classixuk
Well-Known Member
Hi Everyone,
Just wanted to call in and answer a few points that have been raised so you can understand a bit more about where I was coming from.
1. The OP asked for advice - I don't usually respond to "setting up a business" threads, but in this instance the OP is older and has already saved the money from her efforts in business so far.
My honest advice was given based on the fact that I think there are better investments for her £100K than setting up a salon given the current economic climate and her total lack of industry experience or even access to a business partner with the required level of experience.
I have always said that managing a hair salon is totally different to being a hairdresser (if you read my past posts) but actually owning a business that sells haircuts will require some knowledge of the industry if it's going to work and be a fruitful investment long term. It's not just my opinion either - if the OP approached say, Toni & Guy, with a view to buying a franchise (in which she would be given complete training and support every step of the way) even they would require her to have a business partner who is a hairdresser. There are very good reasons for this. Hairdressers don't like to be told what to do by people who aren't hairdressers, especially when it comes to their work. We all know that.
2. Sweeping generalisations about people in Liverpool - Some were uncomfortable with my observations over the years and there is no way of getting around this. 8/10 cats might prefer Whiskas, but on the internet you'll always have the 2 who don't popping up to protest against the statement!
Every city has different types of people, different cultures, different religions, different political persuasions, different fashions and thus different lifestyles. They aren't spread evenly throughout a city or a country either. They tend to group together. Statistics show that Liverpool is a city that always votes Labour, has a strong unionised heritage, is welcoming to different cultures and backgrounds and has higher than average levels of crime related to drugs and gangs. All of this effects what types of businesses do well here. For instance, a Jewish delicatessen would probably do well in Childwall (L16) but would more than likely fail miserably in Netherley (L27). That's because our Jewish population tends to reside mostly around the site of the King David school in Childwall.
Every city will have these types of "trends" or "demographics". When you add them all up together you get a generalised picture of the city rather than the postcode. To suggest that we shouldn't point these differences out is financial suicide when it comes to deciding where and how to invest upwards of £100K, especially when the OP actually stated "I also have knowledge in this industry, I am from Liverpool and we are mad on all things beauty we really take pride in our appearance, it's a massive industry here. Also I would be setting up in one of the busiest areas of the city." as a reason her business would automatically succeed. I merely pointed out that it could be the very reason her venture might fail! I think that she will see that for what it is - she's a lawyer and is used to analysing both sides of the story to get to the facts.
3. My own business experience - It was pointed out that I was young when I set up my first salon (22 years old) and perhaps was also naive myself at the time, and I would certainly agree with that. But I'd like to point out that being naive isn't what made my business successful. Balancing the scales was the fact I had been hairdressing since the age of 16, I had worked and trained in London, I had managed salons and been trained in doing so, and also spent 2 years at sea managing spas with teams of upto 25 stylists and therapists as part of my work for Steiner. All of that helped me to balance out my naivety when it came to not just managing a salon in Liverpool, but owning one. All of the stuff I mentioned in my post (salons being petrol bombed, scally boyfriends threatening to smash your place up if things go wrong etc.) are things I have learned since opening my first salon. I passed on these lessons for free. I wish someone could have done that for me so that I was prepared.
Finally - I'd like to touch on one more thing that might, or might not, be unique to Liverpool. I'm sure other salon owners will let me know.
Since 2007 and the credit crunch, many salons have either closed down or reduced their staffing levels. Indeed, my L'Oreal rep who I have known for over 10 years told me that the company lost over 1000 UK salons last year due to closure. This has been going on now for 5 years.
It's had a strange ripple effect for us when it comes to finding staff.
5 years ago an advert for qualified stylists would attract applications from people who had been working in a salon environment for 5 years + after qualifying.
These days, the applications are very different. They're either from people who have just finished, or are about to finish, their full time college position or apprenticeship, or from people whose CV's read that they qualified in hairdressing in 2009 for example but either haven't worked since or have worked in completely different roles such as call centres due to lack of availability of hairdressing jobs. You have to sift through 50+ applications to find 2 or 3 who have any experience in actually cutting hair commercially on a day to day business, and then out of these you have to hope at least one of them will pass the trade test and fit with the image of your salon.
We're finding more and more that our only real options are to take on staff who aren't ready and invest upto 12 months re-training them to get them ready for the salon floor, whilst we get back behind the chair and do the clients ourselves. I just wonder how a non-hairdresser would rise to meet this challenge?
Hope that clarifies a few things.
Just wanted to call in and answer a few points that have been raised so you can understand a bit more about where I was coming from.
1. The OP asked for advice - I don't usually respond to "setting up a business" threads, but in this instance the OP is older and has already saved the money from her efforts in business so far.
My honest advice was given based on the fact that I think there are better investments for her £100K than setting up a salon given the current economic climate and her total lack of industry experience or even access to a business partner with the required level of experience.
I have always said that managing a hair salon is totally different to being a hairdresser (if you read my past posts) but actually owning a business that sells haircuts will require some knowledge of the industry if it's going to work and be a fruitful investment long term. It's not just my opinion either - if the OP approached say, Toni & Guy, with a view to buying a franchise (in which she would be given complete training and support every step of the way) even they would require her to have a business partner who is a hairdresser. There are very good reasons for this. Hairdressers don't like to be told what to do by people who aren't hairdressers, especially when it comes to their work. We all know that.
2. Sweeping generalisations about people in Liverpool - Some were uncomfortable with my observations over the years and there is no way of getting around this. 8/10 cats might prefer Whiskas, but on the internet you'll always have the 2 who don't popping up to protest against the statement!
Every city has different types of people, different cultures, different religions, different political persuasions, different fashions and thus different lifestyles. They aren't spread evenly throughout a city or a country either. They tend to group together. Statistics show that Liverpool is a city that always votes Labour, has a strong unionised heritage, is welcoming to different cultures and backgrounds and has higher than average levels of crime related to drugs and gangs. All of this effects what types of businesses do well here. For instance, a Jewish delicatessen would probably do well in Childwall (L16) but would more than likely fail miserably in Netherley (L27). That's because our Jewish population tends to reside mostly around the site of the King David school in Childwall.
Every city will have these types of "trends" or "demographics". When you add them all up together you get a generalised picture of the city rather than the postcode. To suggest that we shouldn't point these differences out is financial suicide when it comes to deciding where and how to invest upwards of £100K, especially when the OP actually stated "I also have knowledge in this industry, I am from Liverpool and we are mad on all things beauty we really take pride in our appearance, it's a massive industry here. Also I would be setting up in one of the busiest areas of the city." as a reason her business would automatically succeed. I merely pointed out that it could be the very reason her venture might fail! I think that she will see that for what it is - she's a lawyer and is used to analysing both sides of the story to get to the facts.
3. My own business experience - It was pointed out that I was young when I set up my first salon (22 years old) and perhaps was also naive myself at the time, and I would certainly agree with that. But I'd like to point out that being naive isn't what made my business successful. Balancing the scales was the fact I had been hairdressing since the age of 16, I had worked and trained in London, I had managed salons and been trained in doing so, and also spent 2 years at sea managing spas with teams of upto 25 stylists and therapists as part of my work for Steiner. All of that helped me to balance out my naivety when it came to not just managing a salon in Liverpool, but owning one. All of the stuff I mentioned in my post (salons being petrol bombed, scally boyfriends threatening to smash your place up if things go wrong etc.) are things I have learned since opening my first salon. I passed on these lessons for free. I wish someone could have done that for me so that I was prepared.
Finally - I'd like to touch on one more thing that might, or might not, be unique to Liverpool. I'm sure other salon owners will let me know.
Since 2007 and the credit crunch, many salons have either closed down or reduced their staffing levels. Indeed, my L'Oreal rep who I have known for over 10 years told me that the company lost over 1000 UK salons last year due to closure. This has been going on now for 5 years.
It's had a strange ripple effect for us when it comes to finding staff.
5 years ago an advert for qualified stylists would attract applications from people who had been working in a salon environment for 5 years + after qualifying.
These days, the applications are very different. They're either from people who have just finished, or are about to finish, their full time college position or apprenticeship, or from people whose CV's read that they qualified in hairdressing in 2009 for example but either haven't worked since or have worked in completely different roles such as call centres due to lack of availability of hairdressing jobs. You have to sift through 50+ applications to find 2 or 3 who have any experience in actually cutting hair commercially on a day to day business, and then out of these you have to hope at least one of them will pass the trade test and fit with the image of your salon.
We're finding more and more that our only real options are to take on staff who aren't ready and invest upto 12 months re-training them to get them ready for the salon floor, whilst we get back behind the chair and do the clients ourselves. I just wonder how a non-hairdresser would rise to meet this challenge?
Hope that clarifies a few things.
