Ruth Marcella Brings Out The Beauty of Business With Orchid Blush

Starting in 2009, Ruth Marcella wanted to give clients the celebrity experience and since then her business has gone from strength to strength. Now with over 40 fully qualified and highly experienced freelance make-up artists and hair stylists, Orchid Blush is one of the leading providers of make-up and hair services in the North West.

Photo by VGGVART

Before becoming self-employed, Ruth studied Fashion Promotion then moved to the North West to start a family. She was working full time in merchandising when the idea of setting up a business came to her. ‘I wanted more flexibility as a mum, self-employment just made sense.’

The move into self-employment was quite an organic process for the mother of 3. Very few problems were encountered, ‘everything seemed to naturally fall into place.’ Originally a stylist, she later moved to make-up, as she realised that is what she was more passionate about.

‘I always enjoyed doing make up so I did a short course and went from there.’

Ruth looked for any business start-up support available and came across Train 2000, now The Women’s Organisation. She attended a range of courses including business planning, bookkeeping and understanding tax & national insurance to help her get Orchid Blush up and running.

Orchid Blush provides a mobile service for all occasions that will travel to any location in the North West. They also have a professional media team who specialise in commercial events such as television, red carpet and photo-shoots.

The business has attracted a number of high profile clients, including EMI Records, Sky 1, Kellogs, Honda, Channel 4, Peroni and Microsoft. Despite this, she still finds it surreal when a big client calls her up.

Ruth recently attended a series of EBEL master classes run by The Women’s Organisation, including ‘Using Linked in for business’ and ‘Marketing planning’. Although she has a background in marketing, she still found the courses very helpful and informative. She explained: ‘You have to appreciate the opportunities given to you on your journey, like courses and networking opportunities.’

For her, the best thing about being self-employed is that she enjoys her job. ‘I never dread going to work. I get to be creative and find the beauty on someone’s face, instead of putting a look on them. I really enjoy finding their look and seeing their reaction when they see how beautiful they are. I love giving people confidence, especially for special events like weddings.’

Another perk of being self-employed is having her own identity. ‘I feel fortunate to be able to be at home with my children, but then go to work and have an identity away from being a mother.’

Currently, Orchid Blush covers the whole of the North West but Ruth aims to expand the business in the future and break into the Midlands. With the business going strong and continuing to attract high profile clients, she hopes this will be sooner rather than later.

To see the amazing work Ruth and her team do, visit www.orchidblush.co.uk or contact them at info@orchidblushbeauty.co.uk  

You can also find Orchid Blush on Twitter: @OrchidBlush

And if like Ruth the flexibility and control of self-employment appeals to you, contact The Women’s Organisation on 0151 706 8111 or info@thewo.org.uk for free business start-up advice and support.