Susan is from a small industrial town in North-East England known for its huge steel works which dominated the area for generations.

In 1979 that all changed. At the height of a recession, British Steel decided to close the plant and overnight the town became one of the darkest unemployment blackspots in the country.

At around the same time, a young, ambitious Therapist had a dream. Newly qualified, fresh out of beauty training, she wanted to start her beauty business. Never scared of a challenge, where better to start, Susan thought, than her hometown…
Yes, a town with one of the highest jobless rates in the country, what could possibly go wrong?

Over the following years Susan worked night and day to gradually build up a successful beauty business.

She dealt with some failures for sure, but through steely grit and determination instilled by her upbringing, she quickly became a pillar of the local business community as a model for entrepreneurial success. But, she was also gaining traction in the national beauty industry too. With her infectious personality and incisive opinions she became a vocal advocate of independent beauty businesses and how they could achieve better results.

As her profile rose so too did recognition for her business with her aesthetics clinic winning national awards, breaking the mold from previous years where big city salons were the only winners.

The rest, as they say, is history.