After being made redundant twice within six months, Sarah Basalaj reckoned it was a pretty clear sign it was time to crank up her sideline business and go for it.
“It was very defeating – twice in six months!”
If you go back a bit further, she has actually been made redundant three times after the Covid-19 pandemic put an end to her hospitality job in 2021.
The trained chef has worked on the other side of the globe in her profession, but after that first redundancy, she decided on a new career path in beauty and cosmetic tattooing.
Sarah has been working on her fledgling business, Pretty ‘n Ink, for some time as she trained and acquired equipment, while working in jobs for wages to pay the bills. One of those jobs was with the award-winning natural health products manufacturer Alaron Products, which laid off more than half of its 250 employees in April due to economic conditions.
She was one of the employees to lose a job after 18 months in her role and she headed back to hospitality, working in a café in Morrison Square.
Six months later, the retail and commercial tenants at Morrison Square had to vacate their premises because the infrastructure needed substantial repairs.
A lack of people around Morrison Square led to Sarah’s second redundancy in six months and the decision it was time to take the plunge and build her business.
Statistics New Zealand unemployment rate for the September quarter rose to 4.8 per cent nationwide, up from 3.2 per cent two years ago. In the Top of the South, which includes Marlborough to West Coast, the unemployment rate has been steadily rising to 4.3 per cent this last quarter, compared with 3.8 per cent the previous quarter and 2.4 per cent for the same quarter a year ago.
In September, the Ministry of Social Development figures had 1,713 people on jobseeker support in Tasman and 1,890 people in Nelson.
“I lost my job and lost my income, but it meant I could have 100 per cent focus on my business,” Sarah says.
It wasn’t easy though and she had to get a credit card to buy equipment and set up a room at home for clients. Success doesn’t happen overnight either and she realises it will take time to build her client base.
“We have a mortgage and it’s high, so I was worried we would not be able to pay the mortgage. It was tough adjusting to pay the bills and my husband picked up a few more hours.”
Many of her workmates made redundant have spent months looking for jobs or have settled for part-time work.
“A lot of people have struggled to find jobs for ages. It’s just difficult at the moment.”
At the same time, she is excited about her business and working for herself, with the flexibility that comes with that. Especially when she knows how hard it is to find a job right now.
