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How I did it - Beauty and wellbeing

Nutrition: 'Raising my professional profile with registration'
Angela Falaschi is a nutritionist and homeopath working from a health centre in London. 
"I am a member of the British Association of Nutritional Therapy, the Homeopathic Medical Association and the Guild of Naturopathic Iridologists.

This means that potential clients searching for a nutritionist or homeopath have access to my name and contact details via each organisation’s website, as well as my own and that of the clinic in which I work. Knowing that my work must meet the standards of a professional body reassures potential clients, whether they contact me through the organisation or simply read details of my membership on my own marketing literature."

Beautician: 'How I manage wage costs'
Suzette King is the owner of Face Facts beauty clinic in Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex. 
"When I opened Face Facts 23 years ago, I was operating on my own. When I couldn’t cope with both front-of-house duties and my treatments, I employed a trainee who could learn on the job, while helping out with bookings.

This was a cost-effective way of taking on a staff member, and once she was fully qualified and generating her own client bookings, I was able to repeat the process with a new trainee. We now have three fully trained therapists at Face Facts, and a part-time receptionist who also looks after our orders and accounts. I pay a wage rather than offering commission on bookings. However, when I wanted to increase salaries last year but the economic situation didn’t allow it, I brought a new range of products into the clinic. Staff receive 10% commission on any sales, allowing them to increase their earnings with no additional expense to the business."

Personal trainer: 'Working for an umbrella organisation'
Melissa Nicholls runs personal training company Freedom Fitness. 
"I joined Fitness First as a self-employed personal trainer because I’d been working for myself for six months and felt isolated and was struggling to pick up clients.

Working from the health club had vast benefits. I paid Fitness First a fee of £650 per month, which gave me access to its gym and equipment, membership lists and promotional events, as well as the friendship and support of other personal trainers. I charged clients £35 per hour and worked out that I needed to work 20 hours per week to earn the salary I required, which I easily achieved. The downside was the amount of time I spent at the club. Most personal training clients want to workout first thing in the morning, at lunchtime, or in the evening, so my actual hourly rate worked out quite low.

I now run my own business, specialising in outdoor personal training, but my time at the health club gave me valuable experience and confidence when I was just starting out.

And these are advantages that I’ve now taken into my new business."

Hairdresser: 'Keeping ahead of the competition'
Mark Coray is the owner of Coray & Co hair salon in Cardiff and Vice President of the National Hairdressing Federation. 
"I’ve been self-employed since 1993 and part of my success is due to keeping my skills level high – I’m currently British Hairdressing Champion and International Hairdressing Champion. I’m also a colour specialist. It means I can market myself and my salon effectively, and clients can trust me to do a good job. Because of that, I can charge what I’m worth, rather than being led by my competitors’ prices. While it’s good to know what other salons demand for their services, you need to know what your overheads are, otherwise you simply won’t earn enough to keep your business afloat – as a member and now Vice President of the National Hairdressing Federation, I’ve learnt that hairdressers are notorious for undercharging their clients.

The recent economic downturn has had a big impact on the hairdressing sector – salon turnover is down around 25% nationwide. For me, that’s meant cashflow has become more of a problem around the VAT quarter, when PAYE is due, and on payday. When I started out, I needed to have the clients before I could employ more staff; today, it’s just the same."