Money & Me: ‘Cash will not make you happier unless you have a purpose’

Hairdressing entrepreneur Tara Rose Kidd says chasing one’s passion will yield rich benefits

Entrepreneur Tara Rose Kidd and her family have three to six months' worth of savings, but most of their money is in investments. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

Hairdressing entrepreneur Tara Rose Kidd went from struggling financially after arriving in the UAE in 2009 to owning salons in Abu Dhabi and Dubai with 80-plus employees.

She opened her first Tara Rose Salon branch in 2015 with a bank loan after conquering mental health and self-belief issues via self-development courses that “unlocked” her potential.

Ms Kidd, who co-owns a Palm Jumeirah salon, will launch her flagship Dubai-based beauty and education academy for both men and women in September, while expanding her e-commerce presence, training and bespoke product range.

Aged 40, she lives in Al Bandar, Abu Dhabi, with her husband, co-owner of Dubai car showrooms, and their son, six.

Did childhood shape your money views?

I am the eldest of three sisters. My dad owned his own company while mum looked after us. We were middle class, were not loaded, but we did not struggle. We did not have the latest everything, but we did not want for anything. We were grounded and knew the value of things.

I admired my dad, how hard he worked, provided for his family, and his work ethic was instilled in me. I knew that is how I wanted to be … in charge of how things were done.

Did you work young?

A little waitressing while at school, a Saturday job here and there at 14 or 15, just to have extra cash, that independence.

I was not very academic and lost confidence and self-worth. In the British school system, if you are not fitting in, you are almost struck off and I left with almost no education (qualifications), feeling pretty lost.

Luckily, I found a hair salon job at 16 and connected with people as a junior apprentice, earning £80 ($103.5) a week.

Even so, I suffered from mental health issues in my late teens and 20s. School does not teach you things such as life skills, communication, about being OK with the person you are.

How did Dubai happen?

My sister was a teacher here. I came 14 or 15 years ago on holiday, absolutely loved it. Six months later, I was living here, worked in a couple of Dubai salons and within a few months, I met my husband. He had just left the army, wanted a new career and got into oil, starting at the bottom.

Was that tough financially?

Initially, we were earning Dh10,000 ($2,722) between us, had our electricity cut off a couple of times, but this was our fresh start … going home was never an option.

It took a couple of years struggling with money but my husband got a better paid job and housing in Abu Dhabi, and worked his way up.

I struggled to find anywhere I wanted to work. I was feeling uninspired, so we said: “Why don’t we get our heads down, save and try to open somewhere?”

We got a bank loan and, eight years ago, I opened the first salon and we have gone on our entrepreneurial journey together as he now has businesses.

Did investing in courses prove worthwhile?

The more I have invested in myself, my education and personal development, the more I have unlocked. My confidence grew and I found my voice.

Before, I hated education; now I fell in love with it. We went to a self-development day, started to look at life differently and worked out we could create our own opportunities.

And this is where my academy comes in. It is about focusing on building the girls who work for me. We guide and educate, informed by my experiences, a 360-degree approach to personal development.

There is so much opportunity here, so much people can do by believing in themselves. Working with different mentors and coaches opened up the way I look at life.

How are you growing wealth?

We have three to six months of savings, to take care of personal expenses, in case anything goes wrong, but most of our money is in investments.

We have a UK property company investing in joint venture commercial-to-residential conversions, an account for foreign currency, commodities trading and we built this (salon) business we can grow arms and legs from – altogether, different streams of income.

Any spending priorities?

For a long time, there was no money, no holidays, everything went back into the business, but now having a nice home is really important to me. We have got a sea view with a big balcony.

We decided early on we did not want money locked up in property; there is always been some type of investment coming up we were getting much more back from. Eventually we want to buy our own house here.

Do you treat yourself?

The last couple of years … I have started to buy myself nice things – handbags, a Range Rover Sport SVR.

We want to start investing more into experiences as a family, because it can all be about work. For years, there has been that chase, but we need to make more time for ourselves and our little boy, so taking more holidays and enjoying moments we have worked so hard for.

Any financial milestones?

My Saadiyat salon. Everybody told me not to. I signed shortly before Covid, did the fit-out and launched mid-pandemic. Within a year, it was doing what my first salon was doing in five years.

Everybody was cutting back, getting scared, but something was pulling me towards it. I have two in Abu Dhabi (plus three in Dubai by September).

How do you view money?

You feel more comfortable but if you don’t understand all the other stuff about yourself – who you are, where you are going – you are never going to be any happier.

And you need to have purpose with it. I have had no money, and I have got money … it is about going back to those core beliefs of who you are.

People end up chasing money here; it is hollow, you need to chase your passion, which, in turn, gives you money.

Are you wise with cash?

As a (married) team, we use it wisely, we make a good partnership.

We sat down and rather than working out what we had not got, we worked out what we needed. And set budgets … how much do we want to be able to spend going out a month, on dining, on personal development – putting those numbers together and working out that we needed to have X amount.

Doing that early on was a game-changer.

Any blips?

A couple of wrong investments early on, trying to invest into other people’s businesses … There have been mistakes along the way.

It is about not getting too wound up, just seeing them as massive lessons. These mistakes are crucial in business to move you forward.

What is the future plan?

We are growing a brand, I am launching an e-commerce site and my own product range … different income streams off the original business.

It is about building systems, a loyal, trustworthy team … I want to, at some point, sit back a little more, maybe get a place in Spain or Greece and start travelling.