classixuk
Well-Known Member
Hi everyone,
Here's an unusual one that I hope you can help me finalise before I place an ad in the recruitment section here.
We have a couple of hairdressing salons in a posh suburb of Liverpool, UK. and have been in business successfully since 2001. We are planning a £20,000 refurbishment of the main salon at the beginning of February.
The space is rather large (over 1,500 sq ft) and spread over a main ground floor and a mezzanine (or balcony if you like) overlooking the main styling area.
Currently, the mezzanine houses our colour studio (colour bar, 6 stations and 3 backwashes) and we do all of our colouring services there before taking the clients downstairs to the styling area to be cut and dried.
We have hundreds of clients, mainly between the ages of 25-55, and before embarking on the refit, we gave over 100 of them a questionnaire to fill in last October-November to see what they wanted in the salon.
Basic beauty services came pretty high on the list, with 89% saying they would have a manicure with us every 6 weeks if it was available in the salon. Basic waxing services, brow shapes and tints also scored highly. LOL, they even told us the ideal price they would like to pay for each service, so we have average prices for individual services that our customers have agreed - if it cost that much, I would keep coming back.
Now, most hair salons that offer space for beauty, generally offer a nail desk, or at best, a beauty room.
But our salon is spacious and large, so I don't really want to do that. My idea is that if we move the colour studio during the refit to the back area downstairs, it would free up the entire mezzanine (450sq ft) and flooded with natural light, for beauty services.
I would hope that this would be a nicer working environment to come to each day than a little room with no windows. Plus, it means that the clients and therapists feel more connected with the rest of the salon and it's team as they can see over the mezzanine and into the salon and reception (a large mirrored wall allows the mezzanine to be seen from the street and also reception).
As a qualified hairdresser and successful business owner, I don't believe in charging a weekly rent for the space. It takes the incentive away completely for me and my team to help the therapist succeed and feel part of the team.
Our hairstylists have always been on commission only as self employed, and are happy with how that works (one has been with us almost 6 years, so we must be doing something right). Each stylist works with us, and we work with them to maximise takings and profits.
Of course, with the stylists, we provide everything - from retail and colour to appointment cards and training (even give them cash to go on holiday with, and get them cheap accountants to handle their tax returns). In return, the stylists commit to make sure the salon is attended for the full opening hours by at least one stylist, and train the juniors. They also vote on what to collectively charge clients based on the recommended prices that we get back from the salon questionnaires. I guess you could say that our stylists concentrate on what they are good at (hair and people) and we concentrate on what we are good at (establishing them as busy stylists and enabling them to make as much money as possible from their time in the salon).
I (and the team) want to have the same relationship with the therapist.
I feel that the only way this will happen is if the therapist and the salon work in a similar way, and "becomes part of the team". That way, the stylists and beauty can cross promote between eachother.
I don't feel that it would be appropriate for me to provide the products for the therapist (after all, that would be like a nail tech providing me with colours and retail - how would she know what I prefer to work with, or even what I need), but I can certainly help her get discounts on the products she wants to use, and look for cheaper alternatives to help her maximise profit (we have done that for the stylists already).
What we are providing though is hundreds of clients who actually want beasic beauty services, 450sqft of space to work in (with the threapist's own signage on the stairway), a reception and someone to book appointments, phoneline, water, electricity and a great team to feel part of (and yes, probably some holiday pay too LOL).
I guess it's a chance to be in business for yourself, but not by yourself, if you know what I mean.
This isn't your typical "here's a small room, let's do a 60/40 split, thanks" type of scenario.
What would you say would be a fair commission split to get access to the above? The therapist would be doing mostly basic beauty services such as nails, waxing, brow and lashes, eye treatments (based on the demand we received from our clients) and would be able to use/supply the products they like to use. They can also employ assistants to help them get through more clients if they wish as the sapce is big enough for 3 people to operate (the stylists usually ask us to employ the assistants for them under our employer's status with Inland revenue and they then take a slightly smaller commission to help pay towards the cost, but it can be done the other way too). We provide the rest of the stuff.
I think that a 60/40 split in this scenario is a non-starter as we are providing so much - the clients, advertising, huge space, holiday pay, fixtures and fittings, business advice, and a newly refitted salon to work in etc. that it would leave us with no profit. It needs to be workable for both sides.
What would you recommend or do you think is fair?
Thanks for your time.
EDIT TO ADD: Actually, just reading this back, I suppose that if it saved the therapist a trip to the wholesalers and helped her cashflow, we could order her preferred products to be delivered on our salon account, and then deduct the cost from her commissions at the end of each month. Would that be better/easier?
Here's an unusual one that I hope you can help me finalise before I place an ad in the recruitment section here.
We have a couple of hairdressing salons in a posh suburb of Liverpool, UK. and have been in business successfully since 2001. We are planning a £20,000 refurbishment of the main salon at the beginning of February.
The space is rather large (over 1,500 sq ft) and spread over a main ground floor and a mezzanine (or balcony if you like) overlooking the main styling area.
Currently, the mezzanine houses our colour studio (colour bar, 6 stations and 3 backwashes) and we do all of our colouring services there before taking the clients downstairs to the styling area to be cut and dried.
We have hundreds of clients, mainly between the ages of 25-55, and before embarking on the refit, we gave over 100 of them a questionnaire to fill in last October-November to see what they wanted in the salon.
Basic beauty services came pretty high on the list, with 89% saying they would have a manicure with us every 6 weeks if it was available in the salon. Basic waxing services, brow shapes and tints also scored highly. LOL, they even told us the ideal price they would like to pay for each service, so we have average prices for individual services that our customers have agreed - if it cost that much, I would keep coming back.
Now, most hair salons that offer space for beauty, generally offer a nail desk, or at best, a beauty room.
But our salon is spacious and large, so I don't really want to do that. My idea is that if we move the colour studio during the refit to the back area downstairs, it would free up the entire mezzanine (450sq ft) and flooded with natural light, for beauty services.
I would hope that this would be a nicer working environment to come to each day than a little room with no windows. Plus, it means that the clients and therapists feel more connected with the rest of the salon and it's team as they can see over the mezzanine and into the salon and reception (a large mirrored wall allows the mezzanine to be seen from the street and also reception).
As a qualified hairdresser and successful business owner, I don't believe in charging a weekly rent for the space. It takes the incentive away completely for me and my team to help the therapist succeed and feel part of the team.
Our hairstylists have always been on commission only as self employed, and are happy with how that works (one has been with us almost 6 years, so we must be doing something right). Each stylist works with us, and we work with them to maximise takings and profits.
Of course, with the stylists, we provide everything - from retail and colour to appointment cards and training (even give them cash to go on holiday with, and get them cheap accountants to handle their tax returns). In return, the stylists commit to make sure the salon is attended for the full opening hours by at least one stylist, and train the juniors. They also vote on what to collectively charge clients based on the recommended prices that we get back from the salon questionnaires. I guess you could say that our stylists concentrate on what they are good at (hair and people) and we concentrate on what we are good at (establishing them as busy stylists and enabling them to make as much money as possible from their time in the salon).
I (and the team) want to have the same relationship with the therapist.
I feel that the only way this will happen is if the therapist and the salon work in a similar way, and "becomes part of the team". That way, the stylists and beauty can cross promote between eachother.
I don't feel that it would be appropriate for me to provide the products for the therapist (after all, that would be like a nail tech providing me with colours and retail - how would she know what I prefer to work with, or even what I need), but I can certainly help her get discounts on the products she wants to use, and look for cheaper alternatives to help her maximise profit (we have done that for the stylists already).
What we are providing though is hundreds of clients who actually want beasic beauty services, 450sqft of space to work in (with the threapist's own signage on the stairway), a reception and someone to book appointments, phoneline, water, electricity and a great team to feel part of (and yes, probably some holiday pay too LOL).
I guess it's a chance to be in business for yourself, but not by yourself, if you know what I mean.
This isn't your typical "here's a small room, let's do a 60/40 split, thanks" type of scenario.
What would you say would be a fair commission split to get access to the above? The therapist would be doing mostly basic beauty services such as nails, waxing, brow and lashes, eye treatments (based on the demand we received from our clients) and would be able to use/supply the products they like to use. They can also employ assistants to help them get through more clients if they wish as the sapce is big enough for 3 people to operate (the stylists usually ask us to employ the assistants for them under our employer's status with Inland revenue and they then take a slightly smaller commission to help pay towards the cost, but it can be done the other way too). We provide the rest of the stuff.
I think that a 60/40 split in this scenario is a non-starter as we are providing so much - the clients, advertising, huge space, holiday pay, fixtures and fittings, business advice, and a newly refitted salon to work in etc. that it would leave us with no profit. It needs to be workable for both sides.
What would you recommend or do you think is fair?
Thanks for your time.
EDIT TO ADD: Actually, just reading this back, I suppose that if it saved the therapist a trip to the wholesalers and helped her cashflow, we could order her preferred products to be delivered on our salon account, and then deduct the cost from her commissions at the end of each month. Would that be better/easier?
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your salon sounds great wish you all the best the right person or persons will come to you and the right :idea: :hug:
