Holiday cover

[nicjill]

Hi guys, haven't posted for a while but I've still been lurking in the background.

I'm thinking of taking a longer holiday than normal this year or possibly next year. I normally only take a weekend or a week at most to fit in around my clients. I closed for just over a week over the new year and everyone panicked. As I am self-employed in my own salon & have nobody to cover for me when I go away, I am restricted to the time I can take off. Now the problem that I have is that I want to take a 2-3 week holiday, which wouldn't be too bad if I only had a few clients but it would probably cost me quite a few clients as they'd miss their fortnightly fills. So I'm wondering what others do in this situation. Should I take on another tek for the 2 weeks & hope that they are up to my standard & won't try to steal my clients, or do I just go away, leaving my clients to go 3-4 weeks between appointments & hope for the best? I don't like to let my clients down but I also don't want to risk my business.

 

[Bagpuss]

its hard isn't it...i only had 1 week off in the summer and 1 week off at christmas...and you'd think i was leaving for a month....but then i was just the same when i was a client...:lol:

I try to fit in as many as possible the week before...working all hours. then its down to them to look after them knowing that i will not be around for repairs and stuff.

Also...as you are so busy maybe now is the right time to take someone on...yeah you may have the risk of someone trying to poach your clients but...why would your clients leave you if they are happy ??? and they must be to be so busy. Sometimes you just gotta put your trust in people...if you look after them and have a professional relationship then i am sure you could have the answers to your problems. Best of luck...and take that break. xx

 

[bombini]

When are you planning on going away & does it have to be for 2 -3 wks ? Could you maybe go for 10 days then take another holiday later in year ?

If its not to soon then i would probably look to employ a new tech maybe 1or 2 day basis that way you will know if their up to scratch & are trustworthy, after all you don't want to leave the salon in charge of someone you don't know else you'd spend all your holiday worrying !

 

[pure sugar]

Hi There,

I think it would be a good idea to let all your clients know at least one month in advance of your holiday that you will be closed.
To avoid losing clients give them an incentive to come back once your open again, for example a mini maintenence kit for them while your away or a discount or percentage off once your back....

I hope you like the idea

Nichola :hug:

 

[nicjill]

When are you planning on going away & does it have to be for 2 -3 wks ? Could you maybe go for 10 days then take another holiday later in year ?

I don't know when or even if I'm going away yet but if I do it'll probably be after summer. My boyfriend's brother & his family live in Canada so he wants to go & visit them. My family also want to go to Florida for a family holiday later in the year. Either way, it's a long way to go for 10 days and it seems a shame to go all that way & not make the most of it. To be honest, if that's all I can manage then 10 days would have to do!

If its not to soon then i would probably look to employ a new tech maybe 1or 2 day basis that way you will know if their up to scratch & are trustworthy, after all you don't want to leave the salon in charge of someone you don't know else you'd spend all your holiday worrying !

The problem with employing someone else long term is that I am not as busy all year round so it's not really worth the extra cost. I'd only really want somebody to cover while I'm away so my clients are looked after. A couple of days a week is a good idea though, it'd give me some free time too. Don't know how I'd go about that though, I don't want to increase my wage bill but I'm not sure if renting the space on a self-employed basis would work as I'd be sharing my clients with the new tek.

I sent my assistant to Creative for this reason but she's developed allergies & can't do nails. The good news is, she can run the salon for me so I wouldn't need to close completely, just the nail side.

 

[nicjill]

Hi There,

I think it would be a good idea to let all your clients know at least one month in advance of your holiday that you will be closed.
To avoid losing clients give them an incentive to come back once your open again, for example a mini maintenence kit for them while your away or a discount or percentage off once your back....

I hope you like the idea

Nichola :hug:

Thanks, that's a great idea. I always give notice when I'm going away, even if it's for a weekend. I did something similar over Christmas with a discount voucher for January so they come back when we're quiet.

 

[nicjill]

If its not to soon then i would probably look to employ a new tech maybe 1or 2 day basis that way you will know if their up to scratch & are trustworthy, after all you don't want to leave the salon in charge of someone you don't know else you'd spend all your holiday worrying !

Ok guys, having sat & thought about it, this seems like a good idea for my situation so I want to pick your brains again about how I'd go about deciding what to offer.

I was thinking of renting out my nail station 2 mornings a week initially (the mornings I don't work, approx 10 hours a week). With the option of reviewing in a few months, possibly extending the hours if they get busy enough & extra hours for holiday cover & doubling up at busy times. Since I am a Creative Master tech, I would be looking for somebody who is also Creative trained, to a good standard. I already stock all the products so can provide everything: l&p, gel, manicure & pedicure products, all equipment, price lists, etc so the tech could basically walk in with just their certificates & their own brushes. I would also rather either provide the products, or require that all products used are Creative so I know my clients are getting a consistant service.

I wouldn't be looking to employ a new person so I was thinking of renting out the station on a self-employed basis. Considering that the mornings I don't work now will be fairly quiet to start with as people are used to me not being there & that I wouldn't be sharing my existing clients unless they choose to book with the new tech or I'm away, it would take a while to build up a client base. With this being the case, I figure a percentage of takings would work better than a fixed rent. I might not get much in rent initially but I think it would be unfair to ask somebody to pay full rent if they only get an odd client or 2 in a day. Considering all of this, what split do you think is fair? I figured that since I am providing products, etc that 50/50 would be about right. If the tech would rather provide their own products (although I would only agree to this if they use the same products that I currently use) would 60/40 in their favour be an appropriate split?

All views welcome!

Another thing that I'd like to know is what am I required to do if I rent out a space? I have only ever employed on an hourly rate previously so I know all about tax & NI, etc but do I have any legal obligations to make sure that the person renting is declaring their income or paying tax etc since I wouldn't be employing them?

Quite possibly my longest post ever so thanks for reading! Sorry if I bored you :lol:

 

[bombini]

I think both options sound good

I would also have a contract drawn up. I work on a 60/40% & provide my own products & owner provides equipment, couch, nail station etc. contributes to advertising.

I don't have a contract as she doesn't believe in them (?) but i do think they are necessary, so you both know where you stand.

Let us know how you get on :hug:

 

[oey]

You may hit difficulties in the rent situation if you are supplying the products or insisting which products the tech uses.

If you were to review the inland revenue guidelines they would class this as being employed by you as you are making the business decisions.

Are you allowed to sub rent the table by your landlord?

I am in a similar situation as you as I am thinking about my holidays but I think at this stage I will not be taking any more than 1 week at a time.

 

[nicjill]

Yes I can sublet as long as I inform my landlord.

I'm not sure where I would stand with Inland Revenue regarding renting out a table. Does this mean that they class the difference between employed & self-employed on whether I supply the products or not? If this is the case then I think I'm better off as I am. I wouldn't mind another tek providing their own products but I don't want somebody coming in & using Star Nails or something when I use Creative. It wouldn't look right & customers wouldn't know what was going on. I would also expect another tek in my salon to charge the same for services as I do, I guess this would also be classed as a business decision.