Temple wins coveted gong

A local beauty and hair salon that began as a small team of three has flourished to become a thriving team of 19 in just 18 months.

This success was officially recognised when the Temple Boutique Spa received the best start-up business award at the West Australian Regional Small Business Awards last week.

Working from a 120-year-old heritage-listed building, Carlyssa Birkbeck and her partner Jared Lane’s labour of love and first business venture has grown exponentially.

“I feel so excited for our future and it's so satisfying seeing the seeds you have sown start to flourish,” Ms Birkbeck said.

“I felt so proud to be recognised for the hard work of not only myself, but Jared’s craftsmanship, building us a masterpiece to reside in and our amazing team, who have been behind us and contributed to such a huge part our success in our first year of business.”

Ms Birkbeck said the business’ success had come from following a simple philosophy of providing a warm, down-to-earth atmosphere for both clients and staff.

“Our secret is running our business with heart and treating our staff with the love and respect they deserve,” she said.

“If your staff are happy, your clients always benefit and all our girls go the extra mile because of this relationship we have built with all of them.

“Customer satisfaction is at our forefront, and these princi-ples alone have created an extremely loyal following and movement.”

The Temple also won best start- up business at the Albany Chamber of Commerce Great Southern Business Awards in September and Ms Birkbeck said the Temple was still looking to the future.

“Long-term we plan to branch into Denmark and create a ... Temple retreat to really capture the “worship your body” with a Temple product line in its beginning stages and a beautiful day spa being designed to come to life in our next chapter,” she said.