It was while operating three podiatry practices in New South Wales that Georgina Jamieson and Tom Baker formed the concept for King William Road’s Medi Pedi Nail Spa.

“At our main practice in Bondi Junction, we saw a lot of younger clientele… having their nails done a lot, and there was an explosion of nail bars on every corner,” Jamieson says.

“We started seeing problems coming through the practice from fungal infections, incorrect treatments, the wrong advice or no advice going on, and so our clients were asking us ‘Well, if you’re asking us not to have manis and pedis, where’s a safe option to go and have them? Because we’re going to.’”

Their answer was to combine their medical knowledge with a nail spa, directly addressing the demand for a podiatrist-approved manicure and pedicure practice.

After moving back to Adelaide, the pair introduced the concept, and since opening on King William Road in November 2015 have had incredible success at both Medi Pedi Nail Spa and Podiatry First Sports, the West Lakes podiatry practice they also run.

Building a business from scratch, though, can be an enormous task, particularly for owner/operators who spend the majority of their time on the frontline of their business.

With Medi Pedi’s King William Road store reaching its operational capacity, and an expansion to The Parade in Norwood in the pipeline, Georgina and Tom needed help moving their business to the next phase, and it was during this time they found the Perks Business Boost Awards.

“I actually saw [the Perks Business Boost Awards] pop up on my Instagram feed,” Jamieson laughs, “and then jumped on their website and had a look around, and [saw] the startup category and the growth category and I thought ‘Oh yeah, startup, that’s where we’re at.’

“I thought I’d have a look and see what it’s all about, went through it all and it just seemed like a great fit, the prizes were fantastic and it was worth putting an application in.”

Medi Pedi Nail Spa was awarded $10,000 worth of professional financial services from the Perks team, which also led to the invaluable relationship they now have with the firm. They were also awarded $5,000 worth of professional marketing and PR services, from Award sponsor Michels Warren PR, as part of the prize.

“It’s been fantastic, actually,” Jamieson says.

“From the move from Sydney to Adelaide, and the business changes, we hadn’t got into the groove of an accountant yet.

“We had a structure set up, but it certainly wasn’t what we needed for what our plans were, so it was pretty wonderful when we sat down after winning and they just sat and listened to our whole business idea and plans and where we would like to find ourselves.

“We’ve gone on and continued to use Perks after the award… they’ve put an engagement plan together for us, which is great, and knowing that we were looking to start in Norwood, so they’re going to help us launch into there.”

The relationship has also reinforced Georgina and Tom’s confidence in their still growing business.

“It was great to get a party that wasn’t a customer to give you some reinforcement about your idea. That was a nice thing,” Tom says.

“I feel like we’ve got another partner in the business, almost, that can help us, and is across everything,” Georgina says.

From the perspective of Perks’ Managing Director, Mark Roderick, finding this relationship early on in a business’ life is key.

“For many “start-up” and “fledgling” businesses the difference between success and failure is their ability to get access to the right professional advice when they need it – at the beginning of their journey,” he says.

“Unfortunately most start-ups do not have the resources or contacts to get this advice in a timely manner. The Perks Business Boost Awards are about solving this problem and giving small businesses, like Medi Pedi, access to these resources and this advice.

“We have been thrilled with the progress that Georgina and Tom have made since they won our inaugural competition and we hope that they stand as a great example of what can be achieved by entrepreneurs working in partnership with advisors who understand all aspects of their business and the owner’s aspirations and goals.”

Entries are now open for the next round of Perks Business Boost Awards. For more information on how to apply, see their website.