UK Enterprise Awards 2021

148 | UK Enterprise Awards 2021 Apr21441 Female Entrepreneur of the Year 2021 - South East England Little Essex Academy is one of the leading aesthetic training providers in the UK, offering both online and physical courses. Following its recent success in the UK Enterprise Awards 2021, we got in touch with Business Owner Emily Banfield to find out how she earned herself the title of ‘Female Entrepreneur of the Year – South East England’. With its team members possessing strong backgrounds in both the medical and beauty sectors, Little Essex Academy is able to support those looking to start out on a new venture in the aesthetics industry. To introduce us to the business, Emily provides us with a brief overview and offers more insight into some of its specialisms. “After initially starting out as Little Essex Salon offering a wide range of beauty and aesthetics treatments, lashes, acrylic and hard gel nails, tanning rooms, dermal fillers, anti-wrinkle injections and laser treatments, the salon has since turned into a UK wide aesthetics training academy”. When it comes to competition, rather than seeing other local businesses as a rival, Emily believes everyone can succeed if people pull together. “There will always be someone bigger and better in the industry, so as women, we try to support each other as much as possible. Instead of just simply training our students, we offer continued support and help throughout their journey. Finally, we make sure that all of our students are as confident dealing with any complications as they are carrying out aesthetic treatments. We understand the importance of comprehensive training.” The success of Little Essex Academy can largely be attributed to the efforts of its team members, as Emily points out. “The staff here are all highly motivated and great at what they do. The youngest member of our team actually has her own brand which is becoming more and more well-known. By treating clients and students with the utmost respect, our staff make sure everyone enjoys their time with us.”. The pandemic has unfortunately had a major impact on the aesthetics industry with many people losing their jobs. Moreover, after recently seeing her mother pass away due to COVID-19, Emily is keen to see more people take a chance on a new career. “The loss of my mother has left me feeling heartbroken. Hopefully, the last year has taught us all to be a bit kinder and more supportive of one another. More than ever I think we all need to take personal responsibility and stick by the rules to ensure this virus doesn’t continue to destroy any more lives. Losing my mother has certainly made me realise how important it is for people to take a chance on something and learn a new trade. Now is the time to get stuck back into work and enjoy what we do, you just never know what is around the corner”. Looking to the future in a post-COVID-19 era, Emily is hopeful of a very bright future for Little Essex Academy. “After the setbacks we’ve suffered over the last year, I just hope the industry continues to grow. Moving forward, the girls will continue to expand their skills to ensure we have a successful career together whilst we begin to open more branches UK wide”. Company: Little Essex Academy Ltd Contact: Emily Banfield Email: [email protected] Web: www.littleessexacademy.com Address: 3 Duke Street, Margate, Kent, CT9 1EP Phone: 0204 542 3379 “We are also one of the few UK companies who can fast track students with no previous experience as medics, alongside non-medics in the beauty industry”.