Business adviser?

[leonnib]

i got a phone call from a business advice company today..

anyway they said im not doing well in terms of profit..
they said the year to break rule that generally applies is not the same for every industry and the 'beauty industry is very profitable'.

im in my 3rd month and in the last month been breaking even. ok i dont have a huge profit every week but imo the first 2 months were really hard and was running at a loss.

for me its such a relief just to be breaking even and my intake increasing every month. and my phone ringing..lol

but they really made me think if im being slow in the way im thinking.

my other business is run from home so no overheads.

they did offer me monthly support in the salon which i said id think about but very costly.
my hubby thinks they are wrong and they trying to make some cash etc...

does anyone have a business adviser?

and they got me slightly worried now....

 

[Ruth Mills]

I always bear the "Hollywood Principle" in mind when it comes to telemarketers - "Don't Call Us - We'll Call You"!

So I tend to dismiss any cold calls outright. Cold callers put you under pressure and want to close a deal then and there. Whereas if you are in charge, taking your time to research the market and get a number of different quotes from various companies, and having the time to weigh up the pros and cons of each, then you'll probably end up with a much better deal.

I'd personally be very suspicious of such a call - especially if they want silly money for their services...

After all, you don't get something for nothing...

 

[CathyBryant]

i would say if you are breaking even after just 3 months then you are doing very well, trust me to get a business established and profitable can take 2-3 years so i would say you seem to be doing well without them

 

[leonnib]

i was going to use them for start up funding thats how they got my details..

i was on the phone for quite a while tbh was very convincing..
im always wondering about the salons devleopment etc.. so when he callled made me more worried..

and my brains all over the place at the moment..lol

 

[CathyBryant]

check out your local business link they are very helpful and FREE, very professional and can help with finding out what funding is available, i cant fault them

 

[leonnib]

not looking for funding anymore but thats how they got my details a few months ago.. i didnt know they kept it all this time..

 

[persianista]

Honey, after 3 months you cannot judge a business!!!
I suspect these people are simply after a consultancy fee. You can get advice for free from business link if you need to.
It's not in any way realistic to compare a 3 month old salons "projected" profit margin to the industry average. Please save your money to spend on real investment in your salon, not waste it on opportunistic chancers. x

 

[leonnib]

i was really close to signing up but didnt.. then after i thought about it i wondered if it he was after money.. but i am like always thinking 'what they after'.

so wondered what anyone else thought.. plus i hate when people call me if i never asked for it (yes im moany..lol)..

but if its a money making thing i bet people do sign up especially new business who are really worried about failing.

my salon is still new its like my baby.. its not even half grown...

 

[Kim Lawless]

Are you nuts??? They want to frighten you so you'll buy their service. Tell them to take a running jump......you're doing good. xxx

 

[tog]

i.

so wondered what anyone else thought.. plus i hate when people call me if i never asked for it (yes im moany..lol)..

Look - you're the one who has clients walking into your salon or phoning you to book appointments, whereas that company had to call YOU to get business. They have to cold call to generate business, YOU DON'T. So what does that say about their business compared to yours? who seems to be the one short of customers? THEM I think, not you.
If you want advice/help you sound intelligent enough to do your research and ask for it/call when it suits you. Don't let yourself be talked into anything over the phone. At the very least, go away and give it serious thought.
And well done if you're breaking even after only 3 months, that's fab. I bet your business will go from strength to strength now.

 

[Becca Bee]

I've got very little experience within the beauty industry, but i do have vast business experience, and i always avoided those kind of people.

I had an amazing accountant who would advise, but his attitude was "Well, you're the one at the coal face, you know what works for your business, please don't think i know everything about your business" which i always thought was good advice.

if it's financial advise, as has already been mentioned, the business link are great, they can help with cashflow planning and budgeting and point you in direction of funding.

You are in control, sometimes it might not feel like it, but you are in control, and you made a business decision when you chose not to sign up for the business advice. I doubt you'd come to regret it.

It may help to find A N Other person who also runs a small business who you trust to talk about things, it doesn't matter what they do, as many of the pressures are the same, and many of the solutions, bar minor tweaking to "industry-fy" are the same.

3 months in and breaking even... well done you, if you carry on, you'll probably be in the position to give them advice lol

Good for you, hope it goes from strength to strength.

Rebecca

 

[hippy-chick]

Hang on, rewind.....THEY RANG YOU! You didn't ask them to ring you for biz advice, and they said that you weren't doing good enough but if you signed up with them they would improve sales.

You have only been doing this for 3 months for this premises this means that you will be getting a lot more calls as you are fresh meat. I bet yahoo, yellow pages and google have also been on the phone.

Get used to marketing calls, and believe me, that was a marketing call.

Don't doubt yourself, they may talk the talk but you walk the walk.

 

[swindonbig]

If they approached you cold, they have no interest in where your business has come from, only what money they can make out of you from this point forward. I would urge you to ignore them.