A young duo has shared their key strategies for launching a successful business after their haircare product gained widespread popularity, now available in 400 salons throughout Australia.

Sarah Woodger, a 24-year-old hairdresser, co-launched the haircare line Coastal GRL in 2023.

Having spent over seven years working in various New South Wales salons, upscale boutiques, and even serving the ultra-wealthy aboard super yachts, Sarah identified an untapped market opportunity.

She discovered that women who frequently enjoyed swimming at the beach or in pools often lamented about their hair becoming brittle and dry from the exposure.

With this insight, Sarah and her partner, 26-year-old Luke Miskell, invested all their savings into creating the brand’s signature product, the pre-swim Saltwater & Chlorine Hair Protectant.

After dedicating two years to product development, they unveiled Coastal GRL at the close of March.

‘It was my mission to solve this problem,’ Sarah told the Daily Mail. 

‘The idea behind the product is to use this to stop any problems from happening in the first place. 

NSW couple Sarah Woodger, 24, and Luke Miskell, 26, poured all of their savings into starting a business

Sarah, who worked as a hairdresser in local salons, high-end boutiques and even on super yachts for the mega-rich for more than seven years, noticed a gap in the market

‘It’s a female product designed by a female instead of marketing bros creating women’s products which capitalise on female insecurities.’ 

Sarah admitted she felt scared risking her life savings to develop the product, but was determined to start the business. 

‘I wanted to put all my money into this business. All of my life savings weren’t going to fund it because it was so expensive to get started,’ she said. 

‘That’s when I decided to ask Luke if he wanted to go halves in the business together. 

‘We just did everything we could to start the business and not take out any loans or get help from our parents. We were really determined to do it all on our own. Luke even sold his car.

‘It was a massive risk. I felt sick almost every day in the lead up to the launch just thinking about it.’

The pair said everyone discouraged their plans, and argued they should put their money into something ‘more guaranteed and secure’ like a property. 

Luke added the company had a rough start as Sarah was continually rejected after pitching her product to boardrooms full of male investors who viewed her as ‘just a young blonde’ trying to promote another hair product. 

Sarah realised women who loved the water were complaining about the condition of their hair, with many noticing their locks would be damaged, dry and brittle after a swim in the ocean or pool

She and her partner founded Coastal GRL and launched the brand’s pre-swim Saltwater & Chlorine Hair Protectant product at the end of March

‘It wasn’t until I was actually sitting in some of the boardrooms with Sarah, that they started to take it seriously,’ Luke said. 

Sarah added: ‘The biggest business challenge for me personally was that none of these big companies took me seriously. Like I’m just some young chick thinking she can sell her little hair care thing. 

‘They were constantly looking down on me as a young female founder and just not taking me seriously with anything. And it really grinds my gears, to be honest.’ 

However, Luke said he and Sarah did not give up because they truly believed in the product. 

‘It’s weird when you’ve got this vision, and I trust Sarah so much,’ he said. 

‘She trusts me, and we trusted this product so much. We knew the potential of it. That’s what really keeps you going, when you just know the potential of something.’ 

Luke added their persistence paid off, especially once buyers knew that the product was designed by a hairdresser with years of industry experience. 

‘All of a sudden, we had our first five or ten salons and now we’re in over 400 salons,’ Luke said. 

 The pair said they used all their savings to develop the product, with Luke even selling his car to help get the brand started

Starting the business was not without its challenges, with Luke explaining investors were not taking Sarah seriously and would often dismiss her as a ‘young, blonde girl trying to promote just another hair product’

‘We’ve even got 200 salons on a waitlist that can’t even get their hands on the product because it keeps selling out.’ 

Of course, while running their business there came challenges, with Luke admitting that as a ‘two-man band’ they are both responsible for everything that needs to be done.

The couple designed and run their website, take all their photos and are responsible for all the content on their social media accounts. 

‘We’re up until 2am packing orders,’ Luke said. 

‘I think a big lever we should have pulled earlier was actually starting to build a team and outsource, but at the time, we just couldn’t see that as feasible financially.

‘So you end up doing it a lot yourself, and you end up just burning yourself out.’ 

Sarah added that cash flow was definitely their biggest issue as the business has to fulfil large stock orders to service the salons before they receive payment for the products.

The pair added they’re a two-man band and have done everything themselves, which has proven difficult after the product went viral and is in demand in 400 stores across Australia 

The pair also encountered yet another problem after Australia Post refused to reimburse them when a delivery truck carrying hundreds of customer orders caught fire (pictured) 

The pair encountered another problem when Australia Post refused to reimburse them after a delivery truck full of hundreds of orders for customers caught on fire. 

The fire broke out in the truck as it travelled from Sydney to Adelaide on October 9, resulting in delays and damage to parcels.

Sarah and Luke said they were forced to resend the products to customers and pay for postage twice. 

Australia Post refused to reimburse them for the products or the postage costs, leaving them ‘tens of thousands of dollars’ out-of-pocket. 

Still reeling from their losses, Sarah said they were still going back and forth with Australia Post, but the national courier was not ‘coming to the party’.   

Sarah advised Aussies who want to start their own business to market their personal brand through social media from the very beginning. 

She said customers love to see the ‘behind the scenes’ and the making of the brand, so even if it feels mundane to still make the effort to document and record the whole process. 

Luke said his top tip for people starting their own business was to find a solution to a problem, or create something niche. 

Luke advised those looking to start their own business to stay clear of copying a brand or product, and to create a niche brand that solves a problem

Sarah added she was proud of what she and Luke have accomplished but claimed the government needed to do more to assist young Aussies starting small businesses

He added there was no point copying another brand as the market would already be highly saturated, which meant profits would be halved before you even started.  

‘It’s great everyone’s having to go, but there’s no point running out there and copying a brand, because you’re already halving your market,’ he said. 

‘There’s millions of problems that aren’t solved out there. You will find things that need solving, that are right in front of you. 

‘If you come up with something else that hasn’t been done before, exactly what we did, then instead of entering an already saturated market it becomes an open market.’

Sarah also noted the government needed to provide more assistance for young Australians starting their own businesses. 

The young business owner said she and Luke lived at her parents’ house and would not have been able to start Coastal GRL if they were renting or paying a mortgage.   

‘We’re well and truly old enough to live on our own and it feels silly to tell people that we still live at home, but financially, we literally have no choice,’ she said. 

‘We wouldn’t be able to do this if we were renting or buying a house.

‘It would be amazing if the government could help out young Aussies who are trying to get off their feet and try something new.’