Due in part to her vocation, but also largely due to her ability to form long-lasting relationships, Christie Foster is an extremely well-known entrepreneur in the Hunter region.
A Hairdresser by trade, it was in 2015 that Christie launched her own salon, Foster & Co, focusing on developing a smooth-running business, that has a focus on fun, love and laughter for their clients, with beautiful hair at its core.
Christie has developed a company culture that places clients first and foremost, as well as a deep commitment to the local community, including ongoing support and donations to The Mark Hughes Foundation.
- What journey led you to start your own business?
It’s a journey that started…I can cry. My beautiful dad lives in heaven and when he was sick and dying, I was miserable in my workplace and just wasn’t really loving life. I had a real honest conversation with him about what would make me happy and what was the best thing for me. So I made a promise to him that that’s what I would do; that I’d go out and I’d launch Foster & Co.
So everything I do day, in day out is around that promise to my dad. The business started five and a half years ago; I was renting a chair in a friend’s salon in Hamilton so I could get some money behind me, get some branding happening and really plan my dream.
In November 2014 I found an amazing premise in Merewether so I could put my dream into reality. And since then it’s just been absolutely bliss. I love it.
- Did you always know you wanted to be an entrepreneur?
Absolutely not. It’s quite funny, I don’t really consider myself to be an entrepreneur. I’m surrounded by incredible people every day, but to me I’m just this girl that’s living a dream.
I love hair, it’s been my passion for 25 years, and I guess it’s taken me to some amazing places and I’ve met amazing people which, as a result, I guess you would say is quite entrepreneurial.
- What is one action or task you ensure you incorporate into your diary each week?
I’m a bit of a planner, so I tend to have a yearly plan and I break it down quarterly, monthly and weekly plan. So my diary is kind of my best friend. I sit down at the beginning of the week and have a look at what I’ve got to do each day to see what I need to do before I go to work or if there’s anything important I need my team to do for me. This ensures we can run a really smooth, successful business every day, because consistency in organisation is just the key to everything in life, especially when you want to run a really beautiful business.
- What do you attribute your success to?
I guess there’s a million different ways you can look at this question. Success is different to everybody.
Success for me is the balance of being able to do beautiful things with my family and my friends and to be able to sleep really well at night. But I think that some people would say that success comes through drive, motivation, passion, determination, skill, the never give up attitude and that fire in my belly that never seems to smoulder. But ultimately to run a really amazing hair salon consistently like I have, I can’t do it without my amazing clients
So whether I’ve got the drive, the determination or anything at all, I believe that the success of Foster & Co ultimately comes down to all those people that continue to walk through our doors and allow me to do what I do, and keep doing it for the time that I have. So success to me is a massive thank you to every person that’s ever been in Foster & Co.
- Which local entrepreneur do you find inspiring?
I would have to be honest and say I’m inspired every single day. Being a hairdresser, I can come across so many people that are continually doing something next-level that blows your mind. So it’s really hard to determine which one person to speak to that inspires me the most.
I can’t put my finger on one locally because Newcastle’s full of some incredible human beings that just do so many things, whether it’s in education, for the environment or just in day-to-day general life.
Our city is just amazing, but I have one little obsession with…I’m not sure if you’re familiar with the beautiful lady in Sydney, Roxy Jacenko? I am stuck on her Instagram every day. She’s in public relations and is this amazing woman who has a couple of kids and a thriving business, and just never seems to let anything get it down. So she inspires me often to just never give up and keep on going.