How many customers when you opened up?

[jodipodi]

Hiya peeps, can anyone advise me from their own experiences of starting out in their own salon/ room how many customers they got per week in the first couple of months and what they get now? How many do you class as a good wek and how many as a bad? Thanks xx:hug:

 

[redsadie]

Hi Jodie

Would love to help you hunny but the question you're asking is akin to how long is a piece of string :irked:

A lot is dependant on how long you have been 'training' before opening (some people are training for the first year after they gain their qual), if you have a client base, where you are situated, how much marketing/ advertising you have done, if you have any special offers to new clients, etc, etc.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help sweetie. Have you tried Business Link or similar for this kind of planning?

xx

 

[hippy-chick]

oooooh Jodi, thats a difficult one!

I opened up November 07 and this is my first 6 months:
Nov 21 clients
Dec 13 clients
Jan 18 clients
Feb 25 clients
Mar 35 clients
Apr 32 clients

That was from scratch. I had an open evening on Nov 1st so thats how I got some clients straight away. Some of those would have been special offers, raffle donations, etc.

 

[DaisyMae]

Well I start with 20 Models as I just practice. I had luck and was able to start a 3 Months internship in a really good Studio.During that time I was not able to take any more Models. As I was done i started my business for real.I start with 3 People/Day 5 Days a week. Normal days a 4 / Day, 5 Days a week. On really busy Days I have 7-8 People a Day. On Bad Days I have 3.
It fluctuates a lot.

 

[Doorie]

it's nice to have an idea but first you need to make sure YOU know how many clients per week/month/w-e you NEED to cover you costs

and then how many clients you'd want, considering possible laws (living in another country i cannot say for UK) about opening hours, how much time you need to make a set, which income you could possibly get from which set price, etc.

aaaaaaaaaaand have YOUR time schedule. when you say this is my day off it has to be so, this is said of a side note...

then...

use marketing ideas and you can then create your business, step by step...

 

[jodipodi]

Thank you all for your replies, I totally understand that its such a varied question to answer. Its just so awkward for me to try and work out what my expected customers will be as my aim is to open with a couple of sunbeds and would be offering services such as nail enhancements, waxing, eyelash and eyebrow tinting and spraytanning. Im finding it really difficult to do the 'working back from what you need to break even' thing as there would be a few services on offer!
I have been qualified since september and have been doing as many clients as possible since who have all been very happy, my nails are 'salon standard' so I was told by my educator with very little lifting, my apex/shape is far from perfect but I feel my nails are good enough to charge for and have had much worse in salons that I have paid for myself! By the time I hope to get somewhere it will be summer so have a few month to go yet. The place Im looking at is very close to a college with newsagents,post office, deli, florists right opposite so hoping to gain some clients from passing trade and students. If anyone has experience of this dilemma or a rough idea of how to do it I would be very grateful! Thank you all for being so helpful xx

 

[hippy-chick]

I would utilise biz link for this information, ask them for as much help as possible.
If you are doing a refurb you may well get a good grant from them to do this.
They can also give you access to free advice from marketing experts, etc. I have biz link visit me on average every 3 months, once you've got an account manager, you can ring them anytime and they will come to you at your chosen time for a meeting.

You may also get grants for going on more courses, as long as the courses come over £500 in combination, you can usually get 50% of it back.

 

[jodipodi]

Thanks for that I am already working with a similar company but will speak to business link about getting help with training-didnt realise they helped you with that xx

 

[bombini]

When I moved to my current salon I literally had a handful of clients (nearly 2 years ago) Im not sure how many clients I have if truth be told, ive never counted !

As the others have said its a bit like asking how long is a piece of string. If you had 20 clients in one week all for facials then you would be earning lots of money :green: but if you had 20 clients in just for an eyebrow shape each it wouldn't be much at all !

I only started off doing 2 days per week at salon and was quite busy (I also did LOADS of advertising) then when I increased my hours to 4/5 days per week it suddenly went really quiet and felt like I was starting all over again !

One thing I will say is that it is really hard to get clients in the first place as those clients are already going to another salon for treatments and you need to tempt them away (easier said than done) or you need to get people to actually start having treatments by enticing (sp) them into salon with good marketing.

 

[jodipodi]

Thanks Bombini I feel like my heads gonna explode with numbers and incomings outgoings blah blah but what I keep hearing is how hard it is to work out as there really isnt a way! LOL oh my goodness how am I going to do this!