Bankrupt at 27, Now She Runs a 6-Figure Salon Empire
At 19, pregnant and unemployed, Laura Bell opened her first nail salon in under two weeks with £1,000 borrowed from her parents. By 27 she'd gone bankrupt after being manipulated by an ex-husband who lied about owning a house — and rebuilt from a single nail desk in a box room to a multi-salon business, now coaching salon owners across the UK. In this episode we cover: - How Laura opened her first salon in two weeks with just £1,000 - Being coerced into bankruptcy and losing her house at 27 - Rebuilding from a box room with one nail desk - Why switching from self-employed to employed staff added an extra £70k a year - Running a salon while pregnant and working 12-hour days - What she'd do differently if she lost everything and had to start again - Her advice for salon owners choosing between self-employed and employed teams If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to like, comment, and subscribe for more real founder stories. Business enquiries: James@realstartupstories.com Audrius@realstartupstories.com 00:00 Intro: Laura Bell 01:15 From hating school to discovering the beauty industry 03:15 Opening her first nail salon at 21 05:45 Building a seven-person salon while pregnant 08:00 Becoming a young mum and struggling to balance work 10:30 Opening a second salon, debt and losing everything 13:30 Moving to Cornwall and starting again from a box room 16:00 Building a successful salon in Cornwall 18:30 Creating her dream salon in Falmouth 21:00 Why Laura switched from self-employed to employed staff 24:00 The £70,000 difference between self-employed and employed teams 27:00 How Laura became a business coach 29:30 Could Laura rebuild a six-figure salon with £500? 32:00 How she'd get her first clients from scratch 34:00 Laura's advice for aspiring salon owners 35:30 Where to find Laura
