Magazine ad led to beauty career for new mum
A MAGAZINE advert was all it took to kick-start new mum Kate Lester's dream of running a beauty business and now she plans to open salons across the county.
Kate, who owns Beauty@BLOW in Tewkesbury, has hardly looked back since applying to become a nail technician after giving birth to her daughter.
Kate has now been nominated for the New Business of the Year category of The Citizen and Gloucestershire Echo's Women in Business Awards, which have Coutts and Co as the lead sponsor.
A few months after giving birth, Kate signed up to a home study course, which she took during her maternity leave.
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Kate achieved a pass on the course and began encouraging her friends and family to go to her to get their nails done.
She then returned to her office job when her maternity leave finished, but her thoughts remained on starting a beauty business. Passing a one day course, she put her 10 year office career, which she started straight from school, behind her.
Next she applied for a nail technician job at a Cheltenham salon and was offered the position.
This led to six years of working in salons, providing her with experience and improving her confidence. Kate later gained her Masters qualification, the highest level a nail technician can gain. It was at this point she started her own business. She used her own funds to pay for further courses, allowing her to extend her treatment list.
"I put a lot of time and money into setting up my new business and decided that nails alone wouldn't be enough to keep my business going. So I decided to widen my treatment list a little and complete a spray tan course.
"As the months went on, my client base built up and my confidence grew and I gradually, one by one, completed successfully many beauty treatment courses, gaining all the necessary qualifications needed. I would work, save up the money for the course and pay for the training."
Over the past 12 months Kate has run and managed her business above hair salon BLOW in Tewkesbury and said it had been the most successful year out of the three she has been self-employed.
She now hopes to open further salons and take on trained therapists.
There is still time to enter the Women in Business Awards. For more details visit www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk /wib.
We will be profiling more entries for the awards in the coming weeks culminating in a glittering awards evening at Hatherley Manor Hotel on March 21.
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