Onwards & Upwards

Sometimes in business change becomes inevitable and can be a little daunting.

My business Elite Beauty Care has been in existence for a while now – 16 years and six months to be precise and from some fairly humble beginnings has grown steadily in each of those years into a well-established practice specialising in skin care and related treatments. Over this period the world of beauty has changed significantly both inside and outside the business and is set to see even greater change in the future as new legislation emerges and technology continues to provide even more sophisticated solutions. If you were to ask most clients who have visited me recently in my salon they would probably agree that at best it could be described as bijou and even allowing for that there is no longer sufficient space to swing the proverbial cat. It is against this background and my desire not to opt for the quiet life just yet awhile that I decided it was time to think about a new chapter for the future of the business and its clientele.

Having given the options and possibilities a considerable amount of thought and deliberation I came to the conclusion earlier this year that it was now time to relocate from the comfort and convenience of working from my home to the hustle and bustle of the High Street. In order to develop a sustainable business into the longer term I identified three key elements which needed to be incorporated into the business – people (to help me), premises (for more space to grow into) and products (to keep pace with the changing needs of my clients) – not exactly rocket science but a lot easier to say than to do.

Sometimes fate moves in mysterious ways and I am a bit of a fatalist at heart so when the opportunities arose I took them – gratefully. Thankfully I have found myself in the right place at the right time and been able to put together what is effectively a new business built upon the established platform of Elite Beauty Care – the new business is to be called Elite Skin & Beauty (not so different I guess but with emphasis remaining on skin care) and we are now operating from new premises which will be ideal for as far ahead as we can see.

Walking along the High Street, our location may not be immediately apparent but the entrance is from the courtyard in Star Gardens, opposite the NatWest bank, which can also be accessed from the car park at the rear. You will notice I said we and not me because I have recently taken on two new members of staff. Felicity, my daughter is going to be stepping into my shoes in the longer term and initially will be introducing a range of new treatments – more about this in the future. We will also be joined by Jill Nicholls who will be responsible for front of house and compliance which is becoming an increasingly important part of the business. Jill, who is coincidentally my sister, is a Registered Nurse; following her nursing career Jill has spent most of her working life in healthcare management and will bring her invaluable experience to our team. So the new regime does represent a bit of a family affair but most importantly the team provides a blend of youth and experience with the necessary enthusiasm and ambition to secure an effective transition in the next phase of business development.

In terms of treatments for the future the emphasis will continue to be skin care, incorporating in the short term a few exciting new developments such as IPL for hair removal and skin rejuvenation, HD Brows, CND Shellac nail treatments and St. Tropez spray tanning.

As part of the relocation we have recently completed a makeover of the new premises to be more reflective of our business ethos and we will be holding a series of open days over the next couple of months to which you are invited. The first of these will be on Saturday 8 October – if you would like to come along to see first-hand what we are now offering on the High Street just turn up between 10am and 2pm – we will be delighted to welcome you. In the meantime, if you’d like to contact us we have a new telephone number 01952 814200 but everything else remains unchanged.

Finally a word about NOVA which has been pretty much our exclusive form of advertising and promotion over the years and has made a significant contribution in terms of getting our message across – so thank you Barrie! •

September 2016