Posted on Wednesday 4th September 2024
Kate Smith
A Tamworth entrepreneur has launched a new beauty technician business with support from a county council start-up programme.
Twenty-nine-year-old Kate Smith recently started up Let’s Talk Brows after her twins were born. Running her own business enables Kate to work more flexibly around their needs, follow her passion for giving people a confidence boost and helping them to feel at their best, whilst also maximising her earning potential.
After exploring the business support options available within the Staffordshire area, Kate applied to the Get Started and Grow Scheme, a fully funded business support programme developed by Staffordshire County Council.
With various options for support available including finance, legal support, HR, website development or digital marketing, Kate recognised that many in her industry find great traction with social media, so decided to focus on that area.
Kate has invested heavily into her training and is continuing to develop her skills in a variety of techniques so that she can further personalise her service and cater for every client including exploring options for clients with alopecia and hair loss. Inspired by her twin sister’s experience of hair loss, she wants to ensure that her service is completely inclusive to everyone.
Kate benefited from a half-day social media strategy workshop. During the session, she worked through a process of competitive analysis and recognising what works well and what doesn’t work so well in her industry and then understanding why.
Afterwards, a monthly template was developed that will serve as a basis for her social media content planning, taking away some of the day-to-day pressure to always come up with new ideas on the spot.
Kate said:
The social media mentoring session was so helpful. I came away with lots of new ideas around content types and have a better understanding of why certain formats work better than others for increasing engagement. I’m excited to get started with showcasing my work better and showing potential clients the difference I could make for them.”
The Get Started and Grow programme is delivered by specialist company The NextGen. Its managing director Kathryn Hyde said:
A lot of small business owners find themselves in a bit of a rut with social media. There is so much advice given online social media which is frankly overwhelming for people trying to do it all.
Breaking it down and focusing on the unique business and the skills and time available of the individual and crafting something that fits with them really helps to create clarity so that they can move forward confidently.”
Staffordshire County Council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for economy and skills Philip White said:
Our Get Started and Grow programme is making a difference to new businesses – providing free expert advice in areas where they have less expertise to give them added confidence. It’s great to see positive results and the experiences of new businesses like Kate’s – we wish her all the best with the venture.
We have a strong record for start-up survival in the county as the ONS figures show. It’s hugely encouraging that Staffordshire is providing the right environment for start-up businesses to grow and thrive, and vitally to operate successfully through the difficult first few years.
At the county council it is a priority to us to provide support to these enterprises in a targeted and relevant way, ensuring they have the guidance they need to succeed and grow.”
There is a variety of support options available via Staffordshire County Council, including places remaining on the Get Started and Grow Programme.
For more information about the support available, people should visit the Get Started and Grow webpage.
People can also follow Let’s Talk Brows on its social media journey.