Former nurse and midwife Nicola brings 30 years’ experience to bear on new role

Having worked for the past 30 years as a nurse, midwife and health visitor, Nicola Jones decided it was time to go it alone.

After training as an aesthetics nurse and qualifying as a registered independent prescriber, she turned to experts from the North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC) to help her turn a career in caring into a commercial business.

A series of workshops, residential courses and one-to-one advice sessions provided by the BIC’s start-up programme gave Nicola the confidence to set up her own business, Vita Nova, in addition to her work with the NHS.

She is now running a regular clinic from premises within Hebburn’s Viking Gym, offering treatments including wrinkle relaxant injections and dermal fillers as well as a prescribing service to other aesthetic practitioners.

“I’m starting my business at a really exciting time for the aesthetics industry, when there is now government recognition of the importance of clinical practice becoming professional and regulated and I’m proud to help set new standards of care and safety for clients,” she said.

“My clinical experience and qualifications as a registered nurse and independent prescriber give my clients real confidence that they’re in safe hands. I feel passionately that this is the way the aesthetics industry should operate, not only to ensure client safety but also to avoid putting more pressure on our already-strained NHS in the event of poorly administered treatments.”

“I know how to do my own job well but before I met my advisers at the BIC I had absolutely no idea how to set up a business!

“But I had nothing to worry about because there is so much support available. I couldn’t believe such fantastic resources and services are available free of charge to people.”

Shirley Hermiston, Business Support Manager from the BIC said: “We’ve 25 years’ experience of guiding people along their own path to entrepreneurship, signposting them to the most relevant courses, workshops and advice to fill any gaps in their skills and confidence.”