Life in Lockdown By Anita Stubbings Skin Therapist, Salon Owner, and Co Author.

This month’s blog post is by Anita Stubbings who owns Beauty Matters Salon in Buckingham.  In the article she shares her experiences of the pandemic, and explains the challenges she’s had to over come and how her business is now stronger than ever.

March 24th 2020 I cried buckets as Boris announced that I had to close my salon doors. Who would have thought that would lead to being closed for 10 months out of 13.

The easiest thing to do was to lock my doors and say that’s it! But those who know me know that I never take the easy option! So this is my lockdown story.

Lockdown 1.0 saw home schooling a 10year old trying to understand google classroom and answering all those naïve questions as  to why he couldn’t see his friends. All  while trying to figure out what was going on myself, what I needed to do to get my salon covid secure, keeping my staff updated whilst I was still grasping the basics and helping my clients stay beautiful at home!!  All this whilst running a home with my partner out at work all day! I soon learnt keeping my sanity was going to force me to dig deep!

Oh did I also mention we were due to move house too?!!!

Surely nothing else could go wrong ?   WELL ………..

My first job – (being total computer illiterate) I set up a private Facebook group to keep in touch with my wonderful clients. I soon realised this was forming an amazing community where myself, staff and clients could all air our emotions, we had tears, laughter, competitions and just general sharing. I eventually went onto interview other business owners to share our stories and soon had a regular slot called ‘live at 5pm’, this happened every Wednesday.  Even my 10 year old got on the bandwagon enjoying being part of these lives and became the main attraction!!!!!!!

July saw moving day, we were so excited to get the keys and it was going to be all systems go.  We were ready, I had settled into a pattern of keeping staff and clients happy all while home schooling. However Boris announced we could reopen on the 13th July we were getting our keys on the 14th July and guess what my partner had an accident on the 12th July so I spent a night in A & E waiting to see if he needed to be operated on!  That week went in a blink of an eye.  My partner was out of action, I needed to train my girls in the new protocols for covid safety along with wearing the right PPE, move home and work!!  Some people call me super woman, well I did it!!  I think 1 day I move 7 car loads of stuff and then worked until 9pm that evening!! Looking back, it was total stupidity!!

So settling into the new way of working and a new home it was now the summer holidays. Well that was ok my partner was off work due to his accident, childcare was covered so I could work all hours!  However, I didn’t want to, I had worked so hard ‘on’ my business instead of ‘in’ it, I had found a new niche for online skincare transformations. I loved empowering women to achieve the skin of their dreams and truly making a difference.

I continued taking online consultations offering 30 day challenges and 5 day master classes. I joined forces with other local professionals to offer a bespoke programme for women going through the menopause. I loved this and continue to do so.

Also while I was off I embarked on looking for mentors to work with. I found a couple who I truly believe have given me focus and passion to move my business forward.

November saw lockdown 2.0 however my son was back at school. My partner was back at work. The salon, staff and clients had all got into a groove, so only being locked down for 4 weeks was calm and I used that time to regroup and have some me time.  I used to be a runner, running half and full marathons, so I took the time to get back to what I loved the most, fitness.

So back we went to work in December ready for the Christmas rush,usually the busiest time for any beauty salon!  However, December 19th it was all taken away from us. Out of nowhere we were forced to close our doors with just 6 hour’s notice!  Thanks Boris!  Lockdown 3.0 had arrived. This I think hit us all. Our industry, our community, and our sanity. There was light at the end of the tunnel though, I was asked to co write a book called ‘Beauty and the Best’, 22 beauty professionals sharing their life stories.  After cancelling all our clients again and going back to the same formula we had in lockdown 1.0 I had something else to focus on. The book, it was released in January and went straight to number #1 best seller on amazon in the UK and USA!  I did feel like a mini celebrity as I was asked to be interviewed on a local radio station and had an article printed in the local paper too! Maybe fame was just around the corner?!!!

8am Christmas Eve I had a telephone call from the neighbour who lives next door to the salon. Telling me ‘I think you need to come to the salon urgently Anita’. What else could go wrong?

At the salon nothing prepared me for what greeted me. My salon had been flooded. I was looking at 4 foot of pure sewage water!  I cried! Then, yet again dug as deep as I could and just got on with the clean-up operation, 3 pumps later, an army of helpers and a massive insurance claim, I am happy to say I have the brand new gorgeous fully functional salon of my dreams!  This is definitely not for the faint hearted.  It has taken me 3 months to get the salon re refitted out, leaving me a week turnaround to make it look pretty and order all the replacement stock, but I did it!  I wouldn’t recommend juggling  the tradesmen and dealing with the insurers all whilst still home schooling!

Like I said earlier keeping my sanity has been challenging in itself!

After all of this I can look back and honestly say covid has been the best thing to happen for me and my business. I have reset my life, defined who I am and where I am headed.

‘I support women to transform their skin, achieving ultimate confidence’

Thank you to all who have helped me on my journey and continue to do so.

Kathy you are a star!!!  x

 

Anita Stubbings has owned and operated multiple successful salons, for over 30 years. After qualifying as a Beauty Therapist in 1988, she started out in mobile beauty before working her way up to the salon owner she is today. Having perfected her craft throughout the decades, Anita has a wealth of knowledge which keeps her focused and allows her to stay true to her brand ethos of providing a natural and holistic approach to beauty.

Anita loves nothing more than helping others to fulfil their dreams and reach their true potential. She has a passion for educating and supporting future beauty therapists, focusing on the importance of them becoming commercially savvy as well as experts in the field of beauty. She is a remarkable mentor. Despite unexpected hurdles along the way, her enthusiasm for beauty has never wavered and she has an enviable reputation as a go-to expert within the industry.