Poole-based nail business plans second studio just months after securing £25,000 Start Up Loan

Poole’s Cassidy’s Beauty Academy is planning its second studio, after a Start Up Loan of £25,000 from GC Business Finance (GCBF) helped owner, Cassidy Jade Darby, secure her first nail studio earlier this year.

Cassidy founded Cassidy’s Beauty Academy in April 2024 after receiving financial aid by the GCBF.

She shares: “The Start Up Loan gave us the initial funding we needed to open our first salon and buy equipment. Without it, we wouldn’t be where we are now. As a first-time entrepreneur, it made accessing funding easy and I’ve already recommended the programme to friends looking to start their own businesses.”

Having been passionate about nails for over a decade, she completed her first L&P acrylic nail course at 16-years-old, utilising her mum’s garage as her first salon space. At 18, she opened a small beauty room and sought more qualifications. This exploration of courses sparked her lightbulb moment.

Failing to find a training course which met her learning needs, the tech noticed a gap in the education market.

Additionally, having ADHD herself, she felt the current courses on the market lacked adaptation and flexibility. Courses offered rigid and textbook-heavy structures targeting one type of student, rather than catering to a range of learning styles.

Having had her first daughter at 20, Cassidy swapped the nail desk for a sales career – which is where she grew passionate about education, igniting action. Cassidy’s Beauty Academy was born and, after securing financial aid, Cassidy made her dreams a reality.

Head of startup lending at GC Business Finance, Alex Mearns, adds: “Getting a Start Up Loan supported Cassidy in taking the first step towards following her passion for nails. It allowed her to offer a flexible and person-focused model to make training inclusive and accessible to those who require a different approach to traditional learning styles.”

Cassidy says: “We’re helping to train the next generation of nail technicians in a way that suits their way of learning.”

Her academy boasts courses which offer online and in-person sessions, with a more flexible and hybrid structure that she felt other courses lacked. In addition to courses, the business is a supplier of high-quality products from numerous reputable, as well as lesser-known, brands.

Having received ‘an abundance of support from the local community’, Cassidy is seeking to expand the team and aims to distribute more products online, with her sights set on opening a second studio within the next five years.

The entrepreneurs offers her advice for other seeking to start their own businesses: “My advice is to abandon fear and just go for it. The worst thing that can happen is nothing changes! I hope my story inspires others to follow their dreams.”

Keep up-to-date with Cassidy’s Beauty Academy via www.cassidysbeauty.co.uk and seek more information on Start Up Loans via www.startuploans.co.uk.