Advise on starting a nail bar please

[leannesuga]

my friend and i work in a VERY busy nail bar and we are seriously thinking of starting up on our own, as we are fed up working for a big company who treat badly, and seeing the customers paying all that money for their nails. we have both been doing nails between 3-6 years and have alot of customers that wouldnt go to anyone else,

basicly my question is, is it worth it?

im giving up a decent paid full time job plus 3-4 home clients a week to start a business.

we have looked into renting a room, which is in town centre maybe 1-2miles from where we work now, it will cost £80 per week (includes rates,eletric,phone and internet).

please help

 

[Gigit]

There is a lot to owning and running a successful business. I would first start with a small business course at your local community college prior to making that step.

 

[leannesuga]

thankyou for the reply, i am currently doing the go4 it program. which is a good advise course on what to do and how to set up,

 

[persianista]

If you have a clientele already it is a massive head start when you open a salon. Try and sit and do the maths of what you are taking each week. As a salon, my profit BEFORE corporation tax is 22% of turnover. Then take 28% tax off that, the remainder is my pay.

 

[Jaydee]

Can I just point out that the client base you have built up during your employment with the company does infact not belong to you. If you decide to leave your present job, you are by law not allowed to tell the client of your intentions, solicit by any means or tell them where you are moving to. Clients personal details remain the property of the company you are working for and is covered by the Data Protection Act. Do everything in the correct way to cover yourself. Good luck.
David

 

[wendy malley]

if you believe you can do it you should but also check your contract with your employer as some prevent you from opening within a certain distance of your current salon , good luck if you go for it

 

[leannesuga]

i was with the company 2years then i left as i got fed up with the way they were, they said things were better so 6mnths later i moved back, i have been there now from sept and i havnt had a back to work contract or anything like it, i do know about the law and that data protection act, but as i live near town i see the clients around alot so i was hopeing word of mouth and advertising like crazy?
thankyou for replies and persianista that was helpfull, just need to add everything up and have a good think,

 

[sachi]

I would think that if you had a card with your cell number on it, and you gave it to your clients, they could call you when ever..... Then you would not be telling them you were leaving etc. they would find out when they came in. Some might call you. I don't know if THAT is not with in the law or not.

 

[NoLimitNails]

I'm not out to get anyone or point fingers...

But all this about taking clients with you it makes me a little uncomfortable... Not long ago we had a thread about a salon owner who had her clients poached by a former employee, and everybody was supporting her... now it's kind of the other way around

I'm not saying you cant start a salon, but to start a salon based on clients from where you work now, is not a good idea, also because of the law.

If the clients wants to follow you, then let them find you through advertising. If you hand out cards to them with numbers on, I'm sure that could be a problem if the owner found out. (I'm not that familiar with the law in your country though)

So keep your path clean, make sure no one can ever say you poached clients, start your nailbar with the intention of gaining new clients. Then if some of the old ones come to you in time, then thats a bonus...

I'm so sorry if I come across as hard, it's NOT my intention:hug::hug: