How to get your own salon

[beautygalz]

ok iv been looking into opening my own salon and i have no idea where to start! do you have to get a business mortgage or some sort of lease? also if you dont have the funds do you have to get a business loan?

how did other geeks go about opening their own salon? i would love any tips!

thanks

 

[thg]

hi there



















































Hi My daughter and I
set up a hairdressing salon 4 years ago. it's a little lock up shop just big enough for us both,we have a 2 yr lease left on it, which will be renewed for a further ? yrs all being well, because we've alway kept small and taken low wages, even now, we can afford to pay our bills, but we re not out of the woods yet, we came into the shop with nothing, and have built it up, and it's been a very long road, we've still a long way to go to build the business into a sucess but we think we are getting there very slowly, Now days i think you've got to give a new business at least 5 years, so by march 2009 i'll know if it's worth us continuing or throwing in the towel.so if your thinking of opening a business think of it long term. I hope i've helped...thg

 

[skymark]

Opening up a salon of your own is quite possible.....but there are many many things to consider.

As far as funding goes, if you don't have the funds, then yes a loan would be the other option. Any borrowing from a bank will mean that you need to show them a business plan of exactly what you intend to do, how you will spend the money borrowed, how you will attract and keep business and basically show them that they will in fact get their money back should they lend it to you.

Some banks, just like with buying a house, request that you have the money for a deposit or have some personal collatoral or funds to back you up should you stop being able to afford the payments.

Unfortunately a lot more new businesses fail than succeed, so you would need to make sure that you are in the success category, and that is done by planning not only for opening and if things go well, but what you will do if things don't go exactly to plan.

Investing in a business I believe is similar to having a baby. You are investing your money, time, heart and soul into it and you probably won't get a return for a long time.

But, if it's done right, there's no reason it can't be made to work.

My advice to anybody who is a great technician in what they do but who doesn't have a business brain, find somebody that does, whether that be a local business link advisor, or just a family member or friend who has been around the business track a few years. You just can't buy that experience that they could help you with.

Good luck with whatever you decide and if it's not plausible for you right now, it doesn't mean it won't be in a few months or years from now.

:hug:

 

[gemini_beauty]

I think you need to decide whether you want to rent a property first to try it out or whether you just want to jump straight in and get a business mortgage on one instead. Personally, i think renting is the better option because if you decide that it isnt working out your not stuck with a building/mortgage and a rope around your neck, but thats just my opinion.

When me and my sister decided to open a salon we rented the property and will probably look at buying once we know we have a large enough clientelle base and that the business can pay the mortgage therefore paying for itself.

As for funding, we live in st.helens merseyside and the local council have a department called st.helens chamber that help with new business costs etc. They gave us business advice, helped develop an individual business plan, gave us an accountant free for a year and gave us a grant each to help with the start up costs. Thay also had talks with us about the downsides to being self employed like not being able to take a wage for the first 2-3 years unless you are extremely lucky and your business takes off at a vast rate. Be sure that you can cope with this as it is very stressful when you are used to a wage!

Hope this helps, sorry its long one!

 

[Eliza Doolittle]

Great advice there, thank you! x

 

[liana kay]

i also want to start up a business - go to business link .gov.uk- it helps with the choices like grants and loans and what licences you will need .

 

[Saya]

Hi there,
I'm setting up too..
Business link are good, but they haven't kept their contact with me, so I've been doing all the research myself.

My main thing for starters is to minimise the intial risks, so I've taken a lease with a break clause in it. I've taken quite a large space and have agreed to sub-let half of it out. This way if the small salon does well and outgrows itself, I won't need to move, I'll just expand into the sub-letted bit.

Secondly, the finance has been tricky. I couldn't get a loan, because no one wants to fund a start up business. But I've managed to get a lease agreement. This is where the financer 'buys' all your equipment and fit-out for you and 'rents' it back to you. At the end of the agreed term, you either pay a token sum to own everything, or just let them take it back when you're done, you can also upgrade equipment and just pay the difference. It's quite tax efficient because this type of finance gets certain tax benefits. With their premiums though, it does cost a lot more than a loan overall.
You will have do your research into the actual terms offered, as they differ from company to company, then do your number crunching.

As my business partner has pulled out, I'm on my own and with less money than originally expected, so I'm just using the powers of my fluttering eyelids to negotiate everything to it's minimum! (currently re-negotiating rent free periods and a reduction on the rent deposit, as they're costing me the most liquid cash).

I've also found that this website has answers to a lot of industry specific queries, but I guess you know that already.

Keep us posted on what you decide to do, its interesting to follow others who are setting up at the same time, it's so exciting too : )