Can working from home be proffessional??

[glitz and glam]

Hi

would love to hear your thoughts, experiances and opinions of working from home. I have 3 little ones and work from a room in our home. my clients dont mind at all as most of them have little ones. some even comment on how lovely it is and how lucky i am to work from home!

Im not sure how proffessional it looks and how far you go to make it professional??
Im in the process of vamping my room up to make it feel more like a salon than another reception room but what else should i do? would you sell add ons? display posters ect? my b.f said about putting a small reception type desk in so i can keep cash and diary there to make it feel more like a salon. i have a mag rack, a display like they have in estate agent windows with price lists and offers on.

so what do you think??

 

[Debbies Gellies]

Sounds ok but for an indepth answer from geeks on here have you thought about uploading some photos of your room so we can see them?

I work from home, I have a room just for my work and I have posters and my certificates on the wall along with 2 display shelves for bottles and polish etc with a cupboard for storage (not much room for anything else
I have floor space to erect my spray tent tho.)

My nail table is by the window and my clients like to view the goings on in the street. My family are in the other part of the house and sometimes they appear at the salon doorway to ask things but they do not bother us and I can keep my salon and homelife separate.

 

[kezza*]

Hi
I think that working from home is just as professional as a salon.
I use our old junk room and it looks and feels like a salon. I have my trolley with my wax pot ect on and another trolley from Ikea, whih is actually for the kicthen that was in there bargin corner which has been painted and I have my pricelist, leaflets, cash tin, client records cards etc on, I have posters and certificates on the wall, I only use the room for clients. I also have a fire on the wall from argos and blind on the window so it's private. I use candles for massage and facials and soft music.
Sometimes my partner and his children are in the house and we have a conservation so they sit in there and you don't hear them then.
In my hall I have a lovely chair that looks great in the hall and doubles up as a clients reception area.
I love working from home is more relaxoing and the house work gets done.

Good luck
Kerry

 

[Lorrainelola]

I have just set up my room and its looking good. I've opened a business account and contacted all relevant authorities etc. Havent as yet contacted the good old tax thieves but i have 3 months from when i go live and I haven't yet lol.

Working from home is brill I have never been happier and so pleased I took the plunge. Hubby very supportive which helps.

 

[jotommo]

i'm glad this thread was started. i also want to home-based by oct this year and was thinking the same..
have you got clients now??
i am chocka block at the minute working mobile and would love to save all the travelling time and work from home...
if so how did your clients take the news you were going home based??
sorry to jump on your thread....
thanks and good luck xxx

 

[Susie H]

Home salons are very popular not just for us but for the clients too, they love the fact that they don't have to feed a parking meter
The only thing I have noticed is that none of you who have posted has said anything about your retail products.
Home salons are every bit as profesional as high street salons with the advantage of not having all the high overheads but ladies, you are under valueing your business if you don't have retail products.
A nice display cabinet can be as simple as a book case, mine was a nice big one from Ikea, I also got those little spot lights Ikea sell and stuck them to the underside of the shelves, they draw the clients eye to the products displayed under them.
Not just solar oil, a best seller, but all the after care products, polish lotions etc, they are a big earner and keep the client coming back just as much as the service you offer. If you don't have room for a cabinet, then put a couple of shelves up at the right hight for the client to look at while you're working on them.

 

[glitz and glam]

Great to hear your replies!!
jotommo carry on asking thats what threads are for lol.
to be honest my clients love the fact that they come to my home. they say its warm and welcoming and nice that the ones who live near can just walk over!! no parking fees or trafic to contend with on a busy high street. i do find it easier than mobile , although i am mainly home based

Suzi apert from oil what sort of things sell well? i dont want to get loads of coloured polish in for them to sit there forever but i know what you mean. i have got some avon bits left from when i used to do that so have that out at the moment, would love one day to go into facials and massage! Im going to ikea next week to get some shelves so maybe they'l catch peoples eyes a bit more.
Kezza my room used to be the junk room too lol.
i would love to go all out on my room but as were only renting our place and only get 6 mth leases its really hard to justify spending out on too much if i have to pack up. at the mo i have my desk infront of window with shelves to my left (there old and dont match my colour scheme hence the ikea trip lol) i have painted the walls cream and have a coffee machine to save going to the kitchen and abandoning the client. unfortunately i hve carpet which has seen beter days which i think is why im struggling with feeling like im offering a professional service.
I am in need of more storage so i might see if i can utilise a cuboard as a kind of booking/ cash desk.
will post pics once makeovers finished!!
lorrainelola do you have any pics? good luck with your new venture, bet you'll love it!!

its great to know that im not going ott by setting out like a salon.:lol:
thanks for all the ideas x

 

[loubilicious]

Hiya, I too am planning to kit a room out at home. I think you can do it on a small budget and it still look and feel professional.

At the moment my nail table is just one of the tables you buy from Ikea with the separate table top and legs that you can mix and match. I have my products and other bits and bobs required for my nail treatments in the wire mesh trolleys that you can pick up for £8 from the household section in Asda, these are on castors and fit nicely under the table when not in use....IMO if things are clean and well organised that's the main thing. I have chosen to spend my money on training and good quality products rather than expensive "salon" furniture.
Once my room is sorted, for my retail I'm going to buy one of these:
IKEA | Cabinets & sideboards | Display cabinets | DETOLF | Glass-door cabinet
I've seen them used in a salon and they look really nice as well as not taking up much space. I make beaded jewellery so will display and sell some of this too. Why not give S2/your supplier a call and ask for their advice re retail, I'm sure they'd be happy to advise you.

HTH, looking forward to seeing your pictures. Lou xx

 

[Susie H]

Great advise from Louise and I love that cabinet!!!
Retail, hand lotion, sun screen, bath stuff, CND to some really lovely sented stuff in their spa range.
But why not start doing the Avon again as well? If you've got the ladies sat there, it's no biggy to have the latest Avon cataloge sat next to them, and it keeps the hand you're not working on out of trouble. They can flick through and make an order that will be ready to pick up when they come back for a re balance.
The Floor, to cheep options, 1, buy a rug to put over the carpet.
2, take the carpet up and put down the sticky backed vinal that looks like laminate wood, have a look in the pound shops for this, a fellow geek put me on to this idea and it ended up costing me £16 to do the whole room. Looks lovely and so easy to keep clean. Also if you end up moving you just put the landlords carpet back down on top of it.
Really looking forward to your photo's I'm dead nosey:biggrin:

 

[kezza*]

Oh yes I forgot about RETAIL, I have a small corner for retail or a tell clients I can order it in.
I have been going for 6 months at home and before that I was mobile, when I told my clients what I was doing they have all started coming to me. I have gained alot of new clients thur alot of advertising that I have beeen doing and I'm begining to get a good reputation and loads of word of mouth.
I do special offers every month, I have a website, I email clients the offers, and my prices are cheaper than a salon's because I don't have the over heads and I'm finding that, because I'm cheaper people are trying me and that there are staying.
I advertise as a professional home based salon.
I have had an old computer chair as my beauty chair, it's lasted me all this time but this month I'm going to treat myself to a proper chair, To me, work out, what's important and what you can make do for know, then as people come and you get abit of spare money for can then work up, if that makes sense.
I still offer a mobile service but if people cn get to me then they prefer it.
It's deffo the best thing I have ever do, I love it and so do my clients.

 

[shedunlop]

I went from mobile to home based 4 years ago and only lost one client! I still go out to 2 others, an elderly lady who cried when I told her and another lady who is in a wheelchair but apart from that everyone is happy and most say they actually prefer it as they can get away from home and still be in a home environment.

I think the thing to remember is that if someone wants a 'Spa' experience then they will go to one but most women want a friendly, non judgmental atmosphere to relax and have their treatment in. I have just had a text from my last client of the day thanking me for her nails and for cheering her up! I have lovely clients who have become friends over the years and I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

[ladylee]

I would like to open a room in my home for business. Does anyone know the rules for a bathroom? Does it have to be in your room or can it be the common bathroom in your home?
My plan is to use a den in my home that has a couch and two leather chairs. I work full-time at a school so I would only be doing this nights, weekends part-time but would be able to do this full-time during summer break. My problem is I am trying to figure out how I could use this room as a salon and still use it as a den when I would not be doing nails. I do have another living room with furniture and a T.V. Any suggestions or ideas would be great. I also have a desk with a computer and a entertainment center with a T.V. I am not sure if I should remove these things or if they would be ok to leave in the room. The entertainment center has doors that close the t.v. area. Any suggestions would be so helpful, as I miss working and doing my nails but cannot give up my job at this time.
I look foward to hearing other peoples ideas
Thanks
Lisa