Part 1 – How it all started
I thought I would explain how I got to where I am today……an Aesthetic Entrepreneur! It’s taken a while; I can assure you of that. So, I’ll take you back a few years where I found myself a single mother, divorced, working full time in the NHS and recently turned 30. All was going well, and I was really enjoying life and the freedom I had discovered.
I had always been fortunate in looking younger than my age however, another couple of birthdays passed and looking in the mirror I really started to notice that I was beginning to age, fast! My skin was dull and the tone of it was uneven, I have a lot of freckles anyway, but it just seemed worse for some reason. Now I’ve never been a heavy make-up wearer, however wouldn’t feel comfortable going out without a cover of foundation to even my complexion and whenever people did see me without make-up they would question if I was feeling ok? I started to think what I could do about it, I wanted to improve my skin and I wanted to hang on to my youthful look as long as I could.
In a rather misguided way, I found myself buying all kinds of creams, face wash, and masks from high-street shops. No clue if it would help and no idea about what my skin actually needed. It is fair to say, that money was a waste and I ended up with a huge box of half used products and skin that remained dull and ageing at a rate of knots.
Fast-forward to a random conversation with a colleague and a police sergeant at work one day when we began discussing aesthetics. They suddenly became excited that with my medical qualifications I could train in aesthetics and run my own business. At first, I laughed it off, even though deep down, running my own business was something I always wanted to do but never thought it was within my reach. That conversation stuck with me. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, I could learn what my skin needed and help others in a similar position. So, I had a few more conversations with my family who encouraged me to give it a go.
I went on a mission. A mission to find the best aesthetic training academy in the UK, got accepted and got to work. I made sure I learned from the best, at Harley Academy. Medical practitioners who will only train medical practitioners, they don’t train you to be a technician in a day or two and then send you on your way with a needle in hand looking for faces to inject. They train you to be a specialist in the field of aesthetic medicine, it takes months and as a nurse, I am still learning and will continue to learn for the duration of my career. After training under supervision for almost a year, I finally felt competent to treat my first patient alone, and I’ve kept going ever since.
I have continued to develop my skills and expand my treatment portfolio, I have plans for so much more. I have an amazing community of patients who visit me regularly and I love being able to educate them about the ageing process and what treatments or ingredients will help their skin and achieve their goals. I’ve always loved helping people so being a nurse was right for me, but now I get to help people in a different way. I get to see their confidence soar and leave my clinic feeling happy and excited. So many of them felt the way I did a few years ago, but now I can guide them through the process and ensure they’re not aimlessly trying all sorts that will never work like I was. My patients trust me, and I couldn’t ask for more than that.
So what about actually running a business? I’ll tell you all about that in part 2.