A business woman from Lurgan tells of how her passions and personal attributes have led to the success of her expanding business portfolio after the opening of her third location.
Simply Beautiful was started by proprietor Leanne Seeley (35), with the idea of starting her own business initially described a ‘distant dream’. Fast forward, with 15 successful years in the industry Leanne is now excited to announce her new beauty venture in Armagh!
After completing her studies in Roberta Mechan International College of Beauty in Belfast, Leanne worked in the city for several years before returning home to Lurgan and working in a local salon.
Given just two days notice before being made unemployed as the salon closed down, Leanne had a strong client base already built up and decided to make her first entrepreneurial move by renting out a small room in a different salon in town.
After a few months of working from the small space, building her client base and demand exceeding what she could offer in the premises, at the age of just 21, Leanne opened her own salon on Portadown high street in 2011.
With a thriving salon in Portadown and eager to venture into new areas, Leanne won a tender with South Lakes Leisure Centre just before covid in 2020. Qualified in all aspects of beauty treatments, Leanne’s passions lie in massage and skincare treatments.
This new opportunity in South Lakes offered Simply Beautiful the chance to expand into the spa industry and for Leanne to expand on the services she was passionate about.
But this new opening came with it’s challenges.
The new premises opened in November 2020 for just one week before being closed to strict government measures for one month. However Leanne describe this first closure as a ‘blessing’ as they where able to make changes to notable business operation problems which they noticed in that first week.
One month later they reopened with a new business plan and offering new treatments before further restrictions where placed and they closed again for another two months – before restrictions were fully lifted and Simply Beautiful South Lakes finally got to keep their doors opened in April 2021.
Succeeding through Covid and with two thriving businesses built up over the span of a decade, Leanne is excited to announce the opening of Simply Beautiful’s third location – Victoria Street, Armagh.
Familiar to many in the area, Simply Beautiful have taken over the site previously known as The White Orchid.
Claiming to be a ‘sanctuary for relaxation and self care’, the new location combines what both the Portadown and South Lakes locations offer separately – luxury treatments and a spa, relaxation area all under the one roof!
Explaining the process of how her third location came to be, Leanne said: “I had no intentions of expanding further but I visit Armagh regularly and when the listing initially went up I decided it would do no harm paying a visit and seeing what the premise was like.
“I met with Jennifer and loved the space. It combines what we offer separately in Portadown and South Lakes but all under the one roof with beauty treatments, massages and facials.
“The one thing that is new to us is the private spa area which is only opened to our clients. It just seemed like a different opportunity to my other salons”.
Helping Leanne in the Armagh salon is her team of highly qualified and skilled therapists – Siobhan, Caitlin, Ellie and Janice who all come from a facial, massage, spa and reflexology backgrounds.
Offering a unique experience, Simply Beautiful offer a range of beauty treatments but what makes them stand out is not only the buildings Georgian townhouse features but also their modern relaxation and spa facilities which are available for all clients.
This includes an outdoor hot tub, indoor sauna and both indoor and outdoor relaxation areas.
Leanne is keen to keep the buildings charming classic features but reassures that the older features will not take away from providing modern treatments and ensures cleanliness is a top priority.
“The building itself is beautiful and keeping within the old Georgian theme and I want to continue that classic style as a feature point,” she said.
“It’s different to my other salons which are much more clinical and modern and visibly more polished looking but I’m definitely embracing the Georgian house – it’s so unique and the clients really love that the fire is always lit and the furnishing are soft to compliment the old building.”
The Georgian townhouse will be getting one fresh new look – as they introduce a new changing facility which will offer privacy and security for all clients.
Simply Beautiful offer a range of beauty treatments including nails, waxing, manicures, pedicures, lashes, normal massage, hot stone massage, facials and Japanese head spa. And soon, they will be taking a new direction and offering pregnancy treatments and more advanced facials in the near future.
Speaking of how she feels about the opening of her third business, Leanne said: “It’s mad, there’s not enough hours in the day but the number one thing is being organised.
“When I went from one business to two it was a massive big difference in my life but I quickly adapted and got into a way of segregating my hours for each business.
“So the transition into a third business really hasn’t been difficult, I just found a way of dedicating the hours and prioritising.”
And it’s not all work and no play, as Leanne makes time for herself and her four legged best friend a priority everyday.
“As a person, I would say I’m very organised and have a good routine. I wake up at 5am every morning, I walk my dog -Buddy- and go to the gym.
“It’s so important to have my own time and I try to do it first thing so then the rest of the day I commit to work. Having my own time I find refreshes my mind and starts me off with a productive day”.
To celebrate their new opening, Simply Beautiful have a special discount on their ‘Moment of Calm Package’ which runs until the end of April – priced at £90pp for one and a half hours, you can relax and unwind with a range of treatments and facilities including:
Warm oil back massage, customised luxurious facial, foot and leg massage with the relaxation not stopping there as this package also includes refreshments served in the tranquil relaxation room, use of the outdoor hot tub, seating area and indoor sauna.
To book this package and for more information on treatments available, click here.
Simply Beautiful Armagh are open Wednesday to Saturday and are also taking on new clients for all treatments.
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