With her business expanding and hopes of taking on two new cutters - making a total of five - Keri O'Connor is glad she did not give up.
''I come in here and look around and think this is my dream and I am glad I stuck to my guns.''
Now, the city council is using her experience to improve the way it deals with small businesses.
Ms O'Connor first found out the council was interested in learning from her experience during an undercover visit to her salon, Bloke, from council services and development general manager Simon Pickford.
Mr Pickford, after hearing about her troubles, came in for a hair cut in January and asked her how she had found dealing with the council - all without revealing his identity.
''I said it was hard. It was very challenging and the council don't make it easy for new business owners.''
Mr Pickford eventually revealed he worked for the council, and the pair, along with council customer services agency manager Adrian Blair, had met since to discuss further ways the council could change things.
Mid-way through last year and Ms O'Connor was thinking it was all too hard.
''The biggest thing for me was having to deal with so many different people every time I went in,'' she said.
Each person told her something different and, eventually, she was told that moving a hairdressing business into what was once office space was a ''change of use''.
This meant the whole building would need to be checked for earthquake strength and fire safety.
She steadfastly argued it was not a change of use as the building was zoned as both office and residential.
It was only when she happened to see the ''right guy'', who agreed her plans did not involve a change of use, that she knew her dream was possible.
The delays meant she opened in November rather than September, as originally planned.
Asked if she thought about giving up, she said: ''Yep, every time I left the council.''
She was pleased the council wanted to hear about her experience and hoped it would make it easier for others.
''They should be here to help new businesses in Dunedin ... because that's how we are going to grow.''
In contrast with her dealings with the council's building department, she had been happy with the help she had been given from its environmental health staff.
Mr Pickford, who was appointed to his position last year, said his undercover visit to Bloke came as he and Mr Blair were thinking of ways the council could improve the way it dealt with small businesses.
Previously its efforts at making things easier were targeted at larger businesses.
''But with Adrian and I talking, we came to the conclusion that there is probably a lot more that we could do for small to medium-sized businesses."
As part of the focus on improvement, they wanted to talk to people who had had a difficult time of it, to find out ''the good, the bad and the ugly''.
''There are some horror stories out there that we have heard. And you think `we could have done that so much better'.''
A key initiative - likely to be in place within three months - was the creation of case managers, who would be the main point of contact for small business owners and guide them through the process of dealing with different council departments.
A case manager's role would include telling small business owners what consents they might need and the order in which consents needed to be done.
No new staff would be required and the hope was it would result in the process running smoother for both the council and its customers.
''If we can get it right at the very beginning it's going to save time and money.''
The council was also putting together a brochure, which was a kind of ''dummies guide'' for dealing with the council and other agencies, and working towards allowing people to apply for all types of consents online.
The efforts all tied in with the city's vision to be one of the world's ''great small cities''.
Mr Blair said case managers would eliminate surprises and make it easier for everyone.
''That one person won't know all the detail of the different areas, but they could be their point of contact.
''So, instead of having five or six conversations, the customer is having one or two conversations.''
