Hello, this is my first post on here and it going to be a long one so I apologize in advance and thank you for reading it!:o ....I'm just looking for some advice please as I am at a loss of where to go from here and what to do (and maybe just looking to rant a little bit too!)
So here goes...I am managing and running a beauty salon in Ireland for the past two years and have been working as a therapist in salons and spas for the past ten.
The owners of the salon I manage are a middle-aged couple who have nothing to do with the beauty industry and have zero interest in the running of the business.
I take my wages every week from the weeks takings, I purchase anything I need (wax, strips etc) from any of the weeks takings. I run the place on my own without any support from them and almost as if it is my own salon-the only thing I don't have to do is pay rent/insurance/electricity/phone as they employ me.
I am registered and paying taxes etc but I do not have any contract of employment with them, I have never signed anything from them, but I do get weekly pay slips from their accountant.
The wife has been sick for the past few years so I don't have much dealings with her, however the husband does come in for a few minutes every evening to make sure I'm still here and working before he shuts up the door of another business he runs close by.
They really don't care about the salon at all, and I quote "as long as you can pay your wage its grand"...they don't want to expand or actually make any profit or do business, I feel like I'm just playing shop some days!
For the first year it was great...I have really begun to build up a regular client base and keep the place ticking over, introduced some new treatments and product lines where I can and have made the salon extremely busy. At the moment it is a very quiet time here in the salon, as I'm sure it is a quiet time for a lot of salons, so I am not worried but I was unable to make my own wages for the past two weeks. When the owner came in, I told him I would be a little bit short this week and he shrugged his shoulders and told me I'll just have to make it up next week for myself then.
Now, I know that it is a quiet time and it will pick up...so I do know myself that I will be able to make up my wages over the coming weeks, I'm not worried about that as such...but that's not really the point, he is my employer and its his job to pay me! (this is the first time in two years that it has happened, and I know for a fact that the girls who were here before me were ringing him on a weekly basis looking for their wages).
But I'm not sure where I stand legally as I have no contract of employment with them. I just feel so deflated and completely dejected now.
I think it's also because I am here on my own all day every day, running their business for them, as its so quiet of late I have gotten very de-motivated and finding it very difficult to pick myself up, dust myself off and put on a brave face for my clients. I do treat this salon as if it is my own and a lot of my clients do just assume that I am self-employed.
It wouldn't really be a problem if the owners had any bit of interest in the running of the place, if they would invest some time and energy and maybe trying to see what could be done to make the place busier or re-vamping the place, but they won't listen to any of my suggestions. Its not an old salon, but it could do with little things like fresh paint on the oil-stained/scratched walls (which has been pointed out to me by clients who think its my salon-which I find a bit embarrassing as they think I am being lazy about the place), even a small ad in the local newsletter/paper.
They will not invest a penny in the place, I am not able to hire any extra staff that might help make the place busier, they won't let me do any extra late-night hours because they don't see how any business should stay open past 6pm so I do lose a lot of potential clients that way, and are just happy to let the place tick along-which obviously will only work for another little while, as the business cannot run like that (or maybe its already starting to fail, I don't know).
I have invested a lot of my own time, energy and some money over the past two years as I really do care about the salon and the clients I have and I love running the business.
I feel caught between a rock and a hard place at the moment. I would love to take the place over myself but I cannot afford to do that. Even though I am managing and running the salon, I am on the bare minimum wage and we are saving for a wedding and a house ourselves so I just can't afford a place of my own.
I cannot just leave, for a number of reasons- I do need to make back my wages from the past few weeks as there are bills at home to be paid and obviously I have no other job to go to. Every salon or spa I apply to will hire me, but only on a part-time/casual basis to start "with a view to full-time"...I have done that for too many years and I cannot go back to working part-time....it just cannot be done.
I love the beauty industry and I do want to run a salon of my own some day and I am taking a lot of positives from this experience as I have gained much knowledge in the running of the place, doing accounts, seeing what treatments are the best income etc, so I will always try and take the positive out of it...I just don't really know what to do now.
If you have read this far, I really do thank you for bearing with me, it helped even just typing it all out even if no-one reads it! :o
I would just like some advice if any salon owners or therapists can give me their opinion- what would you do in my situation? I am unable to work from home as we are renting and my landlord won't allow it. I cannot afford to buy or rent a salon at the moment. but if I stay here I may end up just continuing to work for free, the place may fail and my clients will think it is my business that has failed.
I am just very tired from all this and my mind is a bit fried so I was just maybe looking for a fresh opinion? Thank you! :suprised: xxxxx
So here goes...I am managing and running a beauty salon in Ireland for the past two years and have been working as a therapist in salons and spas for the past ten.
The owners of the salon I manage are a middle-aged couple who have nothing to do with the beauty industry and have zero interest in the running of the business.
I take my wages every week from the weeks takings, I purchase anything I need (wax, strips etc) from any of the weeks takings. I run the place on my own without any support from them and almost as if it is my own salon-the only thing I don't have to do is pay rent/insurance/electricity/phone as they employ me.
I am registered and paying taxes etc but I do not have any contract of employment with them, I have never signed anything from them, but I do get weekly pay slips from their accountant.
The wife has been sick for the past few years so I don't have much dealings with her, however the husband does come in for a few minutes every evening to make sure I'm still here and working before he shuts up the door of another business he runs close by.
They really don't care about the salon at all, and I quote "as long as you can pay your wage its grand"...they don't want to expand or actually make any profit or do business, I feel like I'm just playing shop some days!
For the first year it was great...I have really begun to build up a regular client base and keep the place ticking over, introduced some new treatments and product lines where I can and have made the salon extremely busy. At the moment it is a very quiet time here in the salon, as I'm sure it is a quiet time for a lot of salons, so I am not worried but I was unable to make my own wages for the past two weeks. When the owner came in, I told him I would be a little bit short this week and he shrugged his shoulders and told me I'll just have to make it up next week for myself then.
Now, I know that it is a quiet time and it will pick up...so I do know myself that I will be able to make up my wages over the coming weeks, I'm not worried about that as such...but that's not really the point, he is my employer and its his job to pay me! (this is the first time in two years that it has happened, and I know for a fact that the girls who were here before me were ringing him on a weekly basis looking for their wages).
But I'm not sure where I stand legally as I have no contract of employment with them. I just feel so deflated and completely dejected now.
I think it's also because I am here on my own all day every day, running their business for them, as its so quiet of late I have gotten very de-motivated and finding it very difficult to pick myself up, dust myself off and put on a brave face for my clients. I do treat this salon as if it is my own and a lot of my clients do just assume that I am self-employed.
It wouldn't really be a problem if the owners had any bit of interest in the running of the place, if they would invest some time and energy and maybe trying to see what could be done to make the place busier or re-vamping the place, but they won't listen to any of my suggestions. Its not an old salon, but it could do with little things like fresh paint on the oil-stained/scratched walls (which has been pointed out to me by clients who think its my salon-which I find a bit embarrassing as they think I am being lazy about the place), even a small ad in the local newsletter/paper.
They will not invest a penny in the place, I am not able to hire any extra staff that might help make the place busier, they won't let me do any extra late-night hours because they don't see how any business should stay open past 6pm so I do lose a lot of potential clients that way, and are just happy to let the place tick along-which obviously will only work for another little while, as the business cannot run like that (or maybe its already starting to fail, I don't know).
I have invested a lot of my own time, energy and some money over the past two years as I really do care about the salon and the clients I have and I love running the business.
I feel caught between a rock and a hard place at the moment. I would love to take the place over myself but I cannot afford to do that. Even though I am managing and running the salon, I am on the bare minimum wage and we are saving for a wedding and a house ourselves so I just can't afford a place of my own.
I cannot just leave, for a number of reasons- I do need to make back my wages from the past few weeks as there are bills at home to be paid and obviously I have no other job to go to. Every salon or spa I apply to will hire me, but only on a part-time/casual basis to start "with a view to full-time"...I have done that for too many years and I cannot go back to working part-time....it just cannot be done.
I love the beauty industry and I do want to run a salon of my own some day and I am taking a lot of positives from this experience as I have gained much knowledge in the running of the place, doing accounts, seeing what treatments are the best income etc, so I will always try and take the positive out of it...I just don't really know what to do now.
If you have read this far, I really do thank you for bearing with me, it helped even just typing it all out even if no-one reads it! :o
I would just like some advice if any salon owners or therapists can give me their opinion- what would you do in my situation? I am unable to work from home as we are renting and my landlord won't allow it. I cannot afford to buy or rent a salon at the moment. but if I stay here I may end up just continuing to work for free, the place may fail and my clients will think it is my business that has failed.
I am just very tired from all this and my mind is a bit fried so I was just maybe looking for a fresh opinion? Thank you! :suprised: xxxxx