Tucked away in a bustling industrial park in Henlow, Hertfordshire, lies a hidden haven that is Beauty by Ellie Banks. A stunning salon with creamy nudes & beiges and ambient fairy lights twinkle around the room, and you’re greeted with comfort when you walk through Ellie’s door.
Ellie is just 22 years old but has built an entire beauty empire from the ground, up. It’s complete with lash and hair extension services, brow treatments, Botox & other beauty treatments, a nail technician working alongside her and, what’s more, she’s a qualified educator.
So, how did Ellie start her beauty business?
I started doing lashes when I was still in school at 16. I was working as a waitress at the time, and I said to my mum ‘I can’t do these late nights anymore.’ So, we looked around for me to learn something I could do alongside my exams.
It all starts with a dream, right? Ask yourself exactly what you want and work backwards. It's not possible to build a beauty empire like Ellie’s overnight, but mapping out where you want to end up, and how you’re going to get there, is.
A useful and proven technique used when it comes to setting & achieving goals is the SMART Goal method:
S – Be specific; use your 5 W’s. Who do you want to be? What do you want to do? When do you want to do it by? Where do you want to do it? Why do you want to do it? The answers to these questions are going to shape the start of your beauty business, and what it will look like, from your brand, right up to the services you’re going to offer.
M – Make them measurable. If you can measure something, and see progress, it’s more likely you are going to stick to it. Maybe you want to be a mobile hairdresser, and your goal is to get clients and start your beauty business. You want to use social media to market yourself, so you start measuring your follower growth as a way to monitor your brand outreach.
A – Make sure they’re achievable! If you want to start a beauty business from home, but you may have to pay for online courses,or gain some experience free of charge. You have to make sure you are able to carry out the necessary steps in order to reach your goals.
R – Make sure it’s relevant to your life & who you are, and that it aligns with other priorities that you may have. For example, does it feel like the right time? Does it impact family life? Can you afford to invest money into it? Are you going to be able to input a considerable amount of time and effort into this for the long run?
T – Let’s be real about them being timely. Humans are inherently undisciplined; we’re all guilty of it. Setting realistic time goals is a way to hold yourself accountable and keep yourself in check. You want to start a beauty business in the UK, after all, so best to learn how to thrive under pressure! Six-month increments are a great way to start. You can then break these down into subtasks of what needs to be achieved each month, or each week, to ensure you hit your goal.
Check out how Vagaro can help you achieve your goals within your salon.
As Ellie puts it:
I was 18 when I did it, went on my own where I knew I was going to have to pay rent and expenses every month. I was so nervous, but I just feel like the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward. You have to be committed to it if you're going to do it. I was 18, missing nights out with my friends because I had a lash appointment. But that’s what I wanted and who I wanted to be. I reap the rewards now because I work for myself, I have my own workspace, and I have that flexibility.
##Becoming an educator in the beauty industry
Ellie started off working in a salon for the first couple of years of her career and then decided to take the leap. She hasn’t looked back since and has continued to achieve her goals. The next step for her was to get her Level 4 in teaching, so she can now train the next generation of beauty professionals in the UK.
So many people would make off-the-cuff comments about beauty not being a proper career path. I want to break that stigma and teach these girls to be independent businesswomen, just like I’ve become. Starting a beauty business is no easy feat, but if you are consistent with your efforts, they will pay off.
she says.
Ellie also uses Vagaro to help manage her beauty business and education classes by taking control of her diary and offering workshops. Our Customer Success Team are on hand to help you take advantage of this. Business management software is a great help to all beauty & wellness professionals. It allows customers to book online, anywhere, anytime, [send appointment reminders & notifications](https://www.vagaro.com/en-gb/pro/notifications, process payments & deposits, and store helpful information on client treatments, and so much more.
If you’d like to see how Vagaro can help you with your own business, learn more here!
Vagaro is so affordable and saves me so much time with sending out helpful texts and emails to my clientele, so they never forget their appointments. It’s so user-friendly; as a newbie, I found getting used to the software was so easy. To me, it’s worth every penny and now I can’t run my business without it!
Vagaro has what it takes to be your number one business partner. Take a look and see for yourself with a 30-day free trial! Start your journey with Vagaro today.
