Jennifer Glodik’s story has quite the edge to it. This 30-year-old Russian was married too young, experienced a lot of pain at the hands of her then-husband and mother-in-law, lost everything she built up, and was eventually left with nothing. If she wasn’t made of steel, she would have given up on life.
Ms. Glodik, however, is a go-getter
At 19, Jennifer went to the US to work as an exchange student. She saw many opportunities in business and knew she wanted to be an entrepreneur. At 21, Jennifer got a master’s degree in foreign philology and linguistics, learned five languages, got married at the age of 22, and then decided it was time to start a business.
“I did my research and found that in South Africa, the beauty industry had a massive gap in knowledge, service, and technologies,” says Glodik.
She says she knew that was the gap to fill. Jennifer returned to Russia – her country of birth – and took beauty and the aesthetic course that was certified and returned to South Africa to start Diva Slimming and Aesthetics Centre.
“After two years, my [now ex-mother-in-law] decided it was time for me to go to Russia and while she takes over my business. They successfully did it and I was left with nothing but debt. I had R50 (less than $4) in my wallet to survive for a month,” she says.
With the help of her parents, Glodik picked herself up. The Diva Slimming and Aesthetics Centre currently has two head offices, one in Sunninghill, Johannesburg, and the other in Garsfontein, Pretoria. They have also opened 65 salons across South Africa in the last five years.
We did an exclusive interview with Jennifer, where she described some of her most integral beliefs.
1. What do health and wellness mean to you?
“Health and wellness are two of the most important aspects of life for me. Look after your body, it’s the only place you live in. As an entrepreneur and the owner of an Aesthetic business, I have to be a great example for my clients and my colleagues. Every day I am trying to find a balance in my life in order to run the business, be in the right state of mind, and to look good, because – as an entrepreneur – your health is your strongest asset.”
2. What is the biggest trend in Aesthetics and cosmetology in 2018?
“Truly said, I am not running after “the trends” of the year, we are always looking for technologies that give results. For me, it’s not really important when exactly have they been invented, as long as they work. This year, though, it seems that everyone is mad about those eye patches that claim to remove your wrinkles (I don’t think it’s entirely true; wrinkle reduction is a difficult process and entails more than a tape under your eyes).”
3. As a successful entrepreneur, what is the most important thing you have learned from your experience thus far?
“I have learned that “Success” is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty, and persistence. Success is about how many lives you have changed.
I have learned not to rely on anyone but myself. It doesn’t matter how many times you fell, it’s about how many times you managed to get up. Every time you feel like giving up, take a step, look back and see how far you went and what it was for and who it was for. Also, if people try to bring you down or don’t believe in you (or in a project you were about to do with them) leave those people behind and keep moving forward!”
4. You were born in Russia, well-known for being the home country of some of the most beautiful women on the planet. What are the top beauty tips you would like to share?
“My beauty tips for ladies are as follows:
- STOP using so much makeup. Make-up leads to premature aging. Instead, keep your skin hydrated all the times; it’s not about looking younger than your age, it’s about looking fabulous at your age.
- Once a month go see your cosmetologist, and you won’t have any problems for long.
- Let professionals help you, don’t experiment with products you don’t know. Also, if your cosmetologist is unable to explain what is inside of the product he/she is putting on your skin and how it works…RUN and never come back.“
5. You mentioned wanting to expand Diva on an international scale. How has this developed, and what are the biggest challenges in this regard?
“This is true, but my husband-to-be has decided differently, and this year is full of wedding plans that keep me distracted, but we will be expanding for sure. Next year, we are planning to open Diva offices in Cape Town and Durban. At the moment we are actively busy with our weight loss reality project that we will showcase pretty soon. We have selected a number of South African ladies who will go through 3 months of our treatment – together with fitness instructors – and we will show the reveal of real people and real results. We start with our show in May; our contestants are patiently waiting. Expanding internationally is definitely a plan and it’s still happening.”
