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JANE WURWAND
Interview Phadria Prendergast
Upon relocating to the United States in 1983 and seeing a gap in the market for skincare education, Jane Wurwand opened her first training institution before disrupting the industry and launching her skincare line Dermalogica.
WOTC catch up with the skincare mogul to discuss evolving, lasting the test of time and whether there’s anything she would change.
Phadria Prendergast: Tell us about your family and what growing up was like, does entrepreneurship run in the family?
Jane Wurwand: I grew up in Scotland and am the youngest of four girls. My mother was widowed when she was just 38 and raised us on her own. My mother always said “learn how to do something, so you will always be able to provide for yourself. If you must do it alone, as I did, you must be able to put food on the table, a roof over your head, and provide for your family.” While entrepreneurship does not run in the family, I didn’t want to be left vulnerable like I saw my mother after my father died. That’s what led me to start looking beyond the small English town that my family moved to when I was nine. Beyond the small hair salon, I worked at as a teen, and beyond the narrowness of the council housing and free lunch vouchers that I grew up with, and to start looking into how to create my own future. I became an entrepreneur.
Phadria: What did your parents do?
Jane: My mother was trained as a nurse but had given up working when she married my father. My father was an electrical engineer and passed away when I was two years old.
Phadria: It’s been close to 4 decades of Dermalogica, how have you remained focused on the main goal?
Jane: Our goal at Dermalogica is to bring respect and success to professional skin therapists and in doing so, bring their client's skin to its optimum health and condition. That goal is timeless. Too many people give up when things take too long, get rough or they lose interest. I was always playing a ‘long game’ and not a quick ‘build and flip’ of Dermalogica. Stay focused, be persistent, and go back to those couple of pages you wrote when the idea you had was burning hot, remind yourself of what it is that you really want in your life, and as importantly, why it will benefit other people as well as yourself.
Phadria: Talk to us about those first 3 years of business — I think those are some of the most pivotal years, what was that like?
Jane: The first 3 years are the ‘make or break’ period in any new business. Most small businesses don't make it past the first 2. It isn’t just about the funding, hard work and good luck – it is as important to stay focused, be clear on your position and point of difference, be prepared to keep going when it gets harder than you ever thought and be relentless in your belief and commitment to it making a difference to others who will benefit from your product or service. There is no Plan B.
Phadria: And making that first 10-year milestone? Can you still remember it? Talk us through it.
Jane: Less than 3% of women-owned businesses ever make it to $1M and less than 1% make it to $10M. At our 10-year milestone, we were way past that number and were absolutely determined to beat the odds against us. I remember the 10-year milestone because it was clear that we were doing the right thing and if we kept focused and didn’t screw it up, we would blow through the expectations.
Phadria: Tell us about the school you launched with your husband and what it’s evolved into today?
Jane: Education is always first in any change and is pivotal to rethinking the norm. We recognized that skin therapy education was not elevated in the United States, so we put my training, passion, and experience into action by starting The International Dermal Institute (IDI) in 1983 and then Dermalogica in 1986. Today, IDI is considered the international gold standard for postgraduate skin and body therapy training 100,000 skin therapists annually. The International Dermal Institute redefines professional excellence and offers skin therapists a unique opportunity to reach their personal best.
Phadria: By 2013, you had over 100,000 skin therapists, what’s that figure now?
Jane: We currently train 100,000 skin therapists a year in over 100 countries.
Phadria: Being in business with your husband, what’s that like?
Jane: I have never known or met anyone smarter than Raymond. He and I are two halves of the skill sets needed for our business. We are both different personalities, yet we are in complete agreement on our goals, value systems and desire to make a difference. Sure, we have ‘Fierce Conversations’ because we care about our viewpoints and we always know that despite our differing approaches, our goals are identical. We both want the same outcomes.
Phadria: Talk to us about the move from the UK to the US, what sparked that move? Did you ever get moments where you want to pack up shop and go back to the UK? Or were you determined that you had to make it?
Jane: After a record-breaking cold winter in the UK in 1977, I knew I wanted to live somewhere else. Six weeks later, I was on a flight to South Africa, immigrating as a beauty therapist. When the opportunity to migrate to the US and get a work visa presented itself, it was like opening a Willy Wonka chocolate bar and finding the golden ticket. I packed one suitcase and moved to Los Angeles. I quickly discovered that there was a gap in professional skincare education. The training in America was minimal at best and only 7 of the 50 states even had a license to practice skin care. I saw this as an opportunity. The professional skin therapist industry needed to be established here and the opportunity was huge. Our goal was to bridge the gap in the training between the California state board license which was about four months, and the two- or three-year full-time training that was common in Europe. In doing this, we upskilled the professional skin therapist to start a professional salon industry, which we would then continue to train. After purchasing a mailing list from the California licensing board, I began offering classes in advanced skin care for $10 to cosmetologists. This led to the start of the International Dermal Institute, and in 1986, three years later, Dermalogica was founded.
Phadria: We love how interactive you are with your followers. What brought on tea with Jane?
Jane: Well to be honest it was a cheeky idea that came up when I was talking with my team. We wanted to do something fun and engaging with our audience. I’m British; I love to drink tea and I love to spill it if you know what I mean. It just made sense. It’s important to always be our authentic selves and never consider that to be a weakness – our originality is our key strength. as Oscar Wilde said, ‘Be yourself. Everyone else is taken’.
Phadria: What do you think the key to evolving is?
Jane: Being authentically YOU and speaking your truth even though your voice may be shaking. That leads to never shrinking yourself, your ideas, or your capacity for success.
Phadria: At every stage that you launched something new or did something different within the business, how did you know it was time to do that thing?
Jane: When you have 70% of the information needed, make a decision. You will never have 100% of the information and if you wait until you do, you will have missed the timing. Make the decision and follow through fast. Most people are too risk aversive or simply indecisive – they never have enough data to take the leap, so they always stand on the sidelines. Never stand on the sidelines of your own life. Live it large.
Phadria: What’s one key thing managing people has taught you?
Jane: Have empathy and be kind. When you have a disagreement, it’s important to show consideration for other individuals, teams, or work that others have already put in. It’s easy to just think about your own opinions in a situation. Collaboration requires us to create bonds with other people and to sit down and craft success for everyone by helping, sharing, and supporting each other. When a connection is developed, the work is easier and so much more fun.
Phadria: What’s one thing you would change if you could if any?
Jane: The incomprehensible gender gap in funding for businesses. Less than 4% of ANY funding whether it’s a private equity, venture capital, bank loans, angel investing etc. goes to women. And less than 1% for women of colour. This is even though women of colour start businesses at 9 times the rate of anyone else and every study shows that having more diversity in the company builds profits. Show us the money!
Phadria: What’s next for Jane Wurwand?
Jane: Professionally, I am still involved with steering the vision of the Dermalogica brand. Personally, my next chapter is focused on growing FOUND, our nonprofit initiative that supports local entrepreneurs to help them build their businesses, their purpose, and their community. I’m using all the knowledge that I’ve learned through my career because I know that by supporting our local entrepreneurs, we build thriving communities. 100% of all profits from my book, ‘Skin in the Game’ is donated to funding, supporting, and teaching local entrepreneurs.
