THE term entrepreneur conjures images of jet-setting self-made millionaires, but the reality of entrepreneurship comes in many forms, as exemplified by Ghazala Ahmed, the 45-year-old who launched Indulge Beauty Studio in 2012.

She says: “I had separated from my husband and was working part-time in retail. I was feeling very down and depressed and it wasn’t taking me anywhere, so I thought: I’m going to do something better.”

Ms Ahmed is now a fully qualified beauty therapist running her own salon in the south side of Glasgow.

The story of this journey began when her daughter Anum said she would like to study beauty at college when she left school.

“She wanted to be a beauty therapist, but I wanted her to be a lawyer, so said: ‘if you do law for me, I’ll do beauty for you’.”

In 2010 she enrolled at the then Nautical College to undertake an HNC in beauty therapy and the following year moved to what is now Glasgow Clyde College to complete her HND.

Having arrived in Scotland from Pakistan in 1990 with only a basic education, returning to studying was not without its challenges. Having struggled with the theory side of the course, Ms Ahmed was disheartened, but developed a system that helped her through the next two years.

“The first week I was crying, ‘what am I going to do, how am I going to do it? I can’t remember anything, I can’t spell things’,” she says. “But I started writing it down. That way I learned how to remember things, how to spell things. It took a couple of months but then I was okay.”

Her tutors, she says, were a great support, helping with language development, and ensuring she understood the theoretical elements of the course. “I’m a totally different person to before I studied. I was reserved, I would hesitate to make friends and go out. Then at college everyone was friendly and that gave me confidence.”

Gaining confidence is one thing, opening a business another, but this is an ambition Ms Ahmed harboured after struggling to find work after completing her HNC because of a lack of experience.

“That was the point I decided I would have my own beauty salon and I would only appoint people from colleges,” she says.

After graduating, finding funds to open the salon was the next challenge, but again Ms Ahmed prevailed, raising £22,000.

“My dad gave me land back home, it’s a cultural thing. I sold that and I sold my jewellery. In our culture, when a girl gets married the parents give them jewellery.

“And my brothers were there to help me with the rest.”

After finding a suitable location, family and friends helped clean, decorate and get it ready for opening – which happened in August 2012.

“The biggest challenge was that I was myself and I had only two month’s rent spare,” she said. “It was a new business, I had to build up enough clientele to cover my expenses.”

By making home visits as she scouted for a location, word of mouth ensured her first week was a huge success, but it wasn’t all plain sailing.

“The first two years was very difficult, it was a struggle,” she says. “I had to put more money into the business. But year three picked up, I could cover costs and my daily living. The fourth year is a lot better.”

True to her word, Ms Ahmed hired her first full-time employee in 2015. Shannon McGinley came straight from the same course at Glasgow Clyde College.

Ms Ahmed has achieved all this while supporting and encouraging her children in their own careers. Daughter Anum graduated last year in law. Her elder son Asim, an IT specialist, lives in Aberdeen and Samee is living in the Netherlands for the third year of his electrical engineering course.

Four years in, Ms Ahmed said her ambitions have grown. “Who knows,” she says, “maybe in another five years I can open up a proper spa, I would love that.”