You can’t walk a mile in Eveline Charles’s shoes.

If you want to keep pace with the hard-charging Charles, try running 26.2 miles (42 kilometres).

Charles, the queen of Alberta’s beauty salon and spa industry, is no ordinary entrepreneur. She goes more than the extra mile.

When others are content running a mile, Charles runs marathons, including the prestigious Boston Marathon, which she conquered at age 42.

Jack Dagley photos, for Business Edge
Running the Boston Marathon motivated salon and spa maven Eveline Charles to take her business to a new level.

When others are content to run one salon, Charles picks up the pace and now owns and operates five EvelineCharles Salons & Spas in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.

Charles gives the impression she won’t rest easy until she has a stranglehold on the Canadian market for salons and spas.

Charles may be winning the race, but this is one rags-to-riches story that is far from over.

It’s about a tenacious Edmontonian who can’t see the finish line. 1. What was your childhood dream?

“I dreamed of being in business from the time I was 12 years old. I had an aunt (the late Beatrice Candel) who owned the theatre, the IGA and the hardware store in my home town (Falher, Alta.) I kind of looked at her and said I wanted to own my own business too. School was not my thing. I spent a lot of time sitting in the hallways because I was getting kicked out of class for being over-active. I had attention deficit disorder, but it wasn’t diagnosed then.”

2. What was your first job of any kind?

“When I was 12 years old, I sold popcorn in the theatre and then I graduated to selling theatre tickets, which was a big deal back then. I kind of did everything. I worked in restaurants, bars and as a chambermaid. I always had two or three jobs because from the time I was young, my family had no money. I even had to help my family out.”



3. Why did you leave the restaurant business to get into the salon business?

“The restaurant business went well, but I realized that it wasn’t the kind of business I wanted to be involved in. We were working from five or six in the morning until midnight. It was too much time and too much work for the profits that we were getting. A woman had a beauty salon for sale (in Falher). I always liked the fashion industry and I used to do people’s hair even before I was a stylist. I saw that she made a pretty good living at it. I went to (Marvel beauty school) not because I wanted to be a stylist, but because I wanted to own my own business.”

4. What was the turning point for your EvelineCharles Salons & Spas?

“Six years ago, after I ran the Boston Marathon, I said: ‘That’s it, I’m going to think big and grow big.’ I had a real paradigm shift where I decided to run it like a corporation. I decided I wouldn’t be the technician behind my business anymore, but instead I would run my business and work on my business, not in my business. I started to systemize and restructure the business and, since then, we’ve had about 1,000-per-cent growth.”

5. How has your marathon- running experience helped you in business?

“I ran the Boston Marathon as a mental challenge to myself and I thought, if I can do this, I can do it in my business. It motivated me to take my business to a new level that has never been done in Canada.”

6. What has been your toughest obstacle in building your business?

“We have great vision, but it’s too much vision and not enough money. We’ve taken our business to another level and we’re ready to go out there and open a lot of locations, but the thing that stops us is financing. Financing has probably always been my greatest obstacle. The banks have been great with me and I’ve been very fortunate, but the banks will only go so far. We’re very near to getting really great cash flow, so within a short time we’ll be able to do all of our own funding. Still, it’s a frustrating part of our life because we can see it, but it’s still not there.”

7. Are you considering expanding beyond your five locations?

“We could look at two more locations right now in Calgary and I would guarantee you that they’d be profitable right from the beginning. We’re looking for sites in northwest Calgary and other areas. Our only Calgary location (at Southcentre Mall) is about 85-per-cent full just about all the time. Now that we have five locations in Western Canada, we count in the industry, but it’s really hard to get media attention when you’re from Western Canada. They don’t think you count if you’re in the West. It’s like, if you don’t exist in Toronto, who are you? There’s a lot of that mentality that goes on from the East towards Western Canada. We’re looking at opening a spa in a new medical and health centre in the East.”

8. What’s your vision for EvelineCharles for 2010?

“I would like to see us have 25 locations across Canada. We’re approaching close to $10 million (2002 revenue) and would hope to see it grow to $50 million to $100 million.”

9. Can you live with yourself if you don’t meet those goals?

“Oh, yes. You know what? I don’t do it for money. Right now, I’m pretty comfortable (financially) in my life. I don’t need any more money personally. I do this because I’m challenged to take this industry to another level. And I know it can be done.”

10. What has been the root of your success?

“We have unbelievable quality control and service standards. I think our success comes from not being afraid to change. We’re very innovative and leading edge. If there’s anything new out there, we’re on it and we’re doing it. We’ve created career paths for our employees versus just jobs. When I made my paradigm shift in business, I actually took my commission people and turned them into salary people. Once we changed how we paid people, we became very profitable. I had employees who couldn’t get mortgages because they were working on commission. With a steady salary, they can also have better control over their lifestyle.”

11. How would you describe your management style?

“I’ve set myself up corporately with a great management team. We would not have been able to have the growth that we’ve had without empowering people to do their jobs. I’m a firm believer in walking the talk and making goals public. That’s what I’ve done my whole life. I’ve always made my goals public and I’ve always committed and done everything that I’ve made public. I’m also a believer in leading by example. If I ask my staff to do it, it’s something I would do myself. I also believe in running a moralistic business. Integrity and values are a strong part of this business.”

12. What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned in business?

“You have to be careful what you say out there. Many years ago, I had a staff member walk out, and I said I’ll never rehire people that leave. That came back to haunt me for a long time.

“It was probably one of the worst statements I ever made, because sometimes you have great employees that leave you. We definitely have an open-door policy now. If they leave on good terms and they’re a good employee, we have no problem with that.”

13. What do you need to learn to become a better business leader?

“I think I need to learn more about money and about financing my business for future growth. I’ve been very fortunate to learn from a lot of great people. Because I don’t have a business background or a degree (in business), I’ve had to learn the world of business. I get the big picture now of how a big company has to be operated, but I think my weakness is in how to finance the company. I have to learn how to set it up. Am I going to take on 50-per-cent partners? Am I going to franchise? I just don’t know enough about those markets, so my job this year is to educate myself on what I can do to take my company to another level. I’ll talk to a lot of people and get more information. That’s what I’ve done all of my life.”

14. Who’s the entrepreneur you most admire?

“There are many of them, but one that comes to mind is (Edmonton entrepreneur) Bill Comrie. I’m very driven, but I’m a really normal person. I just really believe in being humble and being strong and driven and that’s what I like about Bill Comrie. He still is the same man today as he was when he first started his business (The Brick). For me, being grounded and still being real is probably the thing I’ll always work on, because I don’t want to be somebody else. I am happy just being who I am and I want to continue to be that way.”

15. Would you ever leave Edmonton for the bright lights of, say, Manhattan?

“I love Alberta and I really feel a lot of our success came from this community and I’m a firm believer in giving to and supporting the community. I like to live where the people support me. I try to shop in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver because those are the communities that support me.”

16. In your opinion, is the corporate crowd in Alberta paying enough attention to appearance?

“(Laughing) They can always spend more. We’ve just hired corporate sales people to work in that market. What is happening in the corporate world is that image is everything. We’re also working with corporations on incentive programs for their staff (to reduce sick days). We’re putting together a productivity plan where you get one or two services at EvelineCharles depending on your productivity at work. So in the long run, it costs the company less and makes the staff feel better, because they have less stress in their life. There’s huge potential there.”

17. How are Alberta’s business leaders doing in terms of looking good?

“I think some of the bigger companies are doing well. At large corporations, men are paying attention to having manicured hands and their hair looking better. I definitely see a swing towards that, to where men are paying more attention to their appearance. Our male clientele is really growing.

“When we started in this industry, I’ll bet the male clientele was only about five per cent of our industry. Now, it’s well over 30 per cent.”

18. What’s your most prized personal possession?

“You know, I’m not a huge materialistic person, but my home is important to me. We’ve just done a $300,000 renovation on my home with state-of-the-art kitchen appliances and so on. It’s kind of funny, because I used to dream about having a Mercedes or a BMW when I couldn’t afford one. It’s funny. I just went out to look at Porsches and, when I saw it would cost $138,000 for a Carrera, I decided to pass on it because it doesn’t mean that much to me. I drive a sports utility vehicle because it’s practical for my kids and my business.”

19. What’s your most important goal beyond business?

“It’s to keep challenging myself, to keep growing mentally and keep working at becoming a better person. I was reading a story recently about Mount Everest and I was thinking that, if I was younger, I’d challenge that. I just want to keep challenging myself at getting better at everything I do. I’m turning 50 this year (June 13) and I told my cousin who runs with me, after we finished the Boston Marathon in ’96, that I’ll run my next marathon when I turn 50 (she plans to run the Edmonton Marathon on June 21) and another when I turn 60. I just want to keep fit and do everything I can to keep growing in my life.”

20. How will you celebrate your 50th birthday?

“I just want to go out and do something that is a real adventure and a holiday. I don’t know yet. I’m not so interested in a big party. I’m just interested in doing something I’ve never done before.”

THE COMPANY: EvelineCharles Salons and Spas
* Brass: Eveline Charles, CEO; Lina Nicolet, vice-president; Candice Jahns, vice-president, operations.
* Profile: EvelineCharles is one of Canada’s largest personal-care chains, featuring hair care, esthetics, massage and an exclusive product line. There are three salons/spas in Edmonton, one in Calgary and one in Vancouver. Charles is the sole owner.
* Awards: 2002 Salon of Distinction by Salon Today, 2002 Consumer Choice Awards (categories of
beauty/hair salon and beauty treatment and spa); 2001 International Day Spa of the Year by Spa Management; 2001 Alberta Marketer of the Year.
* Website: www.evelinecharles.com
* Corporate contact info: 1413,10088 102 Ave., Edmonton T5J 2Z1; phone/fax 780-424-5666/ 780-425-0763.

IN PROFILE: Eveline Charles
* Born/raised/age: Falher, Alberta, 49.
* Title: CEO/owner, EvelineCharles Salons & Spas.
* Education: Grade 12, Falher High School; Marvel College (Edmonton).
* Family: Husband Barry, sons Taylor and Max.
* Career: Charles began her career as a salon owner in 1974 and has operated and owned salons/spas since then. Prior to that, she was a restaurant owner.
* Accolades: Charles recently became the first woman to be inducted into the Alberta Business Hall of Fame, presented by the Junior Achievement organization of Northern Alberta. She also was named the Consumers’ Choice Institute businesswoman of the year for 2002-03.
* Motto: Think big. Grow big.
* Passions: Marathon running, hiking, cooking.