Id like to get advice from salon owners that have children . my youngest will be starting school next sept and id like to set up a hair salon while still relatively young . only thing is ,ive worked out the childcare and it would only be a couple of hours after school twice aweek and a coulpe of hours on an evening - my hubby works shifts so he`d be around alot - but my parents are saying i cant do it as i have children ( id be doing it 4 the children - theres no way we can afford a house and were so overcrowded) i really dont understand as therd have the children less than they do now . I wont be able to do it if i dont have their support were really close and get on well ,it seems such a small thing to me . im really losing heart and they are really discouraging me - but i know i will make a success of it .
Has opening a salon really caused your children psycological harm?
Do you wish youd stayed at home making jelly and cupcakes?

Hi hun, u poor thing. I can understand were your mum is coming from as she is only concerned for u. But it is achievable and will not harm your children in any way, if anything they will proud of u and it will teach them that it is good to work and your hubby and family will have so much respect for u.
I have two boys and work , both have speciel needs and it was hard for them to adjust. I work from home and and am mobile so that i can work around them and holidays and so fourth.
Just a question have u thought of becoming home based and mobile and slowly building a clientel, so that u can slowly come back into the industry and work around your family commitments. When i worked in a salon i was looking at 1000 for the moth in child care which is a heck of allot of money, were as working for me i work around this. Hope this is of help hun, good luck love jennyxxx

hi ,i have been mobile 4 2 years now , i gave up my part time job because there was talk of redundancy and i didnt want to be caught out ,but when i sat down and did the figures it made sense so i went ahead with it and went mobile,now i earn twice as much in half the time,but i really miss the social and more creative elements of working in a salon ,not to mention getting a bad back from rinsing over the bath ,and that its hard to fit all the gear into my car! I really want to have a salon ,as hairdressing is all i know and i think the older i get the more unemployable i will be and i also worry about how my joints and back will be in 10, 15 years time . I ve done the figures and it really does make sense ,but i really feel that my parents would be happy for me to be a stay at home mum in a council house for the rest of my life popping out baby after baby. My husband works long hours ,on shifts for minimum wage and the only way i can see to provide security for my family is to go ahead .
My parents didnt want me to go mobile either ,because it was risky , and my aunt wants me to get a proper salon job - which will put me back to where i was before,only working the hours i would be working in my own shop -for 1/4 or less of the money!
Has someone done it and thought "this is great" and everything was better and it didnt sll go horribly wrong ?
The childcare will be the easy part! id only have to pay for maybe 2 hrs a week - if my parents agree to haveing them for 2-4 hrs a week as they will both be at school all day

Do it hun!

Your parents only have control over you while you're living in their home (well, for me anyway)

If you want to do it, do it! It's your life, not theirs. They probably do have your best interests at heart but if you don't try, you won't be able to prove to them that you were right all along.

As for childcare, if you've worked out the figures and they come out ok, I would put them into registered childcare as you can claim it back for tax purposes. Don't let your parents look after them, and if they ask why they haven't looked after them, tell them it's because of tax.

I've always had registered childcare when I've worked any job because the grandparents on both mine & my husbands either won't or can't look after them and it hasn't hurt my kids. Just the opposite in fact, they loved the fact they got to play with different toys and socialised better than I did!!!

I now have my own room within a hairdressers and although it's relatively new and I don't have the wage I had before, it's so much less stressful to be able to book yourself out for an hour here and there to go to things such as school Christmas plays, harvest festivals etc. I don't answer to anyone now and it's great . I would say if you can afford it, do it. With or without the backing of your family. It helps to have them behind you, but if they're not, you can still do it.

If you are determined this is for you, go for it!!!

Good luck sweetheart and remember we're all here for you. Salongeeks Virtual Family

I think if you're a very organised person and have a supportive partner, then it could work really well.

Children can definitely suffer when a parents career prevents work / life balance, but what makes this dilemma so difficult is that, it is not right or fair or healthy for the parent to be unfulfilled. You would know if you wanted to do the jelly and cupcakes thing and I would say, you clearly don't, as you have ambition and aspirations. (Which is great.)

However, my concern is that the salon won't make you the money. Especially in the early days. In your position, I would try to expand my client base, work more hours, possibly put my prices up a little, but absolutely keep overheads as low as possible and save, save, save.

There is nothing to stop you opening a salon in 10 years time.

I have worked 'as and when' since my only child was a baby. My in-laws help out once a week, the rest of the time has been worked out between a friend that a hired as a childminder, my husband and even taking him with me.

since he's been at school, I've upped the hours that I work. I know offer hours in school hours, plus work 2 late nights and a saturday, with my husband and in-laws pitching in with minimum help (I might add).

Remember you have school holidays to contend with too. I work ad hoc then, I only go in when I have appointments and take my son with me sometimes, I have a spare room at both places I work from so he sits and watches a film, reads a magazine, listens to music and eats a picnic.

If you worked on a basis that you only were out of the house if you had appointments that might take the strain off a little.

Rather than taking the risk (and the stress) of opening a salon at this stage, why not rent a chair? That way you have the flexibility you need for the kids (especially during the long 6 weeks summer hols) without all the hassle and extra expense of a salon. You even get a reception service when you can't be there

I too long for my own place but having kids of a school age does restrict you unless you can afford to pay childcare. Please don't delude yourself that it will only be a couple of hours a day because it won't. If you husband works long shifts for little pay he is unlikely to want to look after the kids much while you work and the schools seem to have holidays every 5 minutes.

In a few years time the kids will be old enough to stay home without a childminder and that would be the perfect time to expand with your own salon, especially if you have used the time wisely beforehand and saved like mad.

Think very carefully with your head rather than your heart before jumping into anything, but whatever you decide to do, I wish you lots of good luck and

i am thinking now ,of maybe going into business with someone whos in the same position as i am , so that there is always someone to help cover with illnass ,and the risk would be shared . I have thought about rent a chair and i have done it before briefly- but the local salons that offer it are run down ,dark and dont retail they have very few new custumers and before when i went rent a chair ,they basicly used me as a junior/receptinist since i never had any clients . if i was to become a partner ,i feel id have an initial say over things like advertising ,retail ,and generally the overall running of the salon. I dont want to open a big salon , just take over a small one and bring it into the 21st century- i dont want to start from scratch because the outlay will be too much and id worry about the co-ordination an design . I dO have plenty of childcare as my in laws are retired and my aunt is retired ,its jus that they live 20 mins away ,wheras my parents are only 10 doors away .
i think it would work in the right circumstances ,but it would be great to have my parents support

Just a thought, but maybe your parents are against this idea because they will not be seeing so much of the children?

If they are just being negative for the sake of it (my inlaws are like that), just ignore them and do what you like - it is your life.

I think the idea of a business partner is a good one. When I took over an existing beauty salon I took on a partner. We both had kids, understood each other's needs and covered for each other when required. Although this means half the profits, it also means half the responsibility and another person to bouce ideas off without taking all the flack yourself.

Good luck with whatever you decide.