Case studies - business support
Company: Victoria Lala Hair and Beauty
Owner: Victoria Lala
Location: Wandsworth
Victoria Lala, originally from Kosovo, felt she had little hope of opening a business due to her language barrier. However, advice and practical assistance from GLE’s enterprise service GLE oneLondon meant that she was able to open her first ever hairdressing salon ‘Victoria Lala Hair and Beauty’.
A fully trained solicitor in Kosovo, Victoria realised with disappointment that her language skills meant she could not practise law when she arrived in the UK during the 1998 Kosovo war. However, not one to fall at the first hurdle, Victoria fell back on her teenage hairdressing skills for which she had flair and quickly found a job at a local hairdressers.
Victoria’s ambition did not allow her to be content working for someone else, and with a small child to consider she needed flexible working hours to balance motherhood and work. She began to formulate an idea of setting up her own salon.
While she had personal capital, Victoria needed to top it up with funding support from elsewhere. She discovered that the potential premises for her business were eligible to receive funding from Wandsworth council through their Town Centre Improvement Scheme. However, the funding hinged upon the formulation of a business plan. It was here she struggled as her written English was still poor.
At this point Victoria heard of GLE oneLondon’s Wandsworth Business Advice Service. With support and mentoring from business adviser Chris Bailey, Victoria was able to sit down, one-on-one and complete her business plan and financial forecast and access the council’s financial assistance.
The stylish small hairdressing salon ’Victoria Lala Hair and Beauty’ came into existence on 1st March 2005. The salon occupies a prime spot in the heart of Wandsworth. Victoria now employs a full time stylist and hopes to employ another in 12 months time, and also license out the basement premises to a beauty service.
Victoria says, ‘It is tough work balancing opening hours with school
runs but this is by far the best decision I could have made for myself and
my family but I couldn’t have done it without the support from Chris.
He was fantastic’.
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