Paying off a Dh300K debt<\/p>\n
When she first started her salon business, Katie would eagerly invest in new industry trends, in which she later said she should have been more mindful and waited to see how long those trends would last. She then fell into debt, which accumulated more and more as she continued to invest in her business. At some point, that debt collected, and she was left with \u00a365k (Dh319,000) in debt.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot paying off the debt wasn\u2019t an option,\u201d she said. \u201cI gave myself a five-year goal to clear it all, and I did exactly that.\u201d Apart from investing financially into her business, the salon entrepreneur and mentor invested heavily in her time, which she used to build the business and learn everything there is to know so that she could improve, which paid off in the end.<\/p>\n
The turning point for Katie as an entrepreneur was working on the business, rather than in it. \u201cOnce I started gaining clients and building a team, I saw the money starting to come in more consistently. The real turning point, though, was when I stepped out of working\u00a0in\u00a0the business and began working\u00a0on\u00a0the business,\u201d she explained. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a complete gamechanger for me. Changing my role within the business was one of the best decisions I made, and it led to significant growth across my chain of salons, training academies, and product range.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lessons learnt along the way <\/p>\n
Katie said that there were a few big mistakes she had made, but that in hindsight, that proved essential for her to build the career she has today. The first was opening a salon without any clientele and having zero knowledge on how to run a businesses, which was all the more so difficult, being as she was in debt. <\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, I had no option but to keep going and learn how to build a business, otherwise I would have gone under, which wasn\u2019t an option for me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Another key lesson came from becoming a leader to her staff. \u201cI had no boundaries and just wanted to be liked, but that didn\u2019t work as we grew,\u201d she admitted. \u201cThrough my mistakes, I learned how to become a great leader, which led me to managing over 45 team members across multiple branches, and now helping my clients with their teams.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter 16 years of owning chains of salons, my most recent and biggest risk was putting everything into the business coaching space,\u201d Katie added. \u201cI no longer had a passion for running my own salons and wanted to focus on helping others build theirs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Today, the beauty businesswoman is an author, podcast host, and even a judge for major beauty awards. She has been honoured with accolades, including as Beauty and Aesthetics Business Strategist of the Year at the Corporate Vision Global Business Awards, and has founded award-winning salons, training academies across the UK, and a professional product range sold internationally.<\/p>\n
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