Growing up in the quiet country town of Rathdowney, Kymberly Griffiths was nothing less than a dreamer.
Although she may have been quiet herself, nothing got in the way of turning her dreams into a reality – the dream to start her own business.
In high school, Kymberly was always interested in beauty but felt as if she didn’t fit into the mould of a beautician.
“I never thought I had the personality to do it – I thought that somebody doing beauty would have to be an extrovert, put yourself out there and be very forward with everything,” she said.
“When I was younger, I was very shy and didn’t have a lot of confidence in myself, so, I didn’t think I could do it.”
Although her love for beauty was put on hold, her desire to start a business didn’t diminish as easily.
In 2011, Kymberly decided to start her own family daycare at home to be able to spend more time with her family of four.
“I’d been going to a playgroup for a number of years and there were a few family daycare mums that would go to that, and I was like ‘you know what, I can do this’,” she said.
“Out in Rathdowney, there wasn’t anything else out there, so I would have to travel to somewhere to work, which would mean my kids would have to be in care – so, I was like ‘let’s give it a go.”
Kymberly dedicated five years to her daycare business before deciding to focus on a different area of interest.
“I did the family daycare and love doing that because it was my business,” she said.
“I absolutely loved doing it, then I realised that maybe there’s something else that I would like to do.”
She considered opening her own beauty salon after gaining more confidence through running her first business.
“When I did the family daycare and I was dealing with kids and people on a regular basis, I was like, ‘I actually think I can do this’,” Kymberly said.
“So, I did, and I love it – absolutely love it.”
Kymberly is now the proud owner of The Desert Skin and Beauty salon after opening in August 2022.
“I feel very lucky. I’ve put in a lot of hard work, and it still blows my mind that I even have it,” she said.
“I feel lucky because I get to do what I love doing every day.”
