Renting space in a shop - Evenings & Weekends

[nailbeginner]

Hi there

I saw an advert for a space in a shop and phoned the girl up. She is charging £25 for every 8 hours you work. I said that I really want to work evenings and weekends (as I have a full time job still because I'm only just starting in the industry). I am meeting with her this evening and just wanted to know if the rate is okay. She also said that she would just give me a set of keys and that I would have use of her treatment room as well as a manicure table if I wanted to do waxing etc as well. What sort of things do I need to check out and how do you actually get appointments if you are only there evenings and weekends? I don't want to agree to certain times I will be in if I am having to pay her and I don't have any clients.

Any advice?

Help is much appreciated!

 

[PLAOH]

Unless you can commit to a salon full time I personally wouldn't take it. Like you said, who will book your appointments if your not their during the day.

I would prefer to book my own appointments. Customers always phone to book a "rebalance", but after you ask a few questions the real truth comes out, ie, they've 4 missing, lifting and thick as concrete from a Nss salon:lol:, so you need to book a longer appointment.

Will she advertise for you too?

OMHO but if I were you I would either work from home or go mobile. It's worked for me.

 

[kateyork1]

That sounds really expensive to me too - after all 8 hours is only 1 days work really. Imagine if eventually you wanted to go full time and work say Tues - Sat (that's alot of money to be paying out on rent). xx

 

[nailbeginner]

Thanks for that. She has offered to do all the advertising and will be putting my name and mobile number on the advert for evening and weekend appointments. Financially I cannot do this full time from day one and thought this might be a good way until a build up a client base. She has also said that if she cannot fit someone in she will give them my mobile to arrange an evening or weekend appointment.

Do you still think it is a bad idea only doing part time?

 

[PLAOH]

Thanks for that. She has offered to do all the advertising and will be putting my name and mobile number on the advert for evening and weekend appointments. Financially I cannot do this full time from day one and thought this might be a good way until a build up a client base. She has also said that if she cannot fit someone in she will give them my mobile to arrange an evening or weekend appointment.

Do you still think it is a bad idea only doing part time?

You need to work out what you want to be earning per hour. How many treatments can you get done in 8 hours (taking into account client consultation, enamel drying etc), deduct the cost of your products, then deduct the salon rent. What does it leave you with?

Another thing with evenings is this will only attract those who perhaps have finished work and want an appointment on their way home. I don't see many people wanting to come out at 8.00pm for an appointment. This is where mobile is great as people like the fact that they don;t have to drag out late in the day.

I don't mean to sound negative, just giving my thoughts which you can ignore if you like.:lol:

 

[nailbeginner]

Thanks Louise

Your thoughts are right!, I will have to calculate cost less products and rent and see what I'm left with. I am probably going to go along even to get an idea in my head of what is involved so that I can either forget about it or maybe do something like that at a later date when I can go full time.

I think I will also attempt my negotiation skills as it is a little expensive.

Your right though, maybe I should just stick to mobile!

Thanks for taking the time to help me out!

 

[Sassy Hassy]

Hi there

I saw an advert for a space in a shop and phoned the girl up. She is charging £25 for every 8 hours you work. You need to calrify if this is time you are ACTUALLY there, or do rent an allotted time slot and it's up to you whether you are there or not.I said that I really want to work evenings and weekends (as I have a full time job still because I'm only just starting in the industry). Well these are very popular times, but you need to give 110% and I am worried that working a full time job and then doing evening and weekends at nails will burn you out and then you will not be fit enough to do either. Also clients like you to be at their beck and call so full time is always better than part time, but if you love doing nails then part time is better than none! I am meeting with her this evening and just wanted to know if the rate is okay. Seems a but high to me, but if it is a busy salon and you work non stop then it may pay for itself. She also said that she would just give me a set of keys and that I would have use of her treatment room as well as a manicure table if I wanted to do waxing etc as well. That seems more like a generous offer, but will you be working on your own? I wouldn't like to work in a shop on my own, too many nutters about What sort of things do I need to check out and how do you actually get appointments if you are only there evenings and weekends? Like I say it's popular for people who work the 9-5. Advertise i your shop window, leaflets, newspaper, Yellow pages, Yell.com, Thomson Local ... but it's not cheap and you should not expect to see a return on your investment for the first 2-3 years as you constantly reinvest to make it grow. I don't want to agree to certain times I will be in if I am having to pay her and I don't have any clients. Then maybe it's not for you. Starting your own business is a risk and if you don't feel comfortable with that then you may be better to remain as an employee. After all the salon owner cannot say to the Landlord, I'll only pay rent if I have clients in lol!! Maybe you would be better to negotiate a deal where you pay a percentage of takings, therefore if you have no clients you don't have to pay rent ... but if you are really busy then you are always have to fork out a large chunk of your earnings rather than a small fixed amount.

Any advice?
Location is key, if the salon is in a quiet end of town or looks shabby then you will have to spend more on advertising to get new clients as your walk in trade wil be very low. Weigh up the pros and cons and decide if this is the right time for you.
Help is much appreciated!

Hope I don't come across as being harsh, it's all just my opinion, at the end of the day it's your decision and I wish you all the luck in the world. I love my job and there aren't many that can say that these days!

 

[nailbeginner]

Thanks Sassy - I will really have to have a sit down and think about all this. Don't want to be making the wrong decision this early on in my career.

Thank you so much for your words of wisdom!

 

[Jindalee]

If you are keen to take this opportunity, I would draft a lease agreement. This would stipulate who does what, when and what rights and responsibilities each party holds and whether they have the jurisdiction to do so. For example, some premises sub-let when they’re not allowed to and this impacts on your business should you be turfed. In Australia we have standard lease agreements that cover this and, of course, like any agreement, these can be modified to suit. In a situation like this, though, where you feel out of your depth, it’s best to get advice. I’m sure your govt would run a business related service that would offer such advice for free.

As an aside, if I can gently offer you some advice hard learned – don’t approach this deal as though you’re the one begging. Don’t forget that you, as a practitioner, have a lot to offer a business too and that if this girl is not negotiable then, believe me, there’ll be other people out there who are.

The best of luck to you.

 

[pussycat]

hi!
i rent a treatment room at the local leisure centre (most centres have them) they charge me 30% of my profits so if i have a quiet day or i'm off sick i'm not paying out for a room that i'm not using or giving more money away than i am making.

it works really well, i've got posters and leaflets up in the reception and the gym and have put posters up on the back of the ladies loos! (well what else are they goona look at!!!) i get a lot of trade from people who would never have thought about going to a salon but they come in and have their nails done after they've been in the gym.

catxx