To go mobile or not?

[AshLovesTanning]

Hi Girls and Guys,

I was having a chat with a colleague who is about to go mobile as a hairdresser, she has built up a clientele over the years working in the salon.

She seems to have it all sorted out about her weekly salary and keeping up on her rent and bills at home, BUT I wonder how is she going to pay her home rent and bills if she doesn't earn enough money a certain week?

So my questions to you guys are:
1.How do you guys who are mobile Tanners and hairdressers and nail tech's manage to pay all necessities and keep a roof over your head if you have a bad week where you get only a few clients...
2.Do you worry you won't be able to make enough money to live?
3.Are people telling you that you need to work in a salon cause being mobile will not work?


Thanks everyone!

 

[laurakate]

This is a good question and I still don't know the answer because it's so different for everyone.

It would be interesting to know what support is available for self employed people on a low income. Housing benefit? Working tax credits?

 

[AshLovesTanning]

This is a good question and I still don't know the answer because it's so different for everyone.

It would be interesting to know what support is available for self employed people on a low income. Housing benefit? Working tax credits?

AGREE!
I've always wanted to know how mobile people make a living off their job!

 

[TipTopZP]

Hi
I'm working at home for about a year now.
I still don't have alot of clients and it was very hard and impossible to manage without my hasband finance support.Hopfully, it will change in the future.

 

[AshLovesTanning]

Hi
I'm working at home for about a year now.
I still don't have alot of clients and it was very hard and impossible to manage without my hasband finance support.Hopfully, it will change in the future.

Did your friends and family try to stop you from working for yourself?

 

[7onia]

Very hard . I guess with all the Brexit coming it will be even harder , I think if you keep in contact with the hmrc there could be payback at end of financial year and also there is self imploded benefits available from the job centre I belive

 

[TipTopZP]

Did your friends and family try to stop you from working for yourself?

No. I did consider that it will take me a while till I get a firm group of clients.

 

[AshLovesTanning]

I just keep thinking how easy it is to go mobile work your own hours but then the down side is people keep going to the salon.

 

[RED STAR]

Being self employed is much harder than people think.
I'm a salon owner, and have been self employed for many years....I often feel envious of my employed staff, as their stress levels will, for sure, be lower than mine!

You have to expect the high ...... and lows....the weeks when you are 'back to back'...and those when no one books!
The time and money you will need to spend on promoting your business, sourcing stock...... doing your accounts, (or be prepared to pay someone).
Remember, holidays will be unpayed, and you can NEVER be sick!

 

[AshLovesTanning]

Being self employed is much harder than people think.
I'm a salon owner, and have been self employed for many years....I often feel envious of my employed staff, as their stress levels will, for sure, be lower than mine!

You have to expect the high ...... and lows....the weeks when you are 'back to back'...and those when no one books!
The time and money you will need to spend on promoting your business, sorcing stock...... doing your accounts, (or be prepared to pay someone).
Remember, holidays will be unpayed, and you can NEVER be sick!

Thank you for your honest story.
I would love to go mobile I hate working in the salon I want to do my own hours and be my own boss. I should go and see what self employed people are entitled to!

 

[RED STAR]

I once did mobile as a hairdresser.
I hated it!
Obviously we're all different, but it's HARD WORK!
Factor in travel time and expense....loading, unloading, setting up, cleaning up.....there's quite a lot of
'faffing' which you cannot charge for!
Have you considered changing salons.....

 

[AshLovesTanning]

It's hard to get into any salon now.
I wonder how big salons like Toni&guy do it

 

[Kate Bruno]

Hi I'm a mobile hairdresser, I have a bank account just for the business. Everything I earn goes into it and at the end of the week I transfer a set amount every week so if I have a really busy week i still get the same. That then compensates for the bad weeks.

 

[BannerPenguin]

I don't think Self Employed people are entitled to anything in terms of benefit. We are void of a lot of things.

 

[AshLovesTanning]

Hi I'm a mobile hairdresser, I have a bank account just for the business. Everything I earn goes into it and at the end of the week I transfer a set amount every week so if I have a really busy week i still get the same. That then compensates for the bad weeks.

Can you afford to pay your mortgage or rent and bills?
Would you have a certain number of clients a week?

 

[Kate Bruno]

Yes the set wage I pay myself is plenty to cover all of the bills. Then anything to do with the business comes out of the business account. Realisticly I need to do about 8-10 clients a week. I have been doing this for 3 years now so there is enough to cover for a few weeks if I go on holiday etc

 

[AshLovesTanning]

How do you advertise your self to get your clients?
That's great you can pay your own bills and stuff
A lot of people are having a really hard time just working for them selves it must be really difficult.

 

[laurakate]

I like this thread because I think it is vital to have an honest and frank discussion about self employment in this industry.

I do know someone who does it as her sole bread winning income but she is a massive grafter, is good at sales and knows a lot of people in the local area anyway. Equally I know others who do it as pocket money in addition to a more stable job.

My stake in this is that (with respect to everyone who gets more out of it) I see this industry as a pocket money job. There is a lot of competition and it also requires a willingness to do a lot of networking. It's not for everyone and that's ok.

I still think that beauty etc is a good skill to have even as a hobby. It's interesting and enjoyable in it's own right but I think it's good to have other skills for the purpose of either employment or self employment.

 

[laurakate]

I don't think Self Employed people are entitled to anything in terms of benefit. We are void of a lot of things.

That's so disappointing to hear if basic top ups in the form of housing benefit and working tax credit were available, I am sure such safety net would help a lot of people be much less afraid to try and get up and running. The government is shooting itself in the foot really because making self employment more viable for people could be a massive help for the economy and unemployment situation .

 

[AshLovesTanning]

I feel like it's going to be really difficult for an self employed people in this industry in particular as the competition is a killer.
Competition is an understatement for this industry and it is growing every day cause it's easy to learn some things in the industry and easy to do courses and get qualified.
I know a lot of qualified hairdressers and they are the worst probably in the industry. But everyone seems to have the piece of paper with the word qualified on it.
And there's people who are great at what they do and are struggling it's everyday I see salons close in Dublin and there is a particular salon only open a year or two that girl would be lucky to have 1 client a day!