My Business Journey, Chapter 7: The Pivot, Finding My Niche

In Chapter 6: The Ultimate Juggling Act, I shared the reality of balancing family life with a growing business. As the years passed, I also began thinking about what I wanted the next stage of my working life to look like.

Welcome to Chapter 7 of My Business Journey: The Pivot, Finding My Niche. This is the story of a significant investment, a change of heart and a decision that helped clarify what mattered most to me at Karen Alexandra Beauty and Well-Being in Tonbridge. In Chapter 8: The COVID Years, I share how lockdown led to the online shop and the first At Home Facial Kits.

Looking for a new challenge

My client base had grown, and I loved my work. Even so, I reached a point where I wanted a fresh challenge and an opportunity to develop my skills.

In 2016, I decided to train in permanent cosmetics: tattooing brows, eyeliner and lip colour. I was interested in the subtle, natural-looking results these treatments could offer and felt some of my clients would appreciate them.

A big investment in permanent cosmetics

The training was a major financial commitment. It involved five intensive days with a leading trainer, along with travelling to West Yorkshire, a beautiful part of the country.

I was eager to learn and embrace something new. After training, I enthusiastically began treating clients and enjoyed seeing the results of such detailed work.

When the new direction began to feel less like me

After several months, I realised how much 'time' these detailed procedures required. They were beginning to affect the appointments I could offer for my established treatments, particularly the organic facials I loved so much.

There was another consideration, too. The amount of plastic needed for hygiene and preventing cross-contamination troubled me. Those precautions were essential to the procedures, but the volume of waste did not sit comfortably with the direction I wanted for my business.

This was a personal decision about my work and priorities, rather than a judgement on other practitioners. I needed to be honest about whether this was the right path for me.

Choosing to change direction

Walking away was not a quick or easy decision. I had invested money, time and energy, and naturally felt disappointed that this new direction was not the lasting fit I had hoped for.

It took months of careful consideration, but I eventually removed permanent cosmetics from my treatment menu. Continuing simply because I had already invested so much would not have made it the right choice.

Instead, the experience helped me recognise the parts of my business that I most wanted to develop.

Finding my niche in organic skincare and facials

The decision reaffirmed my enthusiasm for organic skincare, facial treatments and helping clients choose routines they could enjoy at home.

Working with ranges such as Éminence Organic Skincare felt closer to the business I wanted to build. It gave me the opportunity to focus on the work I loved and the personal advice I enjoyed sharing.

I also wanted to keep thinking carefully about the products and materials I used. That is an ongoing consideration, not a claim that any treatment or product has no environmental impact.

A detour that helped me move forward

Sometimes taking what feels like the wrong path can be a helpful experience. My time in permanent cosmetics taught me new skills, but it also helped me understand my priorities more clearly.

Finding my niche was not about getting every decision right the first time. It was about being willing to reflect, change direction and make room for the work that felt right for me.

Read all 12 chapters of My Business Journey

1. Chapter 1: A Baby, a Beauty Couch and a New Beginning
2. Chapter 2: Sleeping Babies and Homemade Price Lists
3. Chapter 3: A Permanent Home
4. Chapter 4: Discovering the Skincare Range That Shaped My Business
5. Chapter 5: Finding Clients and Keeping Them
6. Chapter 6: The Ultimate Juggling Act
7. Chapter 7: The Pivot, Finding My Niche (you’re here)
8. Chapter 8: The COVID Years
9. Chapter 9: A New World After COVID
10. Chapter 10: A Family Affair
11. Chapter 11: A Huge Change
12. Chapter 12: On into the Future!

Previously: Chapter 6: The Ultimate Juggling Act.

Continue to Chapter 8: The COVID Years, where I share the story of the COVID years.

Explore Karen Alexandra Beauty today

Visit Karen Alexandra Beauty for skincare, makeup and wellbeing favourites, with personal advice from me in Tonbridge. You can also explore the Éminence Organic Skincare collection to find out more about the range.

If you would like to enquire about a facial, please get in touch to discuss availability. There is a six-month waiting list for my Éminence Organic Facials, so it is worth planning ahead.

Thank you for reading and for being part of the journey.

Karen xxx

Karen Alexandra Beauty and Well-Being

2a Avebury Avenue, Tonbridge, Kent