Emma had always been obsessed with beauty. As far back as she could remember, she was the girl with her nose buried in fashion magazines, captivated by the glossy images of perfect skin, radiant smiles, and immaculate nails. There was something magical about transformation—the way a touch of foundation could change a person’s entire demeanour, or how a fresh coat of nail polish could boost someone’s confidence.

Emma wasn’t just a girl who liked beauty; she lived it. She breathed it. And she was determined to make a career of it. She had a dream: to make people look and feel beautiful, one treatment at a time. So, she did what anyone with a dream does—she worked for it. She passed every beauty course, grabbed every certificate, earned every qualification she could get her hands on. She wasn’t just qualified, she was overqualified.

But that’s where the dream stopped. For now.

After college and university, she took a small office in Weymouth, England—a pretty seaside town that was as expensive as it was picturesque. She was ready to take on the world, expecting her diary to be packed full of appointments. But it wasn’t.

Instead, Emma sat at her desk for hours on end, staring out the window, twiddling forms, and wondering why the phone barely rang. She had two appointments booked today—maybe none tomorrow. She couldn’t figure it out. I’m one of the best, she thought, but still, no one knew she existed.

Flyers, email marketing, cold calls, you name it—she tried everything. She plastered her name around town, handed out business cards like sweets, and even offered free consultations. But nothing worked. Every day she got closer to the dreaded decision: give up and get a job, or keep going and scrape by.

At this rate, she’d never leave home. Rent was too expensive in Weymouth. It seemed like every young professional was stuck in a cycle of needing someone else just to afford to live. The thought gnawed at her. There must be a way.

One evening, exhausted from the day’s lack of progress, Emma slumped onto her sofa with a bottle of rose and flicked on the TV. It was background noise more than anything, but then something caught her eye—a small advertisement. At first, she didn’t even register what it was for, but then three simple words jumped out at her:

“No risk, all reward.”

Intrigued, she leaned in closer. It was an ad for a local service called 3local.com. The promise? Three months of free customers, then a subscription of just £10 a month—if it worked. If it doesn’t, cancel.

Emma blinked, half in disbelief. Three months for free? She thought about it. What did she have to lose? Nothing else had worked, and if this didn’t either, she’d walk away, no harm done. She grabbed her laptop, searched for the site, and within minutes, she was filling out the simple form.

Name: Beauty by Emma.
Industry: Beautician.
Website: A basic one-pager she’d thrown together.
Location: Weymouth.

Submit.

With the form sent, Emma shrugged, closed her laptop, and went to bed, not expecting much. What could possibly change?

Three weeks later, Emma was cleaning her little office—another slow day—when the phone rang. She rushed to grab it.

“Hello, is this Beauty by Emma?”

Her heart skipped a beat. “Yes, how can I help?”

“I found your website online. I’d love to book a facial.”

Emma could barely believe it. She booked the appointment and hung up, her heart racing. It worked. It actually worked. She brushed it off as a fluke.

The next day, the phone rang again. And again. And again. Seven bookings. By the end of the week, she’d had more appointments than she usually got in a month. Emma was in shock. She logged back into 3local.com, curious to see what was happening.

The service had built SEO-optimised web pages for her, making her business visible in a 27-square-mile area. People in Weymouth and beyond could now find her online when searching for beauty services. All for free.

Three months came and went in a blur of phone calls, appointments, and happy clients. She signed up for the service for £120 a year without hesitation. This was the turning point she had been waiting for.

She decided to push her luck and expanded her area coverage through 3local.com. Just a few clicks, and her business was now visible to over 100 square miles of potential customers. The results were instant. More calls. More bookings. Before she knew it, she had to hire an assistant just to keep up with the demand.

Emma’s business skyrocketed. By the end of the year, she had opened three more locations, each one busier than the last. She became known as Beauty by Emma, the go-to beautician in the area, and it all started from that one simple decision—clicking “submit” on 3local.com.

Emma had gone from barely scraping by to running a successful multi-location beauty business. All it took was the right tool and the courage to give it a go.

And as she looked at her thriving business, she couldn’t help but smile. The dream she’d always had was now a reality—because she took a chance on something new.

Emma’s story isn’t just about beauty treatments. It’s about visibility. You can be the best at what you do, but if no one knows who you are, you’ll stay invisible. The right tools, like 3local.com, can be the difference between sitting in an empty office and running a thriving business.

Take the leap, like Emma did. You’ve got nothing to lose, but everything to gain.