Former petrol station worker, Hayley wanted to develop her self-employment idea
Twenty-nine-year-old, mother of two, Hayley was referred to the Barnstaple Restart Scheme for help with developing her self-employment idea.
Whilst working part-time, Hayley took on a dog grooming course because her ambition was to work with animals.
Having completed her course, she set up her business as a dog groomer from her downstairs bathroom.
Hayley’s business was born, but limited space meant that her service and income was limited too!
Together with her work coach from the jobcentre, Hayley explored ways to increase her income and become less reliant on benefits.
When her work coach suggested the Restart Scheme for self-employment support, Hayley knew it would help with building her business.
What the pup!
At her first meeting with Seetec, Hayley met her employment adviser, Sally and they discussed self-employment support.
Hayley tells us: “Every time I went into the office, I felt they were genuinely rooting for me and as excited about my business as I was.”
Sally moved swiftly to refer Hayley to our self-employment team who worked with her to explore her business needs.
Hayley completed short courses called ‘Is self-employment right for you?’ and ‘Record keeping’ with self-employment advisers, Ryan and Richard.
The courses helped Hayley to identify how to grow her fledgling business ‘What the pup dog grooming’.
To help keep accurate records, Seetec encourage self-employed participants to take card payments and Hayley was provided with a SumUp reader.
Grow her business
Hayley’s biggest barrier was that she had limited space, and this meant that she could only work with smaller dogs.
To address this, Seetec funded a shed for Hayley’s garden, this enabled her to pamper larger breeds too.
Together with the help of her family and friends, Hayley assembled the shed and was ready to grow her business.
Hayley says; “Having a dedicated workspace has made my home-life much easier and I love that I can take on bigger breeds too!”
A purpose-built salon
With the shed built, Hayley kitted out her new workspace with all the grooming essentials.
She tells us; “I now have a larger client-base and working from home means more time with my children.”
Hayley is already thinking of ways to expand and her new ambition is to run a purpose-built salon.
Growth is a priority to her, and she wants to continue working from home to maintain her work-life balance.
Full of optimism, Hayley tells us; “Maybe one day, we’ll move to a massive house and I can have an equally massive salon attached. Who knows?!”
A long-term success
Both Sally and Richard from Seetec have enjoyed the challenge of helping Hayley to grow her business, they are extremely proud of her achievements so far and anticipate a successful future for Hayley.
Sally says; “Hayley has been fully committed to making her new business a success and is showing great determination to build her reputation locally.”
Richard tells us; “Hayley clearly has a passion for working with animals, it’s been a pleasure to help her to continue doing something that she loves so much.
He adds; “We will continue to support Hayley on her business journey and have no doubt that it will be a long-term success.”
Hayley sums up; “Seetec started me off in the right direction with expanding and I would recommend the Restart Scheme to anyone in need of a head-start with getting their business going.”
Find out more about ‘What the pup dog grooming’ by visiting their social media pages on Facebook or Instagram.
Want to supercharge your business idea?
Ask your Jobcentre Plus work coach about the Restart Scheme.
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