Case studies: The Nail Lounge

The Nail Lounge
Gaynor Nicol

Background

Two years ago Gaynor Nicol was working in insurance, now her business The Nail Lounge is about to open its second outlet. The Nail Lounge specialises in manicures and nail extensions, but also a whole range of beauty and well being services for women.

How mentoring helped

Along this short, but hectic journey Gaynor has had more than just a little help from her mentor Jenny Copeland as part of the Business Mentoring Programme.

Gaynor says: "It's been fantastic for me. I had plenty ideas, but the mentoring programme has given me the nudge I needed to make them a reality,”

"I needed someone to inspire me and I got that inspiration from Jenny Copeland.”

Before joining the programme, Gaynor was sceptical:

"When I first heard about business mentoring I thought I would just go along and have a chat and if I couldn't get anything out of it I would run a mile. But nothing could have been further from the truth.”

Gaynor says the main area which she has had help from Jenny is in how to grow her business.

The bigger picture

She says, "Through the business mentoring scheme Jenny has always made me look at the bigger picture,”

"Jenny has shown me why I should delegate more. I was really bad at delegating and she told me I should get on with the main job of running the ship. She has made me sharpen up how I look at the business and my time management. I really had to move my business forward and Jenny gave me the push I needed.”

In the long-term, Gaynor has her sights set on expanding by franchising her Nail Lounge brand and concept all over the UK.

"I would recommend the Business Mentoring Programme to anyone. If people have the ability and the right attitude, business mentoring will bring that out in them."

Jenny Copeland who runs a personal development company, Secrets of Success in Irvine, Ayrshire says: "I have been able to help Gaynor clarify exactly what she should be doing to grow her business,”

"She has a myriad of ideas and I have helped her identify exactly which ideas she should concentrate on in the short term.”

Jenny added: "I also get something out of mentoring. If you want to learn something the best way is to teach someone else. Going through the discipline of mentoring it reaffirms the business planning steps I need to remember.”

This Scotland-wide programme brings together experienced businessmen and women and matches them with people running companies who may need a helping hand from someone who has seen it all before and knows the problems facing new and growing companies.

There are more than 500 matches of mentoring partnerships in the programme and the numbers are growing every day.

Find out more about mentoring.