LAUREN Natoli was once advised that a career in the beauty industry wasn't a smart choice.
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It didn't stop her celebrating four years of business with Ignite Beauty recently.
The young beautician began following her dream at 16 when she left school and started an apprenticeship and TAFE course.
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Soon after, she developed Ignite Beauty, which celebrated four years of success on July 15.
"It's gone so quick. I can't believe it," Ms Natoli said.
The first three years of running her business was done so on a part-time basis.
But having worked hard to accumulate her clientele, Ms Natoli went all in and began running her business full-time around 12 months ago.
"It was very scary, but I had trust in myself," she said.
"I knew I was good at what I did, I had built up my clientele and it was stable enough for me to be able to work for myself full-time."
Aside from her partner offering massages out of work hours, Ms Natoli is a one-man band.
"I do all waxing, spray tans, facials, make-up, bridal make-up, nails," she said.
"I also do different skin treatments and peels and I also offer cosmetic tattooing for brows.
"I don't offer massage here, but Georgie [Georgina Carr] comes in of an afternoon sometimes and takes on clients to do full body massage."
Ms Natoli is studying a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment at TAFE and is looking forward to eventually teaching her passion to aspiring beauticians.
"I'm very proud of myself for getting to where I am today in such a short time and I'm really excited for the future," she said.