Business skills or common sense ?

[bombini]

I have noticed a lot of people seem to be setting up new businesses in the last 6 months and I have read many posts about therapists struggling to get clients. Most of them I feel I can't post a reply as I would have to 'dress' up my advice so that it doesn't come across as being harsh. Does anyone else feel this way ?

Its not that I want to be harsh but sometimes I can't believe that people set up with cheap products, a couple of short courses under there belt and do little or no advertising then expect to be fully booked within weeks !? Im not saying everyone does this so please don't think this is aimed at all new businesses just a few I have seen before.

Surely its common sense that a new business needs a lot of time & effort invested into marketing to get those clients in for treatments ? Or is it a lack of business skills ?

 

[persianista]

I totally agree. I am horrified at times at the sheer naivety of people setting up. When I take a realistic stance, I have been shouted down. I have done a few salons myself and know EXACTLY how much they cost to buy, build and run.
As soon as I get the first "you don't know what your on about" or "I'm business minded" reply, I tend to switch off and not reply any further.
It's a shame because there must be people out there now struggling and feeling as tho they have made mistakes.

 

[jes]

Hi,

Yes, I know what you mean. The rate of growth some people are expecting is just too unrealistic and posting a few flyers and offering discounts are not a solution. It takes absolutely years to build up a decent clientele and successful business.

Before opening my salon, I rented space for 8 years and every year my turnover increased. The first two or three could only be classed as 'part time' earnings, but by the eighth year I was earning really good money (hence the decision to start my own salon).

I think there's too much training out there which seems to promise an 'instant business' after just a couple of days of teaching!

jes

 

[persianista]

Sometimes I really don't know what to say other than "give it up and get a job". I spent 15 years refining my skills and building a clientelle before putting up my house as security for my first salon.
The idea that a "business minded" girl fresh out of college can acheive it in 6 months with thruppence in the bank is so laughable. I never feel able to speak truthfully on here as I have been slated so many times for pointing out the bleedin obvious!
The sad thing is that business failure can blight your life for years in terms of credit rating.
Maybe the companies that claim you can have an instant business should be censored because an awful lot of people believe the rubbish that they claim.

 

[hippy-chick]

do you not think its the (ducks) younger generation who have been bought up to expect everything to happen immediately. I do feel for the younger generation as they don't have the concept of having to wait 28 days for delivery, etc, everything is 24 hours or less nowadays.

Shops are open 24/7 so again no need to wait. We had half day closing and shops shut from tea time Saturday until Monday morning.

I also think that FE colleges are somewhat to blame as I was made to believe 16 years ago that by qualifiying in swedish massage I was going to be inundated with calls. I put a couple of ads in my local paper for 4 weeks in a row and got 2 calls from it. I was gutted. I learn't very quickly that there was more too it than buying a massage couch and a few towels and a couple of ads.

when I teach courses I always stress the hardwork that goes into it and give realistic advice.

 

[sweet cheeks]

I am setting up and even i agree with you, im setting up but not with the blinkers on!

i know its hard, and i know i need to put 110% in which is prob why its taking so long as i do keep doubting myself but i am so passionate and i love beauty so much i know i will be a sucess! LOL

but i do read some posts on here and question why people maybe want to do it they seem so oblivious to the challenges of business and all what is included in the beauty industry.

im not having a dig i feel bad as i write this lol i think part of the problem is the short courses some people do i think they lead you astray slightly and make you believe that withthere course you could earn xxx amount i have been conned by such courses but luckily for me i retrained!!

this is a friendly post not having a dig in reply or to anyone new ... i get so nervous of upsetting people xx

 

[kimi1101]

I'm glad someone posted this. I started my own business in August, and was lucky enough to have enough monmey in the bank to get it all up and running and a supportive (ahem) boyfriend, so that if one month went by and I couldn't take any personal drawings, he would cover my side of things at home.

Well, 5 months on, we had a good Christmas. I now employ a beauty therapist and another stylist part time, and I had never imagined how well we'd do in our first year. But I know its been part luck, with finding a premises somewhere that was crying out for something like this, and also a hard slog. And I have so far to go.

I went to Business Gateway before setting up, and was astounded at the amount of girls my age and younger who were setting up....with no money whatsoever. I knew I'd need 3 months rent up front and 3 months as a deposit, to buy equipment, to pay builders, etc etc, and couldn't work out how on earth they thought this was going to be achieved...with no money. One girl simply said "oh, i'll get a loan off the bank"

I think people look at the turnovers in some very successful businesses and think "great, think of all the clothes i could buy with that!!" I find it difficult explaining it to my friends, that my turnover is the equivalent of their wages but on a bigger scale, yes I do have a good amount of money going in the bank, but the majority of it goes straight back out on bills. Some people just don't get that.

I wish everyone the best of luck with their new ventures but just realise what a slog it is at first, and I know I'm absolutely nowhere near the end of the hard work!!!

xxx

 

[persianista]

I think Kimberly is right, people seem to see the money in the till as the salon owners! They forget about the costs we pay out.

 

[bombini]

So glad im not alone !

I hadn't considered that FE may be part of the problem as when I was at college emphasis was very much on getting some salon experience BEFORE setting up on your own but I guess it depends on the tutors/course you attend.

In some ways it remind me of the adverts you see in papers boasting you can earn £500 a week working from home, what they don't mention is that you have to stuff envelopes 24 hours a day until your fingers bleed to see any return, which is more like £50 a week !

 

[Martin Duffy]

I have to say I agree wholeheartedly with the comments of Bombini & Persianista, and have had this discussion privately with a couple of other posters on this forum & with other salon owners I know.

I started off my career employed, working through a few salons, before renting space in a salon & finally setting up myself, thereby learning the ropes. Then, when I budgeted for my salon I borrowed quite heavily so that I could afford to set-up as I wanted to go on, using the quality of products I wanted to & to have a salon that looked appealing, as well as to allow a minimum buffer of money in the account to pay for at least 2 months of bills should I earn nothing. I believe firmly that had I started off using "whatever I could get that was cheap" the business would not have been as successful as it has been.

Further to the other comments, I also think a worrying sign is when new business owners don't approach challenges as a surmountable obstacle to be met head-on, but rather go into a passive state of worrying & getting downhearted.

 

[westy28]

I think its only with hindsight that you can judge!!! , however without the experience and knowlage you gain throughout the process of setting up and eventually being an established business how on earth are you supposed to know how long it takes to get clients, are you doing everything you can to try and get clients, is there anything you could do better ect unless you ask! the questions asked may seem rediculous and common sence to the established business woman but think back to when you started out was everything so obvious then?
I posted a thread asking geeks for advice as i have just started a business, (thanks to all those who took the time to give good advice) i cant help but think this post may be aimed at my thread! perhaps some of my questions seemed obvious to some, but i dont have all the answers, nor am i expecting to be fully booked within a couple of months!!! or expecting an easy ride, i am expecting alot of determination, and hard graft though and look forward to it one day paying off however, until then it is a learning process, for that matter i think it always will be!!, i dont think ANYONE can afford to take anything for granted or be too smug in business....

 

[Essence Within]

it would be good if colleges taught a business set up element as part of the course i think, as this is where i myself struggle. Costing and effective marketing plus the amount of money you realistically need dependant on your type of venture would be a great help Instead you learn the basic therapy and do application of number and some literacy assignment(which i covered well before my a levels??)

 

[Martin Duffy]

without the experience and knowlage you gain throughout the process of setting up and eventually being an established business how on earth are you supposed to know how long it takes to get clients

I think the point is that it's folly to even begin actually setting up a business without first doing the research to see how realistic your business plans are. That is to say, the time to ask how long it takes to build a client base etc is BEFORE opening, not after!

Many of us started working employed, and whilst I understand it can be difficult to get employed work, it's far easier to set a business up yourself when you have had salon experience. For starters you're not trying to master your newly gained therapy skills at the same time as grappling with running a business. When I came to set up a business I had worked in the industry for 6 years, so knew fully well what to expect & how a salon is run.

 

[persianista]

I am not digging at any threads in particular. I have been on this forum some time, and this discussion is a generalisation.
I too built up a substantial clientele before opening a salon, not opened and then thought EEK I need some clients! How do you write a business plan without any idea of what income you can generate????
After 15 years work, 10 of those as a manager, I felt equipped with enough knowledge to open a salon. So hindsight doesnt really apply.
As for "smug" I make no apologies for having been successful. I did it all with honesty and integrity.
As for "harsh" I take it as a compliment. Bear in mind I tone my true opinions down on here, I still regularly get nasty PM's from people who don't share my viewpoint!
It may or may not occur to people starting out that those of us held up as the "success storys" have a lot of opinions in common.

 

[westy28]

I totally agree Martin that is why i completed a business course BEFORE starting up however no matter how prepared or experienced you are i think theres always room for improvment, and sometimes you may need to ask for advice. Like i said before its a learning curve like everything in life.

 

[bombini]

I think its only with hindsight that you can judge!!! , however without the experience and knowlage you gain throughout the process of setting up and eventually being an established business how on earth are you supposed to know how long it takes to get clients, are you doing everything you can to try and get clients, is there anything you could do better ect unless you ask! the questions asked may seem rediculous and common sence to the established business woman but think back to when you started out was everything so obvious then?
I posted a thread asking geeks for advice as i have just started a business, (thanks to all those who took the time to give good advice) i cant help but think this post may be aimed at my thread! perhaps some of my questions seemed obvious to some, but i dont have all the answers, nor am i expecting to be fully booked within a couple of months!!! or expecting an easy ride, i am expecting alot of determination, and hard graft though and look forward to it one day paying off however, until then it is a learning process, for that matter i think it always will be!!, i dont think ANYONE can afford to take anything for granted or be too smug in business....

I totally agree that questions need to be asked, gosh I have asked some ridiculous things over the years and probably still do now.

Im not very good at putting things in writing but I guess one of my points is that a lot of the questions asked on here like best way to advertise, get clients etc, etc are all the sort of things that should ideally be asked BEFORE opening a salon or going mobile.

I know everyone has there own path to follow and maybe the reason I expect it to be common sense is because I choose to work in spas and do a business planning course before becoming self employed. In my mind I thought the sensible option would be to get some business skills before I started up, of course I have made hundreds of mistakes along the way and I had to learn those for myself.

I can't speak for anyone else but I guess I am a little bit scared to actually say on some of the new business posts that the beauty idustry is hard enough to crack anyway due to the huge amount of competiton and I personally think to succeed not only have you got to be an amazing therapist/technicin but you have got to have a cracking business head to even make it halfway in this world.

I think colleges should add a business module into the course for sure :biggrin:

Again I truly don't mean any offence to anyone, I was just asking if anyone else finds it difficult to reply to some questions about new businesses.

 

[bombini]

I think the point is that it's folly to even begin actually setting up a business without first doing the research to see how realistic your business plans are. That is to say, the time to ask how long it takes to build a client base etc is BEFORE opening, not after!

Many of us started working employed, and whilst I understand it can be difficult to get employed work, it's far easier to set a business up yourself when you have had salon experience. For starters you're not trying to master your newly gained therapy skills at the same time as grappling with running a business. When I came to set up a business I had worked in the industry for 6 years, so knew fully well what to expect & how a salon is run.

Exactly, Wish Id just qouted you now as it took me about 30mins to write my reply inbetween watching the news and emmerdale :wink2:

I am not digging at any threads in particular. I have been on this forum some time, and this discussion is a generalisation.
I too built up a substantial clientele before opening a salon, not opened and then thought EEK I need some clients! How do you write a business plan without any idea of what income you can generate????
After 15 years work, 10 of those as a manager, I felt equipped with enough knowledge to open a salon. So hindsight doesnt really apply.
As for "smug" I make no apologies for having been successful. I did it all with honesty and integrity.
As for "harsh" I take it as a compliment. Bear in mind I tone my true opinions down on here, I still regularly get nasty PM's from people who don't share my viewpoint!
It may or may not occur to people starting out that those of us held up as the "success storys" have a lot of opinions in common.

I can't believe you have had nasty pm's, have you reported it to the mods ? I expect they are just jealous, I know I am, I would love your salons !

 

[persianista]

Not sure about a business module, If you are serious about a business you get a bit of training in stuff like bookeeping surely? The short time at college is precious in terms of practical and theoretical training.
Business link helped me with some courses before I set up.

 

[persianista]

Yes I got nasty PM's. Water off a ducks back! My reply is; Make a few million in this industry then come and criticise!

 

[angelina221]

Well i have to say that i bought my salon on a whim!
I had been made redundant so was out of work and i had no experience of working in a salon and also had no beauty qualifications at all-lol
What i did have was a good business head. I did my calculations first.
I spent hours and hours reading books on vat, health and safety etc..........
I had my little book that i wrote everything down in-my bible!
I must admit when i put the offer in for my salon, i did think 'oh god what have i done!
The rent was cheap, the rates were cheap so that was what persuaded me.
I did do a beauty home learning course. It wouldn't give me a qualification but it gave me an insight into what the business entailed.
Yes it's been hard sometimes but i always believed i could do it.
I think people thought i was mad at first but i'm very stubborn and very determined.
My business is going from strength to strength but i had enough money behind me to see me through my first year.
So it can work if you know what you are letting yourself in for, have enough money to see you through your first year, know exactly how much your monthly outgoings will be, are willing to put in 110% and are determined to succeed.
There is no such word as 'can't in my vocabulary! :biggrin: