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Steph finished school and went on to work at McDonalds full-time before working behind the bar in a pub for a few years. She wanted a career that would be flexible enough for her to still spend time with her children, but also something that she could excel in and make her own. When she was 22, Steph decided to apply for a Hairdressing course.

Once she started the course Steph was surprised at how quickly she fell in love with it, and began to think of hairdressing as more of a hobby than a course; everything she wanted to do revolved around hairdressing. Steph’s favourite part of the course was learning how to cut hair, and also how to style hair-up. She found she wasn’t as good at colouring hair as she could never quite get the colour right, although everything improves with practise!

This is what inspired Steph to start her own business, specialising in the areas she was best at. Towards the end of her course Steph started preparing promotional materials for her services, including business cards and a Facebook page.

While studying her course Steph took part in some work experience with a local salon in Eastleigh, which has proved useful in setting up her own business. The placement included a role-play involving a difficult customer who was not happy with the service they received, which taught Steph how best to handle clients and made her more confident interacting with customers.

Steph has since returned to Eastleigh College to speak to current Hairdressing students and offer them advice on starting out on their own. She can’t stress enough the importance of planning ahead, “Planning for the future is the best thing they can do – advertise on social media, make leaflets and business cards, ask your clients to give reviews to their friends… if it’s what you want to do just go for it.

"Make sure that you’re insured for public liability, make sure you’re insured to work at different venues, research your pricing and get your tax right. Just plan ahead as soon as you can!”

I have a knack for hair-up and styling, and that’s what I love the most. [My business] is picking up a lot quicker than I thought, with a wedding already booked for next year!

Steph

Steph wants to grow her business as much as possible, including renovating her house to include a salon-style room purposely for her clients. She hopes to one day own her own salon, but at the moment is just focusing on the opportunities available to her.

To find out more about the Hairdressing courses at Eastleigh College, visit our careers page or call 023 8091 1299 to speak to one of our friendly advisors.