How it is to open your own business?

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grochowa1

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May 7, 2012
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Leeds
Hi, I am going to finish NVQ level 2 Beauty Therapy soon and start to do level 3 fom September. My plan is to go mobile as soon as I can but believe me I am sooooo scared. I have a part time job at the moment but I know that one day will be time to quit. Please tell me how was it with you?
 
I am going to be starting my nvq2 soon and also keen to hear about other peoples experiences.
Don't be scared! You'll be great! Just practise on friends first to build your confidence - there's no need to rush!

D xx
 
If you are working part time then it will help in terms of you having an income, however it has been easier for me in starting my own salon to having had worked in several salons first.

Simply I am a better therapist now than when i first qualified, I have learned from the different places I have worked, and grown as a therapist but also as what type of business I want to run.

However most importantly in starting my own business I have had a loyal client base I could bring with me
 
I don't know how old you are or your personal situation, but I wish I had started my own business before I had a mortgage and other commitments to pay!

Go for it! :biggrin:
 
Well, I am 34, have two children and mortgag, maybe that's why I'm soo scared. Too many commitments. I want to go for it but something is stopping me.
 
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Just do it. You'll never know if you don't try.:)
 
If you need this to be an essential part of your household income you will never have worked so hard in your whole entire life.
If you want it to be a hobby, it's a doddle.
The best thing about working for yourself is there's no one telling you what to do.
The worst thing about working for yourself is there's no one to tell you what to do.
 
That's so true Lynn what you have said above. It's extremely hard work with no-one else to advise you(apart from here!) but very rewarding also. I do agree that some salon experience is essential though. I worked in salons for 12 years & only felt confident enough to go it alone last year. The gamble paid off in the end though & I'm really busy x
 
im also in exactly the same situation, although i dont have a mortgage

i have been working on friends and family as a hobby for the past year,then they told their friends and they told theirs, previously i have worked in a spa and salon for over 5 years. i know i can do it. i just dont know how to do it, im really busy taking bookings for june and july already. i work in a full time job and im struggling to keep up.
i just have no idea how to go about start making myself legit and optimising my opportunity. on the downside my parents are being really unsupportive and as im 23 and live at home i feel i cant go against this. also im worried about how it will effect my chances of getting a mortgage as my boyfriend is also self employed.
has anyone got any helpful tips or idea as it sounds like we both have some worries xxxx:o
 
When I started that course I was so optymistic and thought I can create the environment where I am responsible for myself and can work around my children, and will not have a problem with childcare, etc. I spent £1000 on that course (it wasn't free in my case) and I am willing to spend another £1000 to do level 3 and possibly even more if I decide to do nails course, but now I am questioning myself: is it really worth it? I do not want that as a hobby only. Maybe I wasn't realistic.
 
I, and I'm quite sure that I'm not alone, have spent many thousands of pounds on training and equipment over the last 4 years. I originally trained as an aromatherapist in 1996 with CIBTAC and added to it over the years. The electrolysis course I did was 6 months and cost nearly 2k, again CIBTAC.
Please don't take this the wrong way, but thinking that you can work around your children works only if you have a cast iron solution for when they're ill, and if you think that you can work only during term time and school hours you will not succeed.
 
i was exactly the same when i left my spa, we were a strong team and it felt strange going it alone. but it took me a year to build up a client base and now i have so many wonderful people. you will be able to work around your children no problem. alot of my clients have children and so i have to fit around them. your not unrealistic hun your just nervous as am i.
 
Unfortunately, and i'm saying that with true sadness, you're right Lynne. I was too optymistic. I have to think about that again before I do another course and spend more money on something that will not give me what I expected. I know that having your own business is not easy, but I was believing I would do it any way. Don't now what to think about that now.
 
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i was exactly the same when i left my spa, we were a strong team and it felt strange going it alone. but it took me a year to build up a client base and now i have so many wonderful people. you will be able to work around your children no problem. alot of my clients have children and so i have to fit around them. your not unrealistic hun your just nervous as am i.
Bonnie, I don't know what to think right now. I was thinking that I can do it but because I don't know the reality of being a beautician the image in my head is maybe not realistic. I don't want to jump into the job where everything will fail, because will not correspond with my life.
 
As like u I have bills to pay I've not been able to give up my employment, so I work full time and do mobile evenings and weekends, with the thought in mind that I will be able to cut my hours one day.

I've been doing it for 6months and any money I earnt I just put back into the business buying more products etc. Now I have almost everything sorted, I will start to pay myself back some of the start up costs. As summer is slowly arriving I am getting new customers all the time, which is fab.

Now I just want to add more services, but I don't have the funds at the moment.

My advice speaking from my own experiance is, to keep ur job, and advertise and see how it goes, then once you have ur regulars and a good set of products, give up ur job... Some weeks I am busy then the odd week I am quiet-which I actually enjoy-but its so much easier to put the hours in when it is for your own business.

Good luck xx
 
i agree with steph and im in the same place as her. i work full time, im just about to become part emplyed and part self employed. i dont want to run the risk of losing all income as lets face it we all have bills to pay.
do you have a part time job in a salon or spa, maybe this is a good place to start? as you dont have an idea of how to be mobile at first?
 
I work part time at the moment in retail, but I wish to have some part time job in salon as well. Working in the salon even once a day would prepare me for that, but I have done some research and there is no that sort of option.
 
Hi my advice would be to work in a salon first to gain experience or try and rent a room so you can build up your clients and you won't have so many overheads just rent to pay and when the times right you can go for it.
 
It is not a bad idea, butthe salons want somebody with experiance that I have non. Have to try to get some in some way, maybe I should send a nice email to some salons to have a like a student placement to see how everything works.
 
I'd probably go to the salons, let them meet u, give a CV detailing ur course etc and maybe ask for work experiance with the hopes of gaining part time employment if the work experiance goes well, salons work quitÉ differently to collage, and we all need the experiance.

Xx
 

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