From Grit to Growth: 20 Years of PBS

Written By Professional Beauty Solutions

Professional Beauty Solutions Co-Founders Matt and Lisa Williams celebrating 20 years of PBS

PBS marks a major milestone, while continuing to shape the future of aesthetics 20 years later.

Professional Beauty Solutions (PBS) is an Australian-based distributor of professional aesthetic devices and skincare brands, founded and led by Co-Founders Matt and Lisa Williams. This year marks 20 years of Professional Beauty Solutions (PBS) - and the launch of its new brand extension, Pro Aesthetic Solutions (PAS), created to give PBS' top-tier technology portfolio its own identity in the results-driven future of aesthetics.

Experiencing year-on-year growth since inception, PBS' DNA is driven by the founders' tenacity, thirst for innovation and ability to work as a team (in business, and in life), matched by their win-win mentality for those around them. Anchored by a business model where their partners' success is inseparable from their own, it's clear why PBS, and now PAS, will continue to lead the future of the evolving aesthetics industry.

Quick Facts: PBS at 20 Years

 
 

The Early Days: Building PBS from the Ground Up

Matt and Lisa, congratulations on 20 years of Professional Beauty Solutions. Looking back, what inspired you to start PBS, and what do you remember most vividly about the early days?

As much as we celebrate our success today, it was not without struggle, especially at the start. There was so much hardship in building multiple businesses, while balancing a newborn and a toddler. Before PBS, we had been in franchising for almost a decade, with a chain of four café franchises and a gym. However, as entrepreneurs we look for opportunities, and Matt's parents were the distributors of Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics; selling to a few dozen salons, packing orders from their home, and at risk of losing it. We couldn't help but see the potential of where we could take the brand if we went all in (with the byproduct of helping Matt's parents). This belief was the driving force behind the next stage in our entrepreneurial journey, which has now lasted 20 years.

The Secret to 20 Years of Business - and Marriage

Two decades is an incredible milestone in an industry that changes so fast. Even more so, when your business partner is also your life partner. What do you think has been the key to PBS' longevity and your success together?

Most small-to-medium-sized businesses don't make it past five years, so reaching 20 years with consecutive year-on-year growth is something we are very proud of. A big part of that is planning for the worst-case scenarios, and problem solving to avoid them – stemming from our belief that you must be 'appropriately paranoid' to survive. But we've never just been satisfied with surviving… Our question is always: How do we do it better? How do we add value? Along with an obsession with reading, and a healthy appetite for risk, we don't accept mediocrity in each other or our business. We wouldn't be the people we are without each other. This is how we've lasted over 20 years in marriage too... It has been said that the key to a successful marriage is to feel like you're the luckier of the two partners, and we both feel that. We are equal and we lean on each other's strengths. Growth and contribution are core values for us. The business and the marriage have the same foundation: genuine respect, shared standards, and never being satisfied with good enough.

PBS has always been about more than products – it's about successful partnerships and empowerment you bring to those partners (both brands and clients). How have your mission and values guided the way you do business?

Having the tenacity, energy and curiosity to just keep looking for solutions for partners and their clients, brand partners, and team members. Starting out in franchise, we learnt so much about what it meant to be a partner and whether we felt valued in that partnership. A lot of the time we just felt like an avenue to get their needs met, and we didn't want that for our partners. Also, as a business coach (Matt), you see people who are incredibly talented at their trade, but don't know how to manage the business side of things. If we can support them doing those things in their business, they'll be more successful. And the more successful they are, the more successful we will be too.

We see everything through the lens of a win-win mentality, ensuring that it is never at the expense of another. It's at the core of our relationship and feeds through everything we do in this business. It's deep in our belief system, because if you win and someone else loses, it will not be sustainable. It must be mutual, balanced, and equal.

What are you most proud of?

The year-on-year growth and the average tenure of the team. We went from being the new kid on the block to where we are today, and it's been born out of that relentless pursuit of how to do

things better... our constant drive for improvement, growth in people and growth in team. It's a gladiator sport – not everyone survives small business, but success is in the agency of others, and there isn't a day that we don't feel deeply grateful for the amazing team we get to work alongside. One of the biggest challenges in business is managing people and relationships to inspire a cohesive, aligned team, all pulling in one direction, yet so rewarding, and that is thanks to the people we have as part of our team.

From a personal perspective, how have you evolved as leaders?

We've built business muscle, so we don't get bogged down in failure or the feelings that come along with it. We are calmer and our resilience has grown hugely. We don't have that feeling of not belonging in a room now. We deserve the proverbial seat at the table. Matt's sense of humour is what also has helped us incredibly. That was what I (Lisa) fell in love with, as well. A thread through everything that we've done is Matt cracking jokes and making me laugh in moments where I might want to cry. Business is serious and the stakes and intensity can be very high, which is why balancing it with laughter and levity is so critical.

Choosing Partners Who Innovate

When it comes to your technology portfolio, how do you choose who to partner with? What is the selection process like for you?

We won't ever select a device that is a commodity in its category. We are always looking for a brand that has a remarkable point of difference that separates it from competitors. Innovation is a must – in the technology, but also the minds behind those brands. Not all technology is created equally, and we are always looking for something premium, new, unique and results-driven.

For clients looking to invest in technology, where do you recommend they start?

For ROI and results, microneedling and LED are your easiest entry points. Start with a 1NEED Pro skin needling device and a Dermalux Flex MD. Ask yourself the question of what competitive advantage you want your salon, spa or clinic to have. What do you want to be known for? What do you want to be an expert in? And look for companies that are doing the innovating, with clinical papers, case studies and medical directors; not copying other companies' innovation. That goes for the distributor too. That's what we are doing... that's how we choose brands – are these guys the best in their category? Who is behind those brands? Because holistically, innovative partners and brands are key.

A 360° Approach to Skin Health and Business Success

What makes PBS' approach to support different?

What's always sets PBS apart isn't just the technology we bring to market, it's what happens after it's been delivered. Our philosophy is built on a simple idea: support shouldn't stop after the sale. Every partner is paired with a dedicated Business Development Partner (BDP), who stays engaged well beyond purchase, and along with our head office team, provides 360° support to our partners to help build the treatment protocols and business strategies that turn our devices and brands into a genuine return on investment. It's this ongoing, practical, and personal support model (not just transactional sales) that has underpinned PBS' growth over the past 20 years, and it's the same principle we're carrying forward as we launch Pro Aesthetic Solutions.

The Launch of Pro Aesthetic Solutions (PAS)

The launch of Professional Aesthetic Solutions (PAS) marks an exciting new chapter in your journey. Can you share the inspiration behind PAS?

PAS was inspired by the evolution of our industry. Thanks to rising client expectations driving the transition from beauty and grooming-focused treatments to results-driven, the industry now demands clinical technology to achieve what hands and products alone can't. That evolution of technology, of us personally and professionally, along with the desire for innovation in all that we do, has been the driving force behind launching PAS. PBS is going nowhere, and the business infrastructure, internal resources (operations, marketing, warehouse, etc.) will be utilised by both, however, after so much success in the technology space, PAS now gives a deserving identity to the medical aesthetic devices that are transforming businesses daily.

Looking Ahead: The Next 20 Years

After 20 years in business, many founders might take a step back – but you're taking things further, building, and innovating… What drives you both to keep moving, growing, and leading the industry forward?

We live by a healthy dose of if you're not growing, you're dying. Innovation and growth is necessary for survival, or others will take over. That's what keeps us motivated and moving forward. Plus, we take our mission of enriching lives very seriously. We are dedicated to our team – making sure the business is healthy so they can come to work every day. And curating confidence for clients and partners, which is so fulfilling for us.

When you think about the next 20 years, what's your ideal for PBS, PAS, and the industry as a whole?

We have a compulsion to keep competing. This business lives in us, so we will keep delivering on our promise to our partners, our team, and our brands, driving clinical confidence through tangible partnerships and aesthetic excellence now and in the future.

A Refreshed Look for a New Chapter

What inspired the PBS logo refresh, launching alongside the 20th anniversary?

Our refreshed logo reflects the 360-degree approach that defines how we work today. It brings together every part of the support we offer our partners, from marketing and commercial sales support to education and training, and the people who deliver it all. Behind every Business Development Partner is a dedicated team working to bring everything together. The new logo is the perfect symbol of how PBS has grown from its early roots into the multi-faceted partner we are today.

Launching it alongside our 20th anniversary felt fitting: a new visual identity for a new chapter, while staying true to the values that built PBS in the first place.

To learn more about partnering with PBS and PAS, call us today on 1800 625 387.


Original feature published in Professional Beauty Issue 02, 2026.

Professional Beauty Solutions http://www.probeautysolutions.com.au/
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