How many of you would like your own salon

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No i dont....ever. Maybe thats the wrong attitude to have but i just love what i do, it suits me and isn't complicated. I have never really been the highly ambitious type...never set my goals too high...not driven my money...dont strive to have my name above the door.

I remember when i started this and someone who started mobile (hairdressing) and then went on to own a salon for 20 years told me to keep things simple...she said she was much happier, better off and alot less stressed when mobile and although i ain't mobile (home salon)...its simple and hassle free. xx
I think that's me too. I want to do well with my work & be busy but I'm not that ambitious. I would like to have a vetter home salon though.
 
I own my own salon, my Diane GF runs it.
Without her it wouldn't be anything.

In general there are pros and cons:
Pros:
- As with any job dealing with the public you meet decent people, we have an old man who walks his dog and knocks on the window and waves everyday (he is only a customers grandad). We also are next door but 1 to a laundrette and the Asian guy who runs it is salt of the earth (helped us when we have had windows smashed etc)
- You have a feeling that you have accomplished something
- People come to you rather than you going to them
- You see your ideas develop
- You don't take orders from anyone (unless it's paying all the bills)
- It's a challenege
- Potential for a higher income

Cons:
- Your vunerable, anyone can walk in, you might have to deal with vandals/gangs/armed robberies
- Overheads all add up to a lot and you end you doing lots of hours work to cover it, profit one weak can be a loss the next, if you loose your earnings are nothing so you can not pay your mortgage, food, elecric for your house.... they are not seperate so it's a huge risk
- If you employ you take on the worry of having the responsibility of a employees livelyhood at stake as well as your own dependant on how well your business does.
- Uncertainty, you can not afford to be ill but you can not predict it either
- You go home and your still working/thinking/doing the books/accounts/planning (I am trying to figure out how to make a customer database in microsoft access etc)
- It's a challenege
- Potential for a lower income
 
Thanks Guys,
lots of intersting replies so far, but I am sure there are many more who have or are thinking of having a salon.
 
Good thread Jacqui, really got me thinking.

Having had business premises before (interior design & soft furnishings) whilst in partnership with my sister, I am fully aware of the pros and cons.

For me I think the answer has to be no. I suppose it all depends on your area but I have seen so many businesses turn over in this town in the last 5 years it makes my head spin. My last business only required workshop, not shop front and still the business rates were crippling. We made a fair living but each client is paying in thousands not like nails. At the beginning we would often feel sick at the bills and had to increase our hours/advertising/work area to get off the ground.

I would be setting up on my own and would hate for business worries to swamp my love of nails.

I think perhaps having had one successful business has satisfied a need in me. I will now be satisfied with a home salon.:)
 
Hi I have just been wondering about having a high street salon instead of my home salon, having worked in four different salons in the past and having seen how each was run, I cant decide if its right for me.

I think I now have the training, experience and confidence to do it but I cant decide if its for me.

I just wondered how many of you would like to have your own salon in a town or high street rather than a home salon or working mobile

do you think you have the experience and confidence to do it now?

or do you feel that you have not had all the training you require yet?

Do you think you would do it by yourself or would you prefer to have a partner?

Have you already tried it and couldn't make it work?

If it didn't work for you what were the stumbling blocks you encountered?

If you have you salon and its a success, what do you think (apart from your own skill and dedication that is ) was the secret to you achieving your goal?



I'd love my own salon but I'm not ready yet, I have alot more training to do and i don't do silks, I feel i need to be offering all systems and mastering all systems before i go into a salon.

Having my own salon is a goal for me and I want to go into it confident in my work, if I'm not my best then I would be letting myself down and as soon as customers come through the door they would be back out again.

My clients are always saying "You should have your own salon", very nice of them that they have that much confidence in me but as i say I'm just not ready.

Not sure on a partner, possibly!

Teri x:hug:
 
I forgot to say one thing. I think being selfemployeed and having a salon/shop is a lifestyle. You have to deal with it every day, also when on holiday, when you are ill etc... I think about my work constantly. But I like it and I am sure I couldn't live without it either.

As the other here say, you have to have a supportive familiy and espesially a husband who can handle you being a business-woman. I have seen so many husbands that think it is nice that their wife has a salon until the day the wife get a higher income than him.

C.
 
Great question Jac,

It was always my own goal to one day set up my own salon, I thought to be a successful nail tech I would need a high street location, but my mind has been changed.

When I join this site and realized their were busy, successful techs that had gone on to do the masters and trained at a high level, who were working Mobile and in home based salons, I realized this was the way for me.

I don't have to worry about landlords and all that hassle. The most important thing for me is that at the moment I can work around my family.

so my goal now is by the time my little man starts school I would like to move my nail room to a much larger space at the other end of the house !!
 
No i dont....ever. Maybe thats the wrong attitude to have but i just love what i do, it suits me and isn't complicated. I have never really been the highly ambitious type...never set my goals too high...not driven my money...dont strive to have my name above the door.

I remember when i started this and someone who started mobile (hairdressing) and then went on to own a salon for 20 years told me to keep things simple...she said she was much happier, better off and alot less stressed when mobile and although i ain't mobile (home salon)...its simple and hassle free. xx


I really agree with this!! I would in theory love my own salon, but in reality its a lot more simple/easier doing it mobile/home salon!! I'm not a great business woman so would need the backing or help to run a salon which for me would seem a little disheartening as I would like to know/feel that I wasn't out of my depth as running a salon takes over as I know with a friend who has one & no matter how she tries to take time away from it, never happens as there is always something to sort!!:) Sounds really scary to me!!!:eek:
 
My aim is to open a salon eventually... actually my ultimate aim is to open a chain of salons.. :D

This is a good point - my only other employee at this time is my husband. He is really the "operations manager" as he takes the bookings, cleans, makes the orders, organises retail displays and of course is...tea boy.

He has taken the efforts to learn how to support me and now knows quite a bit about my work without actually doing them.

Behind every good salon owner is her husband!

Eva

This is the main point isnt it..?

That we as woman.. can not really give 100% to both our career and our family.. it is always one or the other... one or the other will have take the larger percentage..

The amount of things we have to give up for our family is tremendous..

I suppose im in a good situation at the moment, because i live at home, have no real committments and can dedicate time to my business. I too would like a chain of salons at some point, Ive still got alot of years ahead of me to acheive this!!

But at the same time, Im only 22, i want some sort of social life, i want to travel, i am doing it on my own, with no financial or emotional support from a husband.

I think married with no children is probably a good place to be business wise.

If i had my own house i would probably have a home salon, as i have a good enough client base now from renting space to make a good living from it.

There will always be pro's and con's in anyones situation, its just finding what works for you i guess!
 
I love the idea of having my own salon.

However, I really don't think I'm any where near qualified enough to do so.
If I was to employ the best staff, I feel that I would have to be a mentor to them. I would expect them to look up to me for guidance as well as help each other.
I don't feel I'm in a position to do so right now.

There are far to many people setting up salons with next to nothing experience in the industry. Then again if you were all clued up as a business person, you could employ a top tech to be the mentor.
I guess there are two ways of looking at it.

I think it takes alot of courage, skill, knowledge, risk taking, and flippin' hard work to be able to set up a successful salon.

And there are a good few of them on this site.....you all know who you are!!!

I say hats off to the lot of you.

Maybe one day when my boys older I will review the situation. But for now, it's education, education, education and more education for me.

It's a really tough industry out there and if I were to set up a salon I'd want it to be the best.:)
 
WOW
A lot of questions to ponder :green:

Will answer as best as I can

I just wondered how many of you would like to have your own salon in a town or high street rather than a home salon or working mobile
Ans: I would love to own my own salon

do you think you have the experience and confidence to do it now?
Ans: I would like to think so:lol: but I know that I do not have enough experience. confidence yes, experience, NO.

or do you feel that you have not had all the training you require yet?
Ans: I DEFINATELY need more training.

Do you think you would do it by yourself or would you prefer to have a partner?
Ans: I would have to think on it when the time comes. Not really sure. There are pros and cons either way.

Have you already tried it and couldn't make it work?
Ans: Never tried yet.

I'm hoping that when my girls start going to school, that I shall have a big enough client base to be able to open my own salon, on a busy street where people will see me.
I don't yet know what kind of salon I want. I'll also have to do tonnes of research into costs etc.
I have much to learn in terms of business and nail skills before I can even begin to attempt such a huge endeavour.

I'll keep my fingers crossed.
In the meantime, I'll learn all that I can and enjoy the quiet for one day, I WILL be a busy little bee with not enough hours in a day.
:green:
 
Well all things considered I think I will stay put for the time being, but maybe later:)
 
Haven't read all the replies, but, IMO, if you have a thriving home based salon, don't bother with the High Street, unless you have great tech's working for you and pulling in the clients along with you to pay the overheads.. you'll earn less than you are at the mo JMHO!

Forgot to say.....don't bother with the partner unless you are extremely sure you are both on the same wavelength and have similar levels of skill!
 
I go through alot of mixed feelings about this.

The fact that I can't decide if I would like it or not, tells me not to do it.

I have the best of both worlds here at my home salon, in down times I can do housework etc, and because I have a whole room dedicated to nails, I can have it set up exactly like a salon anyway so it's great.

If the only reason I want a salon is for more exposure, more team orientated or more money, then I can work out a way to have that at home.

The overheads aren't a problem from home and that to me is peace of mind to know that if I have a quiet week, I'm not panicking about the rent.


This is weird, I'm quoting myself!

After saying all this, I'm now actually considering renting a space in a mates salon.

This might not be the same thing as owning my own salon, because ultimately all the responsibilities don't lie with me, but renting a space is still a bit scary, and challenging at the same time.

I just figured, if it gets me some more clients, then the little bit a week I have to pay will even out.

Let you know how it turns out. x
 
This is weird, I'm quoting myself!

After saying all this, I'm now actually considering renting a space in a mates salon.

This might not be the same thing as owning my own salon, because ultimately all the responsibilities don't lie with me, but renting a space is still a bit scary, and challenging at the same time.

I just figured, if it gets me some more clients, then the little bit a week I have to pay will even out.

Let you know how it turns out. x
I think thats probably the best way to go, as I am quite out of the town, I do not get as many clients as if I were in a high street or town centre.
 
i notived a CONSIDERABLE difference when i moved toa high street location.

I probably take 5 times more on the high street.

Think about how 'close knit' the community is aswell, word of mouth travels faster if everyone knows everyone!! obviously this is far better if your good than if your awful!! lol.

Where i am based atm, i thought it was the wierdest place on earth, everyone knew everyone and i thought everyone was related!! lol. But its proved pretty good for business as if one persons happy, they tell their friends and family and so on.

Its no good being fantastic at what you do, but your clients having no body else to tell about you! if that makes sense!! lol.
 

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