Two young mums haven’t looked back after putting their nursing careers on hold to run a beauty products business.
Cassie Middleton and Alyssa Simpson said looking after their children while building careers in the health sector had proved too much during last year’s lockdown.
So Cassie, 33, from Hatton, in Derbyshire, decided to leave her degree and put all her efforts into her own business called Unique Scentsations, selling everything from bath bombs to exfoliants, soaps and beauty gift sets.
Cassie said: “I was doing my nursing degree and then Covid hit, and the kids were off school and it was just stressful and I couldn’t cope with it.
“I decided to put it on hold and to start my own business. I’ve done networking in the past and knew that I would have loved to have a business in that industry.
“We started off just bath bombs and wax, and then in November, we launched our rep programme so the reps promote the products for us and they get a commission.
“We were so busy at Christmas that my best friend Alyssa came over after work to help me with painting and packing, anything we could do to get the orders out.”
Alyssa Simpson, 34, who lives in the neighbouring village of Hilton, also decided to leave her job as a nurse to buy into her best friend’s business.
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Cassie said: “I think Alyssa secretly quite liked the work because it was so different from a busy hospital ward.
“We discussed about her coming on board and in January she bought into the business, and left her nursing job to work full-time for the business.
“We moved into Alyssa’s garage in December, and it’s just got busier and busier.
“We’ve got a massive range of bath products and skincare products, soaps, and we’re now looking for somewhere to extend into further for the business.”
Cassie said she expects the run-up to Christmas to be particularly busy for them.
She said: “Obviously with Christmas we’re working super flat out, but that’s what you do for your own business.
“We make everything ourselves, we don’t buy anything, everything is hand-made.
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“I definitely wouldn’t go back to nursing. I do look now and the girls are just finishing their three years, so if I stuck by it, I would have just finished.
“But I think it’s such an uncertain time for the NHS and I loved the complete change in direction.”
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