Setting up as a mobile hairdresser

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drage21

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Hi Guys,

I have signed up to this site to get some advice, not for me but for my partner, :rolleyes:

basically, she is a fully qualified hairdresser, and has been with her salon for about 5 years now,
however recently her and many others at this salon are becoming fed up, and are wanting out, she is being bullied by her boss, and is hating her job,

for year i have told her to set up as a mobil hairdresser, we live in an area where there is a lot of retired people and so i think there would be a great gap in the market for her,

As she needs a push to get this started, i am secretly doing a lot of research on all the aspects of mobile hairdressing, i am then intending on buying her a selection of items to start up and then help her from there,

As i work for tesco, i am unsure on what is needed etc, and so that is where this forum comes in, i need as much advice on hairdressing mobily (if thats a word),

I know the basic things she would need,

I have so far looked into COLOURS - i have looked at both L'oreal and Osmo Ikon who have 57 colours i was thinking of purchasing a selection of these to start her off, or even all 57 if need be,

The next thing is pots etc for mixing, as i have seen her do my mums hair at home i know what the pots look like, and what the brushs look like, as well as the foil etc,

What kind of other equipment would she need, i know she would need
* A HAIRDRYER - IS THERE A BEST ONE AND WHERE CAN I GET THAT,
* STRAIGHTNERS - IS THERE A BEST ONE AND WHERE TO GET THAT,
* CURLING TONGS - IS THERE A BEST ONE AND WHERE TO GET THAT,

she already has scissors and combs etc from her job now, clippers she has for male hair,
what about other items that need to be considered, curling items, clips, towels,

anything you think she would need to start up please let me know,

if any one can give me advice on what i would need to get, i know this is what she wants to do and so i wanna helo her and give her the push she needs, if you know sites that have the items i need to get on them, and also prices that would be brilliant, anything people can recommnd,

the other thing i am going in to local hairdressers and getting price lists so i can help her look into the side of pricing and how much she would need to charge, as well as sorting out her some flyers and also some business cards,
is there a rough price to go on, say a salon charges X amount should she charge X amount lower, say a salon is £60 for something should she charge £40,

and finally after boring you with all this :zzz:, what is the best way to get out there and get noticed, and also i take it if you cut hair at home, the washing hair part is all just done in their home sinks etc,

sorry to be so dumb but i know nothing about this and im just trying to work out how much i need to help her start up,

many thanks in advance for all the help

Drage21 :biggrin:
 
hi,
i am a mobile hairdresser and as i dont know which colours i am using on what clients (unless they are regular) i always go and do a colour consultation with my colour chart and buy the colours as i go, this makes it much easier and cost effective, also it is law to do a skin test 48 hours before.i use loreal colours as i find they cover grey hair best, but i think all stylist are a bit biased and only use what they are used to. sallys hair suppliers should have everything you need in terms of straighteners clips etc, i use a eti turbo stratos dryers(about £50), personally i think this is the best but your partner may think otherwise, i use ghd straighteners or fhi, again fhi can be brought from sallys for about £50, not sure on ghd.
you have to make sure you register her with the local council, mine charged about £30 but its lifelong to be able to do freelance, and you need to get insurance, i found the cheapest was salon gold.
also on the day you become self employed you must contact the hmrc to declare it. curling tongs can be pretty cheap and brought from anywhere (mine are just argos about £10).
just tell your partner to pay as she goes along though or you might buy stuff you never use, like rollers, you need to check the hair length first and again the same with perms, all clients dont mind you popping over the day before to check their hair for which perms to get etc.
this is sallys website, i would reccomend going instore and if she hasnt already got a card get her to bring in her certificates and get one as everything is much cheaper for trade card holder Sally Express | by Sally Salon Services - Professional Hairdressing and Beauty Supplies
good luck
 
if she works in a salon am sure she will know where to buy stock from etc.. i do know ghd you have to go direct to them x
 
Hiya, I'm a mobile hairdresser and I have a huge kit, I believe you can never have too much!

I would strongly recommend you google salons direct, they have a website and as well as being able to browse online you can also request a catalogue which is really handy for looking through and comparing products, you could sit down and look at it together. I don't think you have to prove your a professional to use them however they are there for trade use, I also find they are a lot cheaper than sallys even if you have trade discount, they also send you a voucher for £10 - £15 off any order over a certain amount and free p+p. You will find everything you need in the catalogue!

For business cards and other stationary you could try vistaprint (website) they do everything from business cards to base ball caps, it's really easy and cheap, there are also some free options!

To promote her business I would recommend as soon as she were to leave the salon she should advertise in the classifieds of your local paper as her clients from the salon may be looking for her. set up a Facebook page and ask all your friends to "like" it, I've just done this and when you google "mobile hairdresser" in my area it puts my page at the top of the search. You can advertise on gumtree, this is free and is becoming quite popular. Also the thing I find best is leaving a few business cards with each client I go to, they keep them, hand them to friends and nearly all of the ask me for more!

As far as electrical items go it's often personal choice, I use parlux hair dryers, I prefer ghd straightners and ceramic tongs are great for mobile use as they heat up in seconds (great if you are limited to plug sockets).
Colouring companies are also very personal to an individual, it maybe worth finding out what suppliers are in your area, Aston and fincher are great, (i use 3 different suppliers as they all have something the others don't) they often will give you a starter pack with a certain amount of tubes of tint, bottles of peroxide and a chart, these can be great value for money.

I hope this helps. Also I'd like to say that it is a really lovely thing your doing trying to set her up ready to start out on her own. As some of these things do come down to personal choice if you are unsure on anything it's probably best to discuss it with her, before parting with too much cash.
Good luck!
 
That's great all the information people are giving me, could someone give me a bit more detail about the insurance, HMRC, and being self employed part,

Im gavering all the information, outing it together in a kind of presentation to show her the benefits and cons,
I have dropped some hints in conversation and found out she would want to use l'oreal as she uses this in the salon for colour. Can some one give me information on a place to buy this,

I am estimating £500-£700 to start up, if I pay for her insurance, business cards and a big stack of supplies, I have looked on a website called coolblades or something and they have everything at reasonable prices but will compare with the others mentioned.

I was thinking of buying her colour supplies, as we have storage for them at home and as you say you can never have enough supplies,

I just think the more prepared I can make her the more she will want to take the leap and do what she has always said she wants to

Thanks so much so far
 
For insurance salon gold is normally a good option for freelance hairdressers, it's around £40 per year, you can do it all online, it's really easy.
Registering with hmrc is really easy, but I think she will have to do this herself, all they will want to know is name, address, etc, then the date she turned self employed, they will want to discuss national insurance contributions (if you earn under a certain amount you don't have to pay it but it's not much so I paid it from the start as it's easier than going back having earned more than expected) don't panic about this side of things though because you have 3 months from the date you become self employed to let them know!
It might be worth contacting local trade only wholesalers to see if they stock the colours she likes and to ask if there is a start up kit. You can get stuff online too, just not sure if websites offer the same great value starter kits.
As far a what it costs to set up, it all depends on how far you go, but it's all an investment.
 
Thanks for all your help so far a couple other questions sorry to be a pain,

With pricing what is best way to price cuts up, shall I look at hair salons an then see what a rough average is? And do you add fuel charges in or just allow for that in the price,

What is the council thing all about, who would I need to speak to on the council if anyone,

Yell, newspaper, gumtree, and vista print all sound brilliant will look at them

Many thanks
 
i found my council payment online and i just had to send in a check to the town hall then they sent me the certificate.
my prices include petrol and you should have in mind how far you want to travel, i just minused £5-10 from the salon i used to work in for prices then increased over time.
i also got my leaflets from a ebay company, sooo much cheaper than elsewhere but i will say i only got 2 clients from leaflets so not really worth it for me.
i have a website and i have added myself to all free sites, i have never paid for advertising and using things like google keywords on my website (dont ask me what they are my partner did it all) i get enough clients through all the free advertising you can get. my old driving instructor once told me never to pay for any so i never have and its all worked out fine.
you just ring hmrc and that sets up everything for you, and national insurance is cheaper for self employed so its better.
also salon gold is definatly the cheapest insurance.
 
Council registration?! What's that for?
 
I was a mobile hairdresser for 2 years, best thing i ever did, i worked in a salon for 10 years and just needed to do something for me and was fed but working my butt off for someone else and not seeing profit. moblie gave me a enough income for me to set up my own salon which is what ive always dreamed of.

good luck to her and hope she does really well :)
 
I have a basic price for each individual.treatment then a call out fee for each call. Within 10miles is £5. Outside of that £10 upto 20miles

Craig Keane
www.hculture.co.uk
 
Hey guys im looking for any advice you may have please.
Im thinking of starting up mobile, as ive been out of the loop for a bit. I was diagnosed with epilepsy and was forced out of my last job because of it!!
But now with treatment it seems to have now gone :).
And i want to start up now myself and carrying on what i love!! i have looked into salon gold for insurance which seems to be popular, but i keep hearing people mention about registering with local council could you tell me why as ive never heard of this before???? as far as products etc goes im all fine on that front but anything you may feel i need to know would be of a great help! cheers guys and look forward to some posts
 
I'd say give her the money for the supplies and let her go to a REPUTABLE warehouse, NOT sallys, and I'd recommend you don't go there and ask for advice, the staff are not hairdressers or beauticians and therefore have no idea on what is needed, they are basically as clueless as you.
I'd take a look on yell.com for local suppliers or ask your oh where she would prefer. Good warehouses won't let you in as you aren't qualified or insured and therefore have no need in knowing how much we pay (but I know Aston and fincher allow a guest to go in with a qualified person, which would mean you could pay for her in there.) xoxo
 

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