From ecstasy to a pandemic to recession, in just six months the journey of first time business owners Marisa and Illiana Conway has had all the twists and turns of a soapie.
"We always said we'd open our business in 2020 and it was already going to be stressful," Marisa, 26, said on Wednesday as she waited for a client to arrive at her Hamilton hair, beauty and makeup salon Sorella.
With the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showing the nation has had its deepest economic contraction since the 1930s, with the economy shrinking by 6.3 per cent in the past year, the Conway sisters are banking on their loyal clients to keep indulging.
"Selfcare is more included in people's lifestyle rather than a luxury these days. People factor it into their budgets," Marisa said.
The Conway sisters worked in hair salons in Newcastle before renting a salon chair at Mayfield's Muster Point Collective two years ago.
Keen to start their own salon, they found a site for rent in Tudor Street, Hamilton and signed a lease in February, intending to give it a makeover before opening.
"Three weeks later it was a global pandemic and panic stations," says Marisa, a beautician and hair dresser.
"It was crazy and stressful."
While able to continue to hair dress, Marisa was unable to work in beauty and makeup, and some of her clientele were impacted with the restrictions on gatherings such as weddings.
The siblings were contracted to work at Muster Point until July then planned to open their Sorella - the Italian word for 'sister' and a nod to their heritage. "We waited a month and got a scope as to what was going on and then we just thought, 'Greenlight, let's just start'," she said.
In mid-April she and Illiana, 28, began working on the renovation of their first business as they continued to work at Muster Point.
Despite the stress of the next three months, Marisa says the lockdown and the pandemic has been a blessing in disguise, "in the craziest kind of way".
"We ended up having time that we wouldn't have thad o plan so many things without the distraction of work," she says. "As local girls we know a lot of people and with other businesses quiet we thought let's support them."
The economic statistics, however, do not sit easily.
Nothing is more stressful than opening a business when you start comparing what is going on in the world to the Great Depression.
Marisa Conway
"Nothing is more stressful than opening a business when you start comparing what is going on in the world to the Great Depression ..if someone says to me 'The Great Depression' it's horrifying," she says.
Nonetheless, she believes that Australians who have cancelled travel and other luxuries will continue to support the self-care industry.
"People are a bit down on themselves and our job is to make people feel good so if people aren't going away they are willing to spend money to look good because if you feel you look good, you feel good," she says.
Marisa said it was a positive to be working side by side with her sister and that the pair were grateful for their loyal clients and the support they had received from friends and family members in small business.
"Business is always risky but we are taking it on board and working as much as we can just in case we have to shut," she said.
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