Shashi Naidoo

Janet is co-founder and managing partner of Charlotte Rhys, South Africa’s leading luxurious bath, body and lifestyle range. Within 14 years the brand expanded from a single product to over 100 luxury products. Today they supply leading hotels across the world.

My Definition Of Success | Success means achieving the goals you set, and it is inevitable that these goals change and become greater and more ambitious as your business grows.

I Am Driven By | The desire to provide the South African market with a superior range of luxury products that are better than the very best international brands.  And to keep improving and extending the range as the tastes and needs of our customers change.

My Highlights | From the very beginning 14 years ago, we have always had a strict policy of sustainability, environmental responsibility and anti-cruelty, long before these buzzwords were fashionable.  It brought a unique set of challenges to the table to ensure that these criteria were always met, when developing a top of the range luxury brand.  However to our immense pride we succeeded.  Our brand is unique at the top end of our market sector, having Beauty Without Cruelty accreditation, being eco-friendly, biodegradable, using 70% recycled and recyclable packaging material and being free of harmful chemicals and dyes.  An extremely rare combination of technological excellence, luxury, environmental responsibility and ethics.  We take great pride in having achieved this.

The Difference Between Good And Great | We set the bar very, very high when developing a local brand that would match or surpass the best of the international beauty brands, and we have always maintained that benchmark. Every single product that we manufacture conforms to the highest international quality standards of excellence and luxury and we will never deviate from that. And I think that is the difference between a good and a great product, and people who are good at what they do and people who are great at what they do.  Making sure you never drop your standards and never accept mediocrity.

A Key Talent | When you are starting out, grow organically and take it slow.  Don’t fall into the trap of taking out high interest loans and getting into unmanageable debt. Another thing I learnt is not to be seduced by big turnover. If the bottom line is not worth it, it is often better to walk away.

The Characteristics Of Success | I have always had a strong work ethic and a keen business sense and these have certainly been crucial in helping me achieve my goals.

Principles I Live By | Honesty, ethics and a sense of responsibility towards your employees, your customers and your suppliers.

Critical Skills I Develop | Human resource skills and computer skills have been the greatest learning curve in running one’s own business.

Performing At My Peak | I lead a very active life both physically and mentally, which helps to keep me at my peak.

Resources I Use To Stay Inspired | I enjoy reading, mainly biographies, as well as watching a good movie or stage play.  However my greatest enjoyment and inspiration comes from the menagerie of animals I live with.  Dogs, cats, ducks, rescued battery chickens and an aviary of exotic parrots.  They keep me inspired, grounded and help me relax and switch off at the end of a long hectic day.