Argh Stressy Times and STUCK!

[ClaireyCanary]

Ok so since i first trained in beauty i worked at a busy high street salon, it wasnt the best place but i worked my butt off, built myself a great reputation and when the right offer came up i moved on, my previous boss wasnt happy and told me not to come running back to her. She told me i was basically nothing without her and her salon.

This made me 100 times more stuburn to make it work!

So my Friend contacts me about a space to rent... The salon owner doesnt know a thing about the industry, he owns surfs shops. the salon was bought by him for his ex partner who left him so he told my friend to run it etc, he just pops in a few times a year to pick up his money and off he goes again, fantastic, all bills direct debit from him, brilliant!

I rent a small beauty room from him at 20% rate. I buy my own products, advertising, training etc, it suits me fine. Buisness is booming, ive only been there 3 months and the salon is getting busier by the day, the hairdressing side has recognised a huge boost since my arrival and i am doing a lot better than i expected to be. Even better the nail company i purchase from are keen to have me as an educator so i am/ was really really excited.

I then recieved a text from the salon owner saying he would like to discuss the option of renting the salon to me and the 2 hairdressers which confused everyone.

The next day he popped in to say that he would like us all to pay him £40 per week each and we would have responsibility of paying all bills, lectric, water, buisness rates, phone, products, furnishings, etc. alltogether we would all need to put back around £100 - £150 per week each.

Doing the math at the moment he is only just covering overheads at the salon and not making much of a profit. So we explained that the only way we could afford to rent from him in this way is if the salon could have a bit of a revamp, a few walls need plastering/ skimming, a new seating area for waiting clients, new hairdressing chairs and towels and advertising in the local paper ready for summer. All things the salon desperatly needs as it is away from the towns busy centre and on the quiet outskirts, so many people do not know the salon even exists. With the revamp the plan is more clients so we can afford to put back the money each week.

he isnt keen on the idea of spending out to get the salon at a high spec and has expressed that if we dont rent from him and pay the bills then he is going to sell up.

This is seriously bad news for me. I have spent all my savings buying products, training etc I have worked to let clients know ive moved and after 3 months it looks like im going to have to come up with a new plan.

For a town with a population of only 14000 there are a number of beauty salons, 12 beauty salons and around 10 mobile therapists to be clear. I have contacted a few salons about renting and all are chocablock with therapists, no openings. Mobile work is not my preffered way of working, i Physically cant carry around lots of kit due to back problems and i would need to spend extra money that i dont have buying a protable couch, trolley, desk, new leaflets, advertising etc.... i am simply all out of money.

I am now completely stuck. So Put yourself in my shoes for a second and tell me what your next step would be if you were me?

Help?

Claire xxx

 

[persianista]

Until this was put to you, you say business was booming, growing, all good.

Then you get this offer, and it all needs revamping, advertising etc.

I can understand the owner not wishing to make further investment when he is only making buttons from it. He is better to sell up.

My suggestion would be for you to pay the 120 a week, and take control of the whole thing. That way, you continue to grow, and have complete control of the salon appearance and the advertising spend.

As it is all up and running, it is a bit of a one way bet.

 

[lady R]

hiya

i rent a building and basically i pay £9,500 a year rent but have to pay for all my bills equipment etc, however he interior and exterior is all mine to do with as i wish, so at least its how i want it.

i would negotiate a rent with him because at the end of the day he won't really want the hassle of selling or having an empty building so you could get a better deal. Work it all out so you fully understand your monthly finances and then hey, go for it!

You are your own boss and can only keep getting better. Best of luck, keep us all informed of how it goes xx

 

[ClaireyCanary]

Buisness is going great yes but you can only do the best with what you are given. When I talk of a revamp I mean this redo has been planned for ages and now it comes to it the owner has decided he doesn't want to do the work. The salon has 3 Walls that need plastering as they have holes about the size of a fist in them. The front door has a smashed pane of glass, the chairs are tatty and worn and our waiting area has only 1 chair. The toilet was outside in a shed until the hairdresser sweet talked her dad into putting one in the spare one for us. The salon had a really bad name before and so work was never done to the place as there wasn't any clients to care. Now that clients are actually showing up and the salon has the potential for more clients to show up he doesn't want to do the work. If any of us had the money to do the work needed then ofcourse we would jump at the opurtunity but to take it on in the state it is now it would just stay as it is just scraping by without us taking home any money to get us by. And with one of the hairdressers 6 months pregnant it's just bad timing. Currently we are all asking family for help with cash to get the Walls and seating done. If we can do that we should be fine (I hope)
It was just extremely sudden and sprung on us very quickly and we don't have much time to make a desicion.
Xxx

 

[Skyblue]

Surely if the building is in a bad state of repair then this should be reflected in the amount of rent that he can charge?

I wish you luck in the future whatever you decide to do.

 

[L119]

How about buying the salon from him yourself? If business is good. Put together a business plan and see your bank, you can then rent the chairs to the hairdressers?

 

[pearl]

let him sell up and go mobile no overheads and the clients, products you have worked hard to get will not be wasted. Let us know what you decide.

 

[scrumpyjo44]

would it be worth finding out what price he would be putting it on the market for if he was going to sell up? you could then see if its a possibility to see your bank Manager and put together a proposal for them, knowing that you would have the guaranteed income of the rent from the hairdressers.

Have you looked to see if there are any grants etc that you could apply for as a new business?

Alternatively if you get on well with the hairdressers maybe consider a partnership - they could run the hairdressing side and you could run the beauty side - you could also think of expansion in your business plan if the place was all yours maybe when you revamp you could put in another beauty room and rent this out as well to do other treatments.

Just an idea shame to waste all your hard work building your client list and reputation

 

[EMMA AT ELITE]

Ok, so am I right? You have to pay max £150 per week to rent a WHOLE salon including all bills? If this is correct I think that is a brilliant offer! I would snap it up!

If I was in your shoes I would talk to him about (only you) renting the whole salon.
If you did rent the whole salon, its up to you to give it its much needed refurb, he would then just be your landlord.
If you have the room, you could maybe rent a nail desk out, get a sunbed (or 2) in, or rent chairs out in the hairdressers etc, that way all your expenses will be covered by the others poeples rent to you!

I agree with the other posts, to talk to him about buying the salon too.

Keep us posted in what you do!
Good luck

Love Emma x

 

[femmefan]

I think the figure was £150 per week EACH including bills. So, between the three of you the total for the salon would be £450? Is that right? I think it would be wise to check out the going rate for other similar sized business premises in your area. Then you could enter into negotiation armed with useful facts and figures. Or, it could turn up some interesting alternatives. Remember, it is you who makes the business successful, not a broken down building.
Good luck,

Hazel