Like many beauty therapists it had always been a dream of mine to open my own salon. I had worked for many salons and spas locally and had always hoped that one day I could turn my dream into a reality.
Like most people, I would often treat myself to a treatment as regularly as I could afford and the majority of times I left the treatment room feeling not only disappointed but also frustrated (frustrated in the sense that I knew I could do the same treatment one hundred times better), and believe me I cannot emphasise enough how I hate feeling this way. I am always desperate to enjoy my treatment and reap the benefits instead of feeling cheated and underwhelmed. My husband would ask “how was your treatment?” and unfortunately the general reply would always be “distinctly average”.
This feeling was what eventually motivated me to follow my dream, together with the support of my family and friends.
I was lucky enough to have had the experience and training from working in many five star spa establishments, and consequently have had high standards and the importance of customer service, cleanliness and presentation engrained into me.
To me, it was obvious what these salons and spas were missing and I knew I could do it better.
We had a very specific criteria when looking for the ideal location to turn my dream into a reality. We instantly dismissed the stereotypical salon in the high street and instead, identified and recognised that there were certain advantages of being out of a town, which far outweighed the disadvantages…
Advantages
- Quiet, beautiful, tranquil setting to mimic a spa location and allow guests to escape the hustle and bustle of modern living
- The importance of free parking directly outside the salon (especially following facials and waxing, helping to prevent the embarrassment of being seen after treatments that remove Make-Up or cause skin redness)
- Easy access from local towns and villages without having to worry about parking tickets, finding a space to park or traffic delays
- Somewhere different to our local competitors on the high street
- Somewhere special and magical….
After looking tirelessly and not accepting a second best option, a former cowshed situated in a beautiful Cotswold countryside location became available. The building, itself was situated over a tiny hump back bridge overlooking the smallest church in England, next to a field of beautiful grey horses.
We immediately booked a viewing, where we found an empty barn with a huge amount of potential….we had struck gold…it was perfect and this was where the real hard work started!
Myself, my husband, my family and friends all worked around the clock seven days a week for three months solid without one day off (with the exception of Christmas Day) to convert our neglected little period barn into my dream salon. Our saving grace was the Vine Tree restaurant down the road, where proprietor Tiggi Wood kept us fed and watered!
The barn itself was a blank canvas. We had to design and build the interior, which was fantastic as it gave us the opportunity to build a bespoke interior that was fit for one purpose.
After intense careful planning and hours of research on a small budget, we soon worked out: the strategic lighting (for both functionality and ambience), an efficient cosy under floor heating system (after levelling the floor and waiting for the concrete to set during the heavy 2010 Winter snowfall), the structure and layout of the salon (including the client journey) as well as the interior decoration and branding.
With twelve years’ experience in (predominantly) the spa industry, I knew the importance of avoiding the ‘silent irritants’ (a word my team often hear me use referring to: clutter, trailing wires, extension leads, and general mess), which is often overlooked by therapists. However, from a client’s point of view these can be ‘silently irritating’. With this knowledge we were able to replicate the same relaxing environment you’d expect to see in a leading destination spa.
Choosing the professional products was the easy part, as having worked with the majority of skincare brands I knew straight away which products reflected the prestigious image I was trying to create and the importance of using high quality, effective products.
So, so far we had a fantastic venue, a premium product selection, a custom built salon, the necessary equipment, the attention to detail, the experience and delivery of top quality treatments, the care, passion and the determination I had to make it all succeed. All that was needed was to deliver on our promise of high quality spa treatments at an affordable price, resulting in good value for money, and then wait for word of mouth to spread.
I also understood the importance of finding and investing in dedicated outstanding, passionate therapists who carry the same ethos as myself, whom I would commit to continually develop, motivate and reward – so together we could grow the business.
The brand Perfection was born, and having being shortlisted in the Top Five Salons in the UK for Salon of the Year 2013 award, we have certainly raised the standards and expectations in the local proximity, with many salons seeking and replicating our ideas and aspirations from the Perfection brand that we have carefully created over the last few years.
This is a testament to our committed, exceptionally talented and professional team and our loyal and supportive clientele, as without either of you, this would not be possible. I am truly grateful and would like to thank everyone for their help and encouragement over the last three and a half years in making my dream come true.
I promise never to let you down.