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She is passionate about what she does. And it’s obvious not just by what she has to say about her business (and

hobby, and belief!) but the way she says it.

Megan Larsen, at 44, looks like she lives the life she propagates and sells. No botoxified smiles and wrinkles that have been surgically decreased.

It is all about being, looking and feeling natural.

Now if that sounds like a PR for her company and its products, then we’ll set the score right immediately.

When WT was approached to interview the founder of Sodashi (a company that formulates skincare products and spa therapies, con-sidered to be the only 100 percent natural range devoted exclusively to the spa industry), we thought that it would be about yet another person trying to make big bucks out of seri-ous, negative image issues women (and increasingly men) live with.

And we asked her as much.What makes Megan interesting is

that she not only works in a line that is of interest to everyone – look-ing good, feeling better, but she is also a successful businessperson and entrepreneur, who has managed to synchronise her personal and business philosophies.

Why Sodashi?In Sanskrit, it means wholeness, purity and radiance, and everything should come back to those three words.

Sanskrit, because my life is Ayurvedic in many ways. I follow many of the Ayurvedic principles. And I have been completely en-trenched in Ayurveda – what it can do, and how it can help. It is an easy philosophy to understand. There are a lot of Indian traditions that I love. There is a spirituality that I can understand and live with.

It is about bringing all that together.

A very close friend is both my per-sonal and my company’s Ayurvedic consultant. Understanding the ‘do-

Skins, spas and the bottomline

Digging deeper

worldwidewoman

By Vani Saraswathi

Ayruveda: An ancient Indian system of preventive

health care. (The name means “knowledge of life.”)

According to this system, bodily health is determined

by three biological prin-ciples, called doshas: Vata,

which regulates movement; Pitta, which regulates

metabolism; and Kapha, which regulates structure.

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shas’ has helped me keep my own life on track. Understanding ‘doshas’ also helps you understand people, very quickly. Depending on their ‘doshas’ you can figure out where their bal-ances and imbalances are.

I also looked at the different ‘do-shas’, their balances and imbalances, while creating Sodashi.

For instance, products for oily skin, I was looking at copper and copper imbalance...

I use it (Ayurveda) as a medicine as well. My room is filled with Ayurvedic pills.

But your expertise is Aromathera-py... when did you begin to develop an interest in that?I was born in New Zealand, and moved to Australia when I was 18. Interest in natural health developed only as I grew older. I can’t say I had it since I was young.

In Australia I studied beauty ther-apy, though I never officially worked in that capacity. However, I did have an understanding of what it was all about and it was about 10 years later that I got heavily involved in aroma-therapy. And really alongside of that I started studying natural therapies.

Then a couple of things happened that were major turning points in my life. I went to France to study aromatherapy and realised, by getting a great understanding of the chemi-cal constituents of essential oils, that all of the research that has been done earlier, has to be true.

Because everyone in laboratories were trying emulate exactly what these essential oils were doing in terms of skin and cell regeneration. I came back from France (I was operating a natural therapy centre then) and started to look at the skin

care products that were being sold, and was thinking – ‘what do they say they were going to do for the skin?’

So I started to experiment, and that was the fun part of it. Working out what essential oils, plant oils etc worked with, and then I really just started doing it for my own skin.

What I realised was that I was able to put together formulas that worked on my skin, and my skin was not easy. It was really effective.

How did you take it ahead?There are lot of people out there, who want things that are natural. They are environmentally conscious, they want natural stuff; and then there are a whole lot of people who actually don’t care. All they want is something that shows great results, looks after their skin, and they really don’t care where it comes from.

I think what we managed to do with Sodashi is to create something that worked for both persons – it works for the person that is extremely natural and the one that isn’t. And I think that most men and women are the same that they don’t want to use skin care products that don’t work. They maybe environment-conscious, but are not going to use product just because its natural if doesn’t work.

Most people want to see some sought of result – slowing down the ageing process for one.

There is a debate on that... Doctors argue that anti-ageing products don’t really work.Ok, doctors are saying that it is impossible to regenerate or simulate the regeneration of skin cells. Well, here is an example: A French scientist in the 1940s, burnt himself quite severely in a laboratory experiment.

And the only thing he had nearby, to treat the burn, was a beaker of lavender essential oil, which he poured over the burn. A chemical burn in a laboratory is very severe. And the regeneration of cells in the new skin growth was really outstand-ing. He had obviously suffered many minor burns before in the laboratory, and never before had he seen a burn repair and regenerate so well and so quickly. And that was with applying lavender essential oil continuously.

Aromatherapy, like other natural therapies, comes from a base that is pure and natural, and they all supply the body and the skin the tools to be in optimal health. And to me that’s what natural health is about. It is not something that masks and covers something up, it is about working with the body’s own, innate, heal-ing processes. All of our bodies can actually regenerate and be restored to perfect health, it just needs to be given the right tools.

But claims of just dabbing a clay or lotion to look 10 years younger... That’s what doctors are warning against. Is there a fear of your product being classified with that? No, I don’t. It is also up to people in Sodashi to educate on this. I don’t think just spending one week looking after your skin is going to give you miraculous results. Your skin is really reflecting everything that is going in your life. It really doesn’t matter what you put on your skin if you continue to have an abusive lifestyle/diet. I think if you are working in harmony with everything, you are going to get the best possible results.

The trend is towards wellness – the spa industry now is about looking well, being well, feeling well.

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You can’t deny that it’s easy to tell women (and men) that they have flaws and they will believe it... and buy the anti-dote.I don’t think it is easy...

But women especially are ready to focus on the flaws...Yes, I understand what you are saying. Sally Zanetic, the CEO of Sodashi, when she joined us, told me that what was difficult for her was, walking into a department store and being hunted by every person trying to sell his/her product with empty promises...

She gave me an insight into what it was being a lady who has no prior knowledge of any sought of therapy or cosmetics, and it is actually some of the most valuable advice anyone has ever been able to give me.

What I realised from that and why I know Sodashi is quite successful is that we do deliver on our promises. When we say to someone that our product will have a certain effect on their skin, then that’s the effect it will have.

Now to the question that you have asked... yes, at first they are con-cerned about their skin and they are willing to try a product, but if it doesn’t achieve results, then they are only ever going to be a first time customer. They are not going to be a regular. They will never come back to your spa, and they will never buy your skin care product again.

Now, a statistics I can give you is the return rate on spend on our website, which is 85 percent, and that is really high. And you wouldn’t be getting that if people aren’t getting results.

At the spa in Qatar (at the Four Seasons Hotel), 80 percent of clients

are repeat. Men or women?More women, but the number of men is steadily increasing.

(In Qatar 40 percent of clients are men, adds Michael Clarke, Director of Spas and Recreation, Four Seasons. And Male-only spas popping up every-where, he points out.)

Sodashi is also sending out a mes-sage on the environment, how well is that received? Do people take note?When we introduced Sodashi into the Spa industry, I must say it was

difficult, because not everyone was in tune with that. Now we are in great demand, because, more and more people want that wellness ele-ment. And especially in countries like Maldives, where everything goes back into the ocean, they have to use chemical treatment plant or other natural ways to recycle their waste water, we are getting popular - its natural and there is nothing that will pollute.

Every individual needs to be respon-sible for the environment. We cannot shrug it off saying, it is not going to happen in my lifetime.

Do you monitor where the plants are growing, where you source your essential oils from. That they grow in the best environment?Absolutely. Not only do we know where they are grown – because I’ve established relationships with the growers, we use a reader, to measure the chemical content of the essential oils. Certain essential oils need to have a minimum amount of chemi-cal constituents – it is part of my job to ascertain this. I have developed a good nose over the year, and when I smell an essential oil I know if it is from a good plant and a good crop. We source it from about 19 countries, and produce it in Perth, Australia.

What exactly are essential oils?Essential oils are distilled from plants and are about 70 times more potent than the plants themselves. For example, when we pick lavender, we pick about 20kgs and distil about 2lts. So that gives you an idea. Then it takes about 30 rose blooms to get one drop of rose oil.

Essential oils are extremely expen-sive – unfortunately, much more than

“It (natural therapy) is not something that masks and covers something up, it is about working with the body’s own, innate, healing processes.”

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I would like it to be. You took a passion and commer-cialised it. What professional disci-pline and help does that require?It is always hard. Initially it was a hobby. It was something I was extremely passionate about, and it is something I continue to be extremely passionate about.

What you need to do both psycho-logically and physically is transform a hobby into a business proposition.

It posed some challenges to me. There were all kinds of things I had to change, and all kinds of ideas I had to re-think – it was absolutely fine when it was a hobby, but they were no longer appropriate for a busi-ness. I think treating it like a busi-ness, is what it is now. And that is important, otherwise a lot of things get compromised.

What happens when you convert a hobby to a profession is that you transfer the passion as well, that never leaves. You are constantly reminding yourself why you started this in the first place. The five things that were really, really important in the beginning, are still important now. There maybe an additional 50 things that important now, but those five continue to be the most impor-tant. Everything has to come from the heart. If it doesn’t, then it isn’t complete.

What were the five in your case?1. Never to compromise on the ingredients. It has to be 100 percent natural, and it had to be able to form a product that was 100 percent effective.

2. And so we had to have a 100 percent effective product.

3. We wanted an environment that was caring, for people to work there.

We had to be conscious on how we worked. I think that is brought about by creating harmony.

4. The training is really very impor-tant. And that is one reason we are popular, because our Spas know that they will get the best trainers. And our trainers are competent, and there are probably very few questions that they can’t answer.

5. To have fun. I want everyone that touches Sodashi to have fun, joy and bliss. The qualities we need to have in our life.

Do you consider yourself a success-ful businesswoman or a successful

therapist?I think I am a successful business-woman, and I have never worked as a therapist. Having trained as a therapist, what I do know is what works and what doesn’t.

How big is Sodashi today?Sodashi is present in 34 spas, with an average of 20 trained staff per spa. The company has dedicated spa trainers who spend 2-3 weeks in each spa, and impart all of their knowl-edge.

In the Middle East, we have two – here and in Dubai, Medinat Jumeirah.

Are you trying to expand your aromatherapy experience to other areas outside of skin care?Essential oils work at all different elements. They work physically, they work emotionally and they work mentally. When someone inhales/ smells an essential oil, it sends a message within seconds to the brain, that will stimulate many different processes. I have to know about all this to use it in skin care, because we also need to treat essential oils with a lot of respect. They are very powerful substances. You would never apply them neat to your skin, they need to be diluted... you do need to under-stand essential oils. If you don’t, you wont understand what happens when you mix oils, they are very volatile, and you also need to be looking out that you are ensuring the health and harmony of your clients. You don’t want to be giving them oils that are going to depress them or upset them, or giving them so much that it is too much for their body to take. I don’t think I could have developed the skin care line, if I had not studied

“...small businesses are gov-erned by your own personal growth. And I think it is important to work on your personal growth to work on your professional growth.”

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aromatherapy first.

Do you even attempt to strike a work-life balance, do you manage to?This is my life. Absolutely. My hus-band would tell you that. It is easy for me because I love it. I have had to work hard at maintaining a balance, and my husband has been instru-mental in that. So instead of working seven days, he would only let me work six days. I would not work want to work in any business that I am not passionate about. And I am lucky that those who work with me are also passionate.

But outside of Sodashi, I do things that help me keep stable and sane. Yoga and meditation, that creates some balance in my life. All of our training team practices meditation. And that’s really important. It’s a very demanding job for them, to be in a spa and give so much of them-selves. So it is good for them to have a technique that is restorative.

What kind of professional help did you get when you set-up business?I did get when I set-up and I con-tinue to... and I don’t mean that psychologically!

My partner is actually a financial advisor... things in business need to be watched constantly...we have an unnerving statistics in Australia that 95 percent of small businesses failed in the first five years. Only five percent of all small businesses that get past the first five years, and you can imagine how relieved I was when we got past that!

What I have learnt is that small businesses are governed by your own personal growth. And I think it is important to work on your personal

growth to work on your professional growth. In many ways your business is your consciousness. It is very much about who you are, what you are and where you are going.

And by working on your per-sonal growth, you also work on the relationships you build with your staff, your clients... I use many dif-ferent consultants. The CEO is an extremely successful business coach, and in many ways she helps to coach me as well. As a founder, you are responsible as a gatekeeper. You are responsible for the kind of people who join the company, where you are placed... It is a huge responsibility that you should never take lightly.

How does it feel to be a woman in business?

I may sound like it’s been all easy. But it’s tough. At times you may end up in a boardroom with all women. When women first got into business, they thought they had to be hard and tough like women. Now they are softer.

As a woman in business, it is very important to keep the male-female energy balance. You don’t want to use any of those qualities negatively. You don’t want to become hard and sharp. Something that women can do is use their hearts wisely.

Your decisions are from the heart or the head?I use both. You need to. I remember my great uncle gave me an advice: Think with your heart and feel with your mind. And I think that’s really important, you need to do both. You don’t want to be naive either. And that will also allow you to operate with integrity.

I have a lot of courage. And you need to find that in you. No matter how deep it is or how close to the surface it. You need to find it to be in business.

And you also need to surround yourself with positive influences. You don’t want someone saying get out of it, but someone who is saying ‘Why are you doing this? What is it that you love and are doing?’ In my case, that was my husband.

You need those positive people. But the first thing you need is courage. You need good knowledge of what it is you are going to enter into, you need to understand the business and be prepared to take a lot of advice along the way. Don’t think you know everything, because you don’t. I am still learning. You’ve got to hold strong and keep faith

“As a woman in business, it is very important to keep the male-female energy balance...You don’t want to become hard and sharp...”

worldwidewoman