Laser Clinics Australia: Jodi Cottle shares how she made it in business

Five years ago, mother Jodie Cottle quit her high-paying corporate job to take back control of her life – now she works when she wants and earns a six-figure salary.

The 40-year-old former sales manager and mortgage advisor struggled to maintain work-life balance shortly after becoming a mother and knew something had to change.

“When I worked in corporate I was constantly juggling mom,” Ms. Cottle told FEMAIL.

“I got up early, checked emails before my son woke up, hurried around the house, and did the morning episode.

“Then I would go to work and have to attend meetings where things were explained to me or where my male colleagues took credit for my ideas. Finally I thought: enough is enough!’

She took matters into her own hands and chose to become a Laser Clinics Australia franchisee and now rakes in over $100,000 a year.

She now has complete freedom over her working hours and wants to help more Australian women find that balance.

“For years I flew the highway almost every week for work, I was exhausted, stressed and overwhelmed,” she said.

Jodi, who is from New Zealand but now lives on the Gold Coast, had a great advantage starting her own business after completing a Masters in Business and also studying neuroscience at university.

In early 2018 she and her family moved from Sydney to the Gold Coast and for 18 months she toyed with various business ideas.

“The first few months were terrifying. I knew I wanted to start a business, but I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do,” Jodi said.

Instead of building a brand from scratch, she focused on franchising an already existing business – an option she says is being overlooked – and in September 2019 bought a laser clinic in Tweed Heads.

With her background in business, she researched the numbers herself and took a ‘calculated’ risk – which paid off.

She took matters into her own hands and chose to become a Laser Clinics Australia franchisee and now rakes in over $100,000 a year

With her background in business, she did her own research to bring numbers together and take a ‘calculated’ risk (photo Jodi and employee)

After handing over the keys to her own franchise, it took another 18 months to build a thriving team and make huge profits.

Today, Jodi’s base salary as an owner is $100,000 with quarterly bonuses based on sales.

But it hasn’t all been plain sailing – the clinic has faced huge challenges from bushfires, floods, border closures and Covid.

“There have been hard times, but I wouldn’t change it for the world,” Jodi said.

‘Now I trust my staff and only work when necessary.’

“There have been hard times, but I wouldn’t change it for the world,” Jodi said

Jodi has always been good at handling money because when she was 19 she bought her first property and by 25 she owned six.

During this time, she worked as a mortgage advisor before turning to sales and senior leadership.

Her experience of dealing with real estate coupled with her Masters in Business helped tremendously in franchising.

Jodi’s hopes her story will inspire other Australian women to escape the rat race and take back control of their own lives.

To inspire other women to take the same leap of faith, Jodi has written a book titled “The Pocket MBA: A Woman’s Playbook for Succeeding in Business.”

Jodi’s hopes her story will inspire other Australian women to escape the rat race and take back control of their own lives