Getting your first staff is always tough, and speaking from experience, you won't get it right every time!
The one thing that I do know about the beauty industry is that staff can be very fickle, and retention is a great problem, so before you recruit, consider how you might be able to keep staff in the future, by offering supportive training, incentives, etc. and build that into your package - maybe staggering it so that the recruit will be eligible for training after six months, commission after nine, etc.
When you are ready to start looking for employees, advertising in appropriate places (local press is hideously expensive - you're better advertising somewhere like this site, in one of the trade mags or online on one of the trade websites like leisureopportunities.co.uk).
I believe that how you recruit says a lot about your business - a very informal approach may end up indicating that you don't really know what you are doing, which makes you very attractive to people who will take the mickey in the long term. Don't accept standard letters (any therapist can change the name and date on top of their 'standard' application letter) but make them fill in an application form. This also gives all candidates a level playing field to describe their qualifications and personal attributes, and makes it easier for you to weigh up who is better suited for your business.
When it comes to interviews, get someone else to sit in with you for a second perspective. Also, make sure that you trade test to see how good/bad they are, and know before you start what criteria you are assessing against.
And finally, when you recruit, make sure you have agreements in place to protect you against the staff member leaving. So, for example, if you provide training (or even if training is provided by a product house, taking them out of circulation for a few days), put in place a training agreement which says they will pay back the training costs if they leave within a short period of the training - there's nothing worse than improving someone else's skill set for them to leave and take a better paid job with your competitors.
PM me if I can help further!
