old maintenance team member cried in my office when I had a hard conversation with him and although I held it together while he was in my office, I broke down the moment he left the room – I’ll never forget his look of despair.”
Striking a Perfect Balance
We further asked, “How do you balance long-term vision with short-term operational needs?”
She added, “I’m often frustrated when others don’t see the bigger picture or get caught up in trivia. I have a knack for being able to visualize the start line and the finishing point in an instant and can quickly work out the steps in between. That’s the easy part but finding the right people to deliver the goal is much harder. When I was building Australian Skin Clinics there was never a moment when I didn’t think I could do it, but later many friends and staff told me they thought it had been a pipe dream and didn’t take me seriously.
Successful businesses aren’t built overnight. Our company, ASC, grew from 1 to 60 clinics in 5 years, but that was preceded by 3 years of preparation. As businesses scale, teams face growing pains, including reduced access to founders and a shift from multi-tasking to specialized roles, leading to a natural turnover of early team members. It’s an ongoing process to preserve the company’s vision amidst change.”
Current Offerings At ISSADA
Eager to learn more about the upcoming projects and current offerings at ISSADA, we inquired, “Tell us more about your products and if you are planning to add something new in the future.”
“ISSADA’s point of difference is that we offer both cosmeceutical skincare and cosmeceutical mineral makeup which means we are all about healthy skin. We also manufacture all our skincare in our factory which means our formulas can be 100% unique and curated to ensure that the customer receives the best possible efficacy from the active ingredients.
We have also created an ‘All Superhero’ lineup of products which means we will not settle for anything less than amazing. New products tend to have newer ingredients such as our new Synbiotic Moisturizer which contains live probiotics to restore the skin microbiome within 30 minutes.” Deb shared.
Assessing The Right Trends
As a business leader, it is crucial to assess the right trends to adopt. To learn how Deb Farnworth-Wood does the same for her business, we asked, “What methods do you use to analyze market trends, and how have these influenced your business decisions?”
She added, “We focus on improving efficacy rather than following trends. I am old enough to have seen many trends come back around 2-3 times and I find myself rolling my eyes at some of the “new ideas” which I’ve seen before! Recently a competitor launched a product with an ingredient that we have been using for three years. In fairness their marketing was brilliant but at the end of the day, it was old news.
ISSADA also has a full-time formulator who has the role of researching new and innovative ingredients, and undertaking regular R&D. The staff love this too as they get to test the samples and have input into textures, scents, and packaging choices.”
Embracing Technological Evolution
Technological advancements have rapidly changed the business landscape. We asked, “How has digital transformation affected your business model?”
“Digital transformation has had a significant impact on our business and will continue to do so. In some areas, our tech stack is more sophisticated, and yet in other areas such as graphic design the tech has simplified making our work so much easier.
The days of complicated graphic software are over for ISSADA; anyone can jump on Canva and create or edit graphics and videos which has enabled amplification of our social media and digital marketing. Similarly, with new website apps, we now know more about our customers than ever before and even how to best communicate with them.” Deb responded.
Envisioning the Future
AI has reshaped the way businesses perform. To gather Deb Farnworth-Wood’s insights on this aspect, we asked, “What emerging technologies do you believe will have the most significant impact on your industry in the next five years?”
She said, “AI has already taken the beauty industry by storm with simulated try-ons and product recommendations but in the area of aesthetics the emergence of more sophisticated diagnostic tools integrated into devices will be a game changer for accuracy and consistency of treatment.”
Employee Empowerment and Satisfaction
We asked, “What strategies do you implement to maintain high levels of employee engagement and satisfaction?”
Deb added, “We are a compact team – about 36 across the various locations, but the fragmented locations make communication difficult and this was something we needed to address. We encouraged the staff to consider ways of organizing our workload better to meet all our needs – team happiness, meaningful interaction and communication between teams, and of course, delivering five-star service to the client.
We reduced our factory workweek to 4 days, improving the overlap between production, dispatch, and customer service. If work isn’t completed, we’ll revert to 5 days, but so far, it’s been successful. Our retail studios offer flexible scheduling, with teams managing their rosters and only one full-time staff member, despite being open 6/7 days a week.
Of course, all our teams also receive product allocations and can try new formulas. They also receive discounts at my aesthetic clinic. Finally, all teams are eligible for our employee trust profit-related bonuses and will benefit down the track when and if we reach a final exit. Full staff ownership could be possible one day.”
Building A Lasting Legacy
Leaving a lasting mark is a goal for many. So, we asked, “How do you want to be remembered, and what steps are you taking to secure that legacy?”
She shared, “I have a couple of goals here. Firstly, I aspire to be remembered as a pioneering entrepreneur who successfully moved from the UK to Australia and spearheaded the exponential growth of two prominent Australian brands on the international stage. Notably, ISSADA is already experiencing rapid expansion globally, solidifying my legacy as a visionary business leader.
Secondly, I would not be where I am today if it were not for people who have mentored and guided me over the years and I do believe in paying that forward. I’m currently on the boards of two healthcare companies – Aura Medical Group (Dermatology/Skin cancer and Aesthetic Clinics) and Gro Clinics (Hair Transplant Clinics) where I have the opportunity to share my experience and offer guidance. I also sponsor the Women in Business Awards Australia which in turn provides opportunities to work with other female entrepreneurs and leaders to help shape and mentor the generations coming through.”
Follow Deb Farnworth-Wood on LinkedIn.
Find ISSADA on LinkedIn, Pinterest, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and their website https://issada.com/
