A FLINTSHIRE woman is celebrating 10 years of business success.
Sam Morris opened her own salon, Hair by Samantha, in Buckley a decade ago, and hasn't looked back.
The now 32-year-old left school at 16, beginning with an apprenticeship.
Sam, who is from the town, said: "I've always done hairdressing. After a my apprenticeship I worked at a salon in Chester.
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"Then I came back and at 22 I opened the salon in Buckley.
"When I first started it was just me in the salon but as its grown, there's a lot more staff.
"At the moment I have six on the team, a mix of some employed by me and others who are self employed."
The effort has paid off but Sam, mum to three-month-old and two-year-old children, isn't scared to put the hard work in.
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Sam added: "The building had previously been a salon and the owner was retiring. I went to have a look at it and just went for it.
"When I first took on the salon, I had no commitments I would work every hour under the sun to fit clients in."
Even the uncertainly of closure during the covid pandemic couldn't stop Sam.
She said: "We had to close about three times, and with grants and furlough we got through but it was stressful.
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"I'm lucky, some of my clients have been with me since I started, since I was 17-years-old, moving round different salons with me.
"I still love this job. My husband says all the time I'm so lucky to go to work in a job I love.
"I really enjoy it, and I have so many regulars, you just know them all, it's lovely."
Sam's favourite part of her job is the cutting - "I could do it all day" - but between her and the team, they have most things covered, including colour, and wedding hair and make up.
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As youngsters across the region look to a next step following exam results this summer, she is absolutely an advocate for an apprenticeship.
She said: "I'd recommend hairdressing, although it something you really have to want to do.
"I was 13 when I got my first Saturday job in a salon. And now the lady I worked for back then, rents a chair in my salon after giving up her salon.
"If people want to do it when they leave school, definitely get an apprenticeship if possible. You get so much more experience in a salon."
To mark the anniversary, Sam decorated the salon and had cakes to celebrate with clients, as she looked forward to the next 10 years.
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