We have subscriptions for everything: TV and music streaming, gym memberships, recipe boxes, even toilet roll. So why not for beauty treatments?
After years in the beauty industry, first as a nail technician and then as salon owner at Ovieya London, Delight Temile noticed a problem: customers weren’t prioritising themselves. As a result, people scramble for last-minute appointments, or don’t budget for treatments at all and begrudgingly have to delay until payday.
So she launched The Maintenance Club, where members pay a monthly upfront fee and redeem it against regular beauty treatments. When it comes to self-care, Delight says: “We usually put ourselves last and everything else before us. I wanted to create something that kept people consistent.”
Her answer is to treat beauty like fitness by creating a membership model. “It’s like a gym, but for beauty,” she says. If you've already booked and paid for your appointments, you're less likely to drop off. For the business, it also means a steady income stream and a community of regular customers.
The Maintenance Club has two tiers: a standard tier at £95 per month, which includes two appointments, and a signature tier at £175, which includes four appointments. Members also get perks such as early booking access, a free monthly drink and member events.
While beauty salon subscriptions aren't new, Delight says no one offers what Ovieya London does. For her, the combination of treatments (hair, nails, pedis and brows) and the salon's atmosphere is unmatched. “Oveiya isn't replicable. You can't just recreate it,” she explains. “It's not just the salon. It is a vibe, it's a feeling, it's a lifestyle.”
Her membership model has changed several times over the years, though earlier versions were more nail-focused. She currently has more walk-in clients than members, something she blames on previous models that were overcomplicated or “confusing”.
Will Delight’s latest membership model be enough to scale her business? All will become clear as she plays The Board.
Why we’ve created The Board
At giffgaff, we support people to make their next move. Starting your own business means making big calls, often with no one around to talk them through. The Board puts those decisions on the table so players (and everyone watching) can clearly see the choices and trade-offs it takes to run a successful business.
During each episode, an entrepreneur maps out the future of their business on a physical board game, completing challenges and answering questions that probe every corner of their strategy. If they win, they get to choose between a giffgaff grant or mentorship.
Watching from another room are the Game Changers: Patricia Bright, entrepreneur, award-winning content creator and founder of The Break, a financial education and lifestyle platform; and Jordan Schwarzenberger, co-founder of Arcade, the entertainment company behind huge creator brands, including The Sidemen and Generation Football. Together, they will follow the players' progress on The Board and decide whether they’ve got what it takes to succeed in business.
If successful, players will be invited to an interview with the Game Changers, who will dig deeper into the business before offering a choice between a £5,000 giffgaff grant or Fair Play mentorship. If players aren’t lucky enough to make it through to the final interview, they will receive £1,000 to spend on their business.
Delight has the creative vision and ambition needed to make it in business, but does she have the strategy to back it up?
When the Game Changers asked for details about her business, she admitted she wasn't profitable because of a costly full-salon renovation and could only estimate membership numbers. This was something of a red flag for the Game Changers. “I don't mind her not being profitable,” says Patricia. “What I do mind is you not having [a] clear perspective on your membership, especially if it's under 20. She should know that.”
Jordan gets the sense that Delight’s current strategy is very much about surviving day-to-day rather than building a robust long-term strategy. “This is very much a business that’s trying to find its feet,” he says.
Could it be a classic case of a founder spreading themselves too thin? Like many small business owners, Delight wears many hats: “I am literally the manager, the nail tech, the content creator, the director — literally anything you can think of, I do.” And, while she’s super creative (check out her Instagram), she’s the first to admit that she needs support with the operational and financial side of the business.
Her passion, self-awareness and willingness to learn impress the Game Changers. “I love her attitude,” says Patricia. Jordan adds: “She’s got all the ingredients for this to be a scalable banger of a business.”
Delight could do with a cash injection for her business, but it’s clear she also needs mentorship. Will she make it through to meet the Game Changers? Watch the full episode on YouTube.