B.YOU.T Leeds: Meet the entrepreneur behind one of the city’s top-rated beauty salons

Renowned for its brow and lash treatments, B.YOU.T in King Charles Street was founded by Iranian beautician Afsoon Mohamadi, a qualified accountant and sound editor who fell into the industry almost by accident.

Afsoon showed an entrepreneurial spirit from a young age; even as a child she would play games where she ran her own business, making her friends act as her clients. Her mum was a beautician and taught her techniques from the age of 12, but advised Afsoon against pursuing a career in the industry.

The 41-year-old told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “I was always excited about beauty, but at that time being a beautician was not a profession as it is now. My mum told me I needed to go to university to learn and study other things.”

Afsoon studied accountancy and later sound editing for films and animation. When she moved to the UK in 2013, she struggled to find a job in production and decided to take up a role as a beautician. Just six months later, she opened her first salon.

Afsoon said: “I was always thinking it was a temporary thing, but when I worked and got more information, I realised it was my job. In the UK, the beauty industry is really good - you can be successful and have many branches.

“I realised that if I wanted to be professional, I needed to start with a small number of treatments, and do them well. I always say that to be successful, you can’t use a lift - you need to start step by step.”

Starting with brows, lashes and threading, Afsoon’s salon portfolio grew to four branches, before she dropped down to two in Leeds and Huddersfield. As well as the original treatments, B.YOU.T now offers body waxing, hairdressing, massage, facials and more.

The experience is tailored to every client, with Afsoon and her team making notes on their preferences - down to whether they’d like to sit quietly and listen to a podcast or chat with the beautician.

Spotting a gap in the market, Afsoon is also creating an online beauty training academy where students can choose which language to learn in - while still working towards UK qualifications. She offered her advice to those starting businesses of their own.

“Don’t think about the money too much,” Afsoon said. “You have to think about the quality of work. When people get a nice quality service, they are happy to pay more. For example, in beauty - most beauticians think they can get a certificate and then keep doing the same treatment for 20 years.

"But that’s not enough, your knowledge needs updating and you need to keep trying new productions, going to masterclasses and getting new information. We are always growing.

“My second piece of advice is to always choose staff who want to keep learning, who want to be successful. Five of my staff have gone on to open their own salons, because they’ve learnt about the best products, how to be a manager and five the best customer service. It makes me really happy that I’ve helped someone to be successful.”