"I never wanted to do anything else but be a hairdresser," said Kerry Larcher, who opened her first salon when she was 21-years-old.
Despite successfully growing her business in Hornchurch, in East London, over three decades, the 50-year-old says she now faces losing her life's work and her home.
Tax rises in October's Budget are "crippling" her salon business, she said, and the extra £23,000 a year imposed by the chancellor could prove the final nail in the coffin.
"I have been crying myself to sleep because, since October, this has been the worst period of my personal life in 30 years," she said.
"I feel ashamed to get into debt but we are gradually eating through our business reserves and I can't take wages if I don't make a profit.
"I could lose my house if the business folds – that is the reality and if things don't change it is frightening the life out of me."
