New Salon Advice

[pinkprincess01]

Hello all,
I have not been a member for long and this is my first posting so i apologise if im going over old discussions but im really in need of some advice and all would be much appreciated! At present i am a mobile beauty and semi-permanent makeup therapist but i have just took on a premises where i am opening a salon hopefully soon but previous experience with builders tells me maybe not as soon as id like!! :cry: Anyways i would like to take on a level 2/3 beauty therapist and was wondering what sort of wages i should expect to pay also i want to be firm but very fair boss and was wondering how to go about incentives do i give a % on retail sales etc if so how much?
As well as a main beauty room and a spraytan room i will also have a room for the likes of, teeth whitening, botox etc should i charge an hour or day rate or take a % what is the going rate?
Ok i know im going on but few more things... Im hiring out two hairdressing chairs i will put in a backwash unit and obviously the water and electric, receptionist to manage diary, styling stations and chairs etc but what else am i responsible to provide and also who retails the hair products do i buy them and give them a % if they sell them or is it up to them, I was thinking of charging £100 per week each is this too much? (dont know much on the hair side)
Promise this is the last question (for now) lol I have the dermalogica rep coming to see me this week but im confused after reading other threads if these are who i should go with. The salon itself is in a lovely area and is going to be upmarket there isnt a salon too near me and the nearest one stocks clarins which i wasnt wanting anyway. I was thinking along the lines of elemis, dermalogica, decleor and im in the process of looking into this, also gerrards are sending there info out. Who have you all used and loved and also how does there training rate? I have had elemis and dermalogica treatments myself and loved them but your views would be much appreciated the start up costs with these things dont come cheap and i really want to get it right to keep clients coming back for more.

I look forward to hearing from you guys, hope you all had a great weekend we had friends round last night and got the poker table out i bluffed my way through the night and won! £110 towards the salon kitty :lol:

nite nite xx

 

[hippy-chick]

welcome to geek.

couple of tips for you, in the top right hand corner is a search button. If you go into that and type in questions, old threads come up for you. This sort of question has been discussed before, so you will have the benefit of reading the discussions in full, eg dermologica, gerards, opening a business, wages, rent, etc.

one more tip, try and leave a few gaps between your 'essay', its much easier to read.

their are a few geeks on here just about to open premises, so you are in great company.

sounds like you've got most of it sussed, and sounds like its going to be a lush place.

 

[rock chic]

yeah i'm in same postion as yourself mine is going to be home based though with a treatment room reception and spray tan room. The geeks have been so good in helping me. I'm not opening prob to may need to wait till its all finished as we are building a new house too NIGHTMARES!:irked: bUT WE WILL GET THERE.
gOOD LUCK CHICK:hug::hug:

 

[fanella]

hi there good luck with all this, CACI Guinot and MD Formulations are great treatments all of which compliment each other i have had a salon for over 20 years and will combine all three treatments in a prescriptive treatment plan which spreads over 6 weeks and costs £500. Internet advertising is essential in my opinion as the majority of your clients will search for the treatment they need it also works really well for the sale of gift voucher.

 

[pinkprincess01]

Thanks girls!

See what you mean with my 'essay' its hurting my eyes looking at it, il remember to leave a bit of space between my rammbling next time lol

Il have a little look at the past threads see what info i get thanks for that.

Good luck with your home salon Zara sounds like your just as stressed as me, i have a childrens entertainment business too which i only started up early last year oh and a 1yr old and 4yr old son and daughter but hey us women are made for multi-tasking :lol: Good Luck honey hope it really takes off for you.

xx

 

[Michidda]

yeah i'm in same postion as yourself mine is going to be home based though with a treatment room reception and spray tan room. The geeks have been so good in helping me. I'm not opening prob to may need to wait till its all finished as we are building a new house too NIGHTMARES!:irked: bUT WE WILL GET THERE.
gOOD LUCK CHICK:hug::hug:

Zara

Sorry to jump in, I am also in the process of starting up a home-based salon.

I was wondering how you are managing to have treatment room, reception and spray tan room, all in your home you must have a much bigger house than me.:green:

 

[rock chic]

Hi princess
Oh my god how do you do it woman! us woman are defo good at multi tasking. I have a six month old baby girl she is just the most precious thing in the world h2b wants another one but i'm not sure my wee woman was tough at the start silent reflux sqealed all day nut she is little angel now that she on right medication. Are you long back at work? suppose when you self employed you dont take long off i have another job selling clarins(maternity leave fromit at min) but been doing my own beauty at home part time. i just love elemis but it would be to expensive for me my sister has dermoliga in her salon and loves it!:hug:

 

[pinkprincess01]

Good Morning!

Thanks for that ive looked into CACI and theres not many salons near me using it so thats good to know. Is the md formulations the same people who do bare minerals? If so i have emailed them and im just waiting on a reply.
Would you reconmend MD over dermalogica?

Im definately going to get a site built its just finding the right company to do so some of them charge the earth!!

Whats been the hardest part of owning your own salon? Sorry for all the questions i just want to prepare myself for whats to come

Thanks xxx

 

[fanella]

both my sons were brought up in a salon, rocking the chair with my foot whilst doing a facial!!

both were cleaning the sunbed and changing towels by the age of 3.

they fully understand the importance of skincare and could wax your legs single handed with their eyes closed.

have i raised perfect husbands or what!!

 

[fanella]

no problem. md formulations is cosmeceuticals for make up i have gone with Jane irdale.

with regard to building a website why not try to get a listing on an existing site i read on another thread that you can register for as little as £20. try searching for beauty treatments etc and see what you can find, very often these can also recommend a reasonablly priced design company or advise on creating your own.

the hardest part of owning a salon for me is not seeing the diary full in the morning but seeing it fullfilled at the end of the day.

be very careful when employing staff keep them part time!!

 

[fanella]

CACI is always a good client hook as it gives real results and the company will really help in the initial stages with setting up an open day etc. That was my experience with CACI mind you that was 18 years ago. What i find particularly good about MD is that if you do have a sticky situation and not quite what to do there is always a doctor (Dr. Patrick Bowler) at the end of the phone so you are always confident in your treatments

 

[pinkprincess01]

Husbands hey there quick enough pushing for the second child but when it comes to being up in the night who's the mug that has to do it! lol
My husband really pushed for our second child so i gave in after a 3yr gap from our daughter and i wouldn't change it for the world but it can be hard going when your trying to start a business and work. School and nursery fee's alone are a pressure so if i was you id tell hubby he'l have to wait at least untill your little angel is a bit older and you have your business off the ground.

You could always do what i did to mine when we had our son we had one of each then as we already had a daughter so i booked him in for the SNIP
:lol: oh how i enjoyed every minute of him squirming on the bed whilst reminding him that it wasn't as bad as childbirth!

xx

 

[pinkprincess01]

The staff issue is going to be a problem ive seen how hard it is now. I have a childrens party venue i offer pamper and art & craft parties only opened last may but ive been through so many staff and its costing £50 a go for crb checks only for them to last a week or two. I dont know whats wrong with the young girls of today they just dont seem to have any get up and go!

I really need to think before employing the salon staff as its totaly different, i will be there as much as i can but obviously with my other business its going to be difficult. My daughter is in school full time but my son only in two half days so im probably going to have to up his days, failing that i can have him a trained therapist in no time like your boys fanella :lol: Why didn't our mother in laws do that for us? lol God knows what il do in the school holidays!!

 

[fanella]

they made a small fortune while they were at it and had sooo many xmas pressies and easter eggs, but beware my tips died a death!!

 

[pinkprincess01]

:lol: :hug:

 

[rock chic]

Sounds like good idea i'd say my wee girl would just love it be amongst all that makeup!:lol: They will certainly make great husbands for some lucky girls some day?:hug::hug:

 

[rock chic]

Well michida
Not sure i spelt tht right, my h2b is a builder and built our house he made our garage longer so its divided into two and my salon is the back section, my reception area is only tiny so you prob wouln include that but he has done a great job have a treatment room which has a shower and a separte spray tan room. What all you going to do in your salon. When you thinking of opening chick?:hug:

 

[Michidda]

Well michida
Not sure i spelt tht right, my h2b is a builder and built our house he made our garage longer so its divided into two and my salon is the back section, my reception area is only tiny so you prob wouln include that but he has done a great job have a treatment room which has a shower and a separte spray tan room. What all you going to do in your salon. When you thinking of opening chick?:hug:

I have a double garage, so I am going to convert half of it into my salon.
Would of loved to use both parts of the garage , but hubby wont let me.:cry:

Would of loved to have a separate tanning room, but unless I use the spare room upstairs, which I don't really want to, I am going to have to put tent up and down in salon when needed.

The plans for the convertion are into the council as we speak, so just waiting for their 'yes' and it is all go.
Hopefully it will be all ready in the next 2-4 months.

So spending a lot of time emailing and talking to diffrent companies, I am hoping to go to ExCel in March for inspiration.:hug:

 

[fanella]

if your looking for new products and treatments you could save a lot of time by just googling beauty treatment information

 

[pinkprincess01]

Hey girls!
not sure if your interested in this little tip as i know you said you were putting in seperate spraytan rooms well i am too in my salon but rather than put up a cubicle im going to try it the way ive seen it in a salon when i had a tan in the US. Basically they had a black sheet/curtain across the back wall im assuming they just took it down to wash but it was great it soaked any extra mist plus i didnt have to squash in a pop up cubicle i think its easier to get an even coverage because you still have the light too. In mine im going to put up a curtain pole and just get some dark curtains. Will let you know how it goes once the salon finally done, my husband a builder too so im waiting for him to finish his other jobs and get cracking! :zzz: