Jenny originally qualified as a hairdresser as a mature student in 1992 and began a mobile business working with the elderly in the community; but it was after a period of time out of the business due to ill health that proved to be her defining moment:
“When I returned to hairdressing at Elmhurst Residential Home in 2001, I was asked to train as a carer - so I underwent Dementia training,” Jenny recounts. “I had never experienced such job satisfaction, the feedback and gratitude I got from the families of my clients was immense, they were absolutely delighted to find out that I was not only caring for their mum/dad but also ‘the lady’ doing their hair. I was then determined to fulfil my dream by combining my two passions, working with this client group and hairdressing”.
Having two such complementary skill sets soon led to a demand for Jenny’s services in other care homes locally, which meant she had reached a crossroads in her professional and family life - with two children of primary school age, did she continue a career in care or take the plunge and start her own dedicated business? One enormous splash later, ‘Care 4 Hair’ set sail.
“I soon took on an assistant- a fellow carer and qualified hairdresser- as I grew busier and my reputation grew. My extensive research into the care industry revealed that being Dementia trained is not a requirement of outside service providers such as hairdressers, beauticians and the like. My mission is that all residential and care homes will have the choice to have their own personal hairdressing and beauty service provided to them by fully trained, qualified staff who not only care how their clients look but also how they feel. That’s also why I expanded my services to offer beauty therapy”. With an ageing population and 21,000 care homes currently in the UK, Jenny’s target of 10% of the market could bring her an estimated turnover of £24 million!
2009 saw Jenny re-brand and launch her company Lily Pins Ltd. (www.lilypins.co.uk) “It was a very exciting year all round for us. I entered “The Pitch 2009” and was shortlisted from over 100 applicants for the London Regional Final, eventually winning the “wildcard” place to the national final in London”. This £50,000 pitching competition involved Jenny presenting to, and being grilled by, a panel of top class business talent, including former TV Dragon Doug Richard who subsequently invited her to share her experience on stage with him at the launch of his own ‘Perfect Your Pitch’ event.
As if that wasn’t enough Lily Pins were also finalists in 2 categories in The Anglian Business Awards – Entrepreneur of the Year and Start up Business of the Year. 2010 shows no signs of slowing down for the girl who left school at 16, one of five children.
“From April 2009 until now I have engaged the services of Tina Dulieu at Coaching Dynamics and received partial funding from the government initiative ‘Train to Gain’ for a Management and Leadership Programme. Tina’s wisdom and down to earth advice has been a great investment, teaching me to network and introducing me to other great professional services”, Jenny recommends.
Would she do anything different with the wisdom of hindsight? “You know what? I wouldn’t! I believe things happen at certain times for a good reason and that it is all part of our journey, I am happy with where my company is now, I feel the time is right to expand and that I am personally ready for the challenges that lay ahead, I have learnt a lot of lessons along the way and no doubt will continue to learn,” Jenny laughs, determinedly.
“Believe in yourself, go for it, and remember the difference between success and failure is getting out of bed, NOT staying under that duvet, on those occasional mornings when you wonder ‘why? Why am I fighting what feels like a losing battle? To coin one of Tina’s phrases – don’t be a pendulum to your emotions!”
And to catch a Dragon’s phrase - Jenny, let me tell you where I am.... I’m in!
