Working in the salon and experiencing
the same thing every day was becoming tedious for makeup artist Laura Platt. So,
Laura decided to set up her own freelance makeup business. The opportunities
found along Laura’s journey has led her to opening her own salon in St Helens.
Prior to
taking the plunge, Laura worked in a beauty salon for 12 years. Laura is still
currently working here. She started off as an apprentice on a worked based
learning scheme. As time progressed, so did Laura’s career and she was then promoted
to Salon Manager. ‘I saw it as a great privilege.’
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| Laura in her own creation! |
There were a
few barriers in the way for Laura. Her current employment was an issue as
managers are not in favour of employees doing mobile work and working in the
salon. Therefore, Laura kept her business secret for a year until she found the
courage to tell her boss. ‘In the end,
I told her I’d been doing a few make ups and that now people were asking me to
do more...She was very supportive of me and my business and I think it brought
us closer together.’ But working 49 hours a week restricted Laura from
doing make up after work.
After losing her social life and being run down by long hours, Laura
decided to cut her hours down. This was vital for Laura as she needed to focus
on her freelancing business. Business varied for Laura, ‘Some days I was full, some I had nothing in.’ Initially, this worried Laura as she had cut
her work hours to work for herself but it wasn’t as busy as she had hoped. ‘But that soon changed!’
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| Some of Laura's work |
Another significant barrier for Laura was her anxiety and panic attacks.
‘This has affected my business somewhat
over the past few months. I’ve had to cancel or rearrange clients due to it
kind of taking over my life.’ Driving around a lot and going into
stranger’s houses ‘can be quite daunting
and can be very stressful.’ However, Laura is determined to beat this and not
let it affect her life or business.
‘I received
loads of support from The Women’s Organisation.’
Laura was
recommended by a friend to receive support from Enterprise Hub partner; The
Women’s Organisation to help kick start her business. It was our drop-in event
which Laura attended that got her initial business idea started. From there, a
meeting was set up with Francine Taylor; a Senior Business Advisor, who ‘Was amazing. So, nice and friendly, and ever so helpful.’ Laura was
booked onto several courses at the organisation, including: Planning for
Success, Basic Bookkeeping and Become a More Confident You. ‘I absolutely loved every course I went on.
I met such amazing inspiring women. Everyone had ideas and was so helpful.’
Laura stresses the fact that these courses are free and ‘Fabulous!’ ‘The help that we can
get and it’s right under our noses and yet people just don’t realise.’ All the courses Laura
attended gave her that boost of confidence she needed to start up her business.
There are two
main aspects about running your own business that Laura enjoys. Creating a
business in an industry you love is ‘Always
great, most of my days are spent playing with makeup which I love!’ Laura’s
income is also another factor as she is earning more money than she used to…’So I can treat myself a lot more, which is
always great.’
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| Some more of Laura's work |
Laura’s business is continuing to grow. ‘I’ve got my Facebook page up and running, my business cards are a
huge hit.’ Laura’s boss has decided she is selling the salon and offered
Laura to invest. So, Laura accepted! She is currently in the process of buying
her own salon.
This is a fantastic opportunity for Laura as it has been established for
20 years. ‘I’ve worked there my whole
time as a beautician so all the clients that come in know me, and now I have
somewhere to set up a makeup studio!’ Reflecting on her business progress,
Laura is proud of how far she has come.
‘I had very much started to become a plodder with my job, and now I feel like
I’m an actual business woman.’
‘I’m so excited.’
For anyone thinking of starting their own business, Laura advises them
to ‘100% get down to The Women’s Org, or
even just look on the website at the courses they offer…I told my sister and
she now has started setting up her own private therapy business thanks to the
Women’s Organisation.’
So, what does the future hold for Laura in terms of her business? Laura
hopes to become a ‘Makeup artist and nail
technician to the stars!’
If you are interested in the service Laura offers, you can contact her
using the contact details below:
And if like Laura, you have a passion and want to start up your own
business, get in touch with us. Email
hello@thewo.org.uk or ring us on 0151 706 8111
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