HE was the dishy young hairdresser and she was the pretty lass in the beauty salon downstairs – and Chris and Tina Parsons have worked wonderfully side-by-side ever since.
The couple met while working in London, Chris for Jackie at Raymond in Kensington High Street in London, while Tina worked in the beauty salon in the basement.
They started off as friends, but love blossomed when they were 23, and they have spent just over a quarter of a century in business together.
After setting up their first business in 1981, they established the Burghley Academy, in Cumbergate, in 1989, where Chris (54) is in charge of hairdressing and Tina (51) manages the beauty side of things.
"The amount of time we spend together each day depends on the day," said Tina. "Sometimes we can chat on the phone, other times we are together all day. And yes, we do talk about work when we get home."
Tina said the deceptively simple key to working with your beloved it to really, really like them.
Love of council at heart of relationshipPulling pints together is good for this pair"You have to accept each other's strengths and weaknesses," she said. "And be professional. If I was displeased with something Chris did, I would never let a client or member of staff know."
It would be all-too-easy to let a squabble that started over the breakfast table leak into working hours, but the Parsons make a point of not falling out.
Tina said: "We try really hard not to fall out. Our strength has been working together to create a good business, and we both want to do our best to build on that and make it even more successful in the future, and we can do that by working well together."
The full article contains 312 words and appears in Peterborough ET newspaper.
