Emma Peters is no stranger to business, having a career in the beauty industry stretching back over many years. She became self-employed over seven years ago, working at different salons, spas and clinics across Cambridgeshire.
Around two years ago, Emma noticed that some premises had become available for lease in St Neots – however – this coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and national lockdowns meant that businesses closed for long periods.
“It really made me reassess what I was doing with my career, although I quickly adapted to the changing situation by using my teaching qualification to join a local primary school,” explained Emma. When restrictions eased, the idea of setting up her own business to give her greater control, was reinvigorated when she realised that the premises that she had her eye on were still available.
Emma puts her inspiration and love for the business down to her personal experience caring for her mum during illness. “I knew from my previous experience that there was sufficient demand in the local area for the services I wanted to provide which included facial skincare treatments, semi-permanent make up and facial aesthetics,” commented Emma. “I knew that I would have to be at the top of my game to make it a success, so I decided to go for it and with a lot of training, money and hard work, I opened the business”.
Emma realised that to satisfy the changing demands of clients and to ensure a good flow of new customers on top of those with whom she already had an established relationship, she would need to offer a wider range of treatments, including some of newer innovations.
“My treatments offer clients not just a chance to improve their physical well-being but also their mental health, for example a light therapy machine which can help combat the effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD),” stated Emma.
The business opened with a soft launch and open event to which Emma invited previous clients, family, friends and local VIPs, which was very successful, and she also started to research business support opportunities to help her. She came into contact with the CPCA Growth Hub and was soon benefitting from coaching and advice to apply for a grant from the Start and Grow programme.
“My advisor Mark was amazing, helping me to ensure that my financial forecasts and business plan was in good shape for the grant application,” said Emma. “The market research it required was particularly valuable in helping me plan for the future as it gave me a clear vision of what I wanted to achieve, how I could do it and how long it would take.”
Emma successfully applied for a grant from the Start and Grow programme to pay for the development of a new website for which she used a local company to build and host. The grant also paid for some electrical machinery for treatments and other equipment. In addition to this, it also covered the cost of branded signage and professional products.
“At every stage of the grant application process, an advisor was on hand to support me with any queries I had – which was fantastic. The team not only guided me through the process but also helped to build my confidence in my ideas – their support was amazing.”
The business is going well, and Emma has plans to expand her treatment range even further to take advantage of the growth in more intricate facial work and the use of new technology and equipment for aesthetic treatments. She is also developing collaborative partnerships with other businesses to provide specialist treatments to her clients which are currently unavailable. This includes complementary treatments for people experiencing or recovering from cancer.
“I would love to move to a larger premises to enable me to expand the range of treatments further and grow the retail side of the business and if business continues to do well, maybe another salon – the world is my oyster!”
When asked what advice she would give anyone starting a new business, Emma says that they need to recognise that it will be hard and that you will be out of your comfort zone but there is support out there, such as the CPCA Growth Hub, who can help you take those steps to success. “I cannot praise the team at the Start and Grow programme enough,” Emma commented, “they made sure that I had the best possible support with my grant application.”
The future looks bright for Emma and she has recently been shortlisted as a Finalist in the UK’s Best Skin Clinic of the Year category for the Professional Beauty Awards – we wish her the very best of luck!
For more information visit www.gloclinic.co.uk or follow on Facebook and Instagram
CPCA and its partners received £2.5m funding from the Community Renewal Fund for the Start and Grow programme, which was delivered across Peterborough, Fenland and Huntingdonshire in 2022. It has equipped new and existing enterprises with the business skills they need for sustainable growth and creating new jobs. The project was also supported and was in partnership with Peterborough City Council and Fenland and Huntingdonshire District Councils.
