A fledgling beauty business set up by a young mum is in fine form thanks to start up support from Business in Focus.
Gintaute Semionoviene set up Gintan & Beauty in Porth, after a period of maternity leave made her question whether she wanted to go back to her old job, or take the plunge and set up her own business.
Now with a thriving tanning, micro-blading and beauty salon in the heart of the town, she urges others to follow their dream, and to take advantage of the support on hand to help make it a success.
“It all started for me after I had my second baby. I was on maternity leave, had a lot of free time to think and I just knew I wouldn’t want to go back into retail. One day I got back from a tanning session and a beauty treatment and I told my husband I wouldn’t want to go back to this particular salon, and I couldn’t find a salon that I liked. He told me ‘just do it yourself, if you know how to do it, you know what the perfect salon would look like’. He thought it would be a great business idea.
“So, I started to look into business workshops and that’s when I found out about Business In Focus. Straight away they got me a mentor and he was amazing. He helped me to create a business plan and develop it to perfection. I also got help with marketing, because that was something I didn’t really know about. The support they gave me was great. I can’t imagine anyone else who could help me with the push I needed to start my own business. Obviously, this idea cost a lot of money, which I didn’t have, but Business in Focus helped me by helping me access a UK Government backed Start Up Loan. They helped me bring the businesses to the high street, by guiding me to make changes that needed to be made, to raise standards and to put my skills in place.”
Business in Focus’ Business Advisor Matthew Roberts, who supported Gintaute, says:
“I’m pleased to see Gintaute’s business flourishing and bringing another popular business to Porth. As Gintatute has found, starting your own business needn’t be a daunting prospect, as long as you do your research and make the most of the free business support that is out there in Wales. The right financing is of course vital to small business success, but equally important are having a detailed business plan, marketing plan and relevant training, both for the business owner and for any staff.
“Many people who set up in business do so with an attractive, creative idea, as Gintaute has, but they may need support to get the many other facets of setting up a new business in place. This is why we offer a mentoring service for our Business in Focus clients for a full year, so we can give them credible support in those important early stages.”
Gintaute adds:
“Do your market research as deeply as you can. Visit all the places around, find out customer likes and dislikes. If you have something unique and different to offer, just do it. If you are at home thinking about setting up a business you are just losing time. You have just one life and you have these few years to be productive – I think if you aren’t going to do it this year you aren’t going to do it later.”
Business in Focus can provide assistance with funding options, business planning, market research, legal compliance and insurance, even offering premises with flexible terms – all the necessary foundations that can make the difference between success and failure for a start-up.
