UK Steel funding has put entrepreneur step closer to salon dream

Now his dream has become a reality after Mr Somerville, of Whiston, Rotherham, won funding from UK Steel Enterprise, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Steel.

He is renting space at Simply Beauty, a beauty salon on Bawtry Road in Wickersley. Mr Somerville applied for a grant from UK Steel Enterprise’s Kickstart Fund to help get him trading.

“I felt like I had reached the end of the line in terms of what I could achieve working for others. My real aim is to create a salon that becomes a training academy for other young hairstylists in Rotherham. I’ve already taken on one member of staff and hope that by this time next year I’ll be in my own dedicated premises with a growing team,” he said.

Kickstart Fund applicants based in the Borough of Rotherham can receive support from Rotherham Investment & Development Office to help them find work premises, sometimes with discounted rental rates.

Rotherham Youth Enterprise (RYE) works alongside UK Steel Enterprise to help applicants with business planning and mentoring through the early stages of running a new business.

Mr Somerville won a scholarship with L’Oreal last year, which took him all over Europe to study and learn about different cutting styles.

He said: “I used the grant to build up a stock of L’Oreal products, being supported by such a high profile brand gives me credibility.

“Without the grant from UK Steel I would not have been able to do that or pay for the training I’m undertaking to become an NVQ trainer and assessor; so it really made a massive difference to me.”