Glasgow beauty salon owner gets set to do battle in the boardroom
● Natalie Hughes a contender in the 12th series of The Apprentice
A Scottish beauty salon owner who describes herself as “a hustler” and compares herself to firebrand chef Gordon Ramsay is to battle it out in the boardroom in the next series of The Apprentice.
Natalie Hughes, owner of VIP Salon, in the east end of Glasgow, will be one of 18 contenders hoping to secure a £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar.
The 30-year-old – whose business also includes the designer fashion outlet Dolcie Boutique – will be up against a baking entrepreneur, a fashion magazine art director, the owner of a children’s clothing company,propertyconsultant and a recruitment agent.
In her audition for the 12th series, which starts on 6 October, Ms Hughes states: “My salon is called VIP, so I always say: ‘VIP – it’s the only way to be. Look VIP, act VIP and be VIP’.
“I’m quirky, I think off the mark, I think out the box, I’m hard-working. I would really liken myself to someone like Gordon Ramsay because I’m actually very forward, I like to get the job done, like he does, and I like to make changes in business. I’m always changing and keeping things interesting.
“I’m a hustler, I’ve got the hustler’s ambition. I know, I’ve done it from a young age, hustling in all different walks of life with all different kinds of people. I’ve got a lot to bring to the table. I know I will be successful. Failure is not an option.”
The new series of The Apprentice kicks off with the candidates being tasked with trying to sort out “treasure from trash” in a lock-up containing furniture, vintage clothing, toys, ceramics, silver and glassware – before attempting to sell it on.
Lord Sugar tells the new candidates: “You see 18 people here, and we’re here for 12 weeks – that tells you there are going to be occasions where more than one person is going (to be fired). And I don’t care how many. I really don’t care.
“It is a very, very competitive situation. You can compare this to being on a life support machine and one of your colleagues here pulling the plug out just to charge their mobile phoneup.that’showcompetitive it will get.”