THE owner of a beauty salon who took on the business 18 months ago while her son was just three months old is celebrating a clutch of award nominations.
Jodie Bailey Lashes and Beauty has been nominated by readers of The York Press in our Best Beauty Salon competition – one of three awards the business owner has been put up for.
Readers can vote for the Best Beauty Salon 2024 by picking up a copy of The Press newspaper until Saturday, October 12, with the winner set to be announced in the week commencing October 21.
Jodie, who runs the business in Layerthorpe said she saw the to let sign in April 2023 and within 48 hours, she had the keys.
She said: “I’m currently up for a couple of awards with Lash, and that’s in Birmingham in November.
“However, you kinda push yourself forward for those, and there’s a lot of people in the frame.
“It means more to receive The York Press nomination, because of the people who have been putting your name forward.”
Jodie said she’s been qualified for about eleven years, working at other salons and being self-employed.
She said despite ‘not knowing what I was doing’ when she took up the lease, it now helps with the balance of home and work.
Jodie said: “I literally rang them up, had a viewing on it within 48 hours of me seeing the sign, and two days later, I had the keys.
“I hardly took any maternity leave because I didn’t want to lose any clients, but it’s hard in this business.”
Mum-of-three Jodie only took about six weeks off but said clients who had been coming back to her for years and years remained loyal.
Although it’s a busy workplace and homespace, Jodie said the ‘work gets done’.
She said: “Owning the business also provides me with some flexibility, I can take time off to spend with the kids, but I won’t stand and look at what I’ve achieved and pat myself on the back.
“It’s things like your nomination that make me realise how far I’ve come and to say I’m juggling kids, a husband and full-time work, but it gets done, the work gets done.
“My salon is chilled out which I think helps me retain clients.
“I’m just myself.
“We just have a laugh and sometimes it becomes a therapy session.
“It’s a small salon, there’s the main room with the nail desk and then there’s my room at the back where I mainly do eyelash extensions, that’s my main thing.
“When I started out 11 years ago, it was never a goal, I never thought I’d have my own little place, but it’s happened and it was meant to be, but it’s also overwhelming.”
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