Jul22546 12. stablished in 2002, nestled in the heart of Claregalway village only 10 minutes from Galway city, Beyond Beauty Laser & Skin Clinic (Beyond Beauty) prides itself on being one of the area’s premier beauty clinics, providing its clients with some of the most advanced treatments available. With a core philosophy to bring clients the very best of treatments, infused with enthusiasm and experience, Owner Karen Broderick dedicates her time to ensuring others can be body confident and happy in their own skin. Although only very young when opening the salon, 19 to be precise, Karen believes that business was always in her genetic makeup, with both her Mum and grandfather before her being successful entrepreneurs. “It’s all I ever wanted - something to build myself from scratch and be able to do things my way,” Karen enthuses. “My aim was to be able to advance in treatments within the industry, taking chances with new innovative treatments, and to excel in my career.” Qualifying as a beauty therapist at the age of 17, Karen worked extremely hard to gain as much experience as possible in a short space of time so she could reach her ambitious goal of having her very own salon. And it seems all of this hard work paid off, for Beyond Beauty opened its doors in December 2002 and, although the early days were difficult, Karen stuck by her main ethos that her clients were given 100% of her time and never felt rushed. “I never wanted to be running from room to room not fully concentrating on my treatments,” she explains, elaborating on what helps to make Beyond Beauty stand out from its competitors. “Everyone would be treated the same whether they spent €8 a month or €500 a week!” Karen, however, was not alone and her Mum was a great support to her in the early days – always positive and enthusiastic while Karen worked hard to build up a good, strong reputation, and to advance her skills and ultimately her business. In 2005, she took the plunge to train in permanent cosmetics and headed to Tracey Simpson of Natural Enhancement based in London, who mentored Karen in what was essentially a groundbreaking new treatment. “Permanent cosmetics were something that really wasn’t very popular yet, but I knew it would take Ireland by storm, which Beauty & Skincare Clinic of the Year – Galway Through hard work in the face of adversity, one young woman’s dream came to realisation in the form of Beyond Beauty Laser & Skin Clinic. We discuss the turbulent yet ultimately rewarding journey from start-up enterprise to flourishing business with Karen Broderick as she celebrates success in the Irish Enterprise Awards 2023. it did! But this in turn gave me a love for aesthetics and more advanced treatments.” Forced to relocate in 2007, Karen and her two full-time therapists took the opportunity to expand, and she decided that her next venture would be in another pioneering treatment, this time laser hair removal, however little did Karen know that this would be the procedure to really put her salon on the map! “I opened a brand new state of the art clinic in its new location, and then disaster struck as we entered recession!” she exclaims. “We had lost so much footfall and I had to make some tough decisions. I would either need to close my doors or relocate again and I really struggled with this choice as I had invested so much in my current premises.” Fate, however, had other ideas for the young, dynamic businesswoman as a unit became available in the heart of Claregalway village on the main road which couldn’t have been more perfect for Karen. Previously operating as a clothes shop, there were items in the unit that Karen was able to repurpose in order to save on expenses, and in April 2009 she re-opened with a brand new business name too and Beyond Beauty Laser & Skin Clinic was born! Now, the salon has gone from strength-to-strength in the last 14 years, not simply due to being located in a fantastic and lucrative catchment area, but also due to Karen’s hard work, perseverance, and determination to succeed. Despite her flourishing venture, Karen experienced some difficult times between 2018 and 2020 as her beloved Mum, who she describes as her “best friend, business mentor and confidante” passed away following a devastating cancer diagnosis, then 13 months later, her Father also lost his life suddenly due to a heart attack. “I was devastated and can honestly say I needed those pandemic lockdowns as I really don’t know how I would have got through trying to run my business wholeheartedly as I was ultimately heartbroken,” she says. “However, after once being told I would never have children, I now have two little girls and a soon-to-be husband which became my saviour and my new driving force.” With a renewed outlook on life, Karen decided that Beyond Beauty would take a new direction and really concentrate and focus on offering skin treatments. When she re-opened after E Contact: Karen Broderick Company: Beyond Beauty Laser & Skin Clinic Web Address: https://beyondbeauty.ie/ Feb23034
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