New Year .... New Start?

[ally-mac]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some opinions from some of you wiser geeks if you don't mind please. I am currently working full time in a job I hate. It's office based and I run a very large dept of over 70 staff across 4 teams. It has taught me a huge amount and is very demanding but ultimately I want to pursue a career in nails. I have worked mobile for around 3-4 years and due to add Minx and hopefully Shellac to my services in the coming weeks. I'm a bit behind due to the limitations which have been put on my by my day job.

SO!

The point is, I am thinking about taking a leap and giving up my job completely. Now I have toyed with this for the past 18 months but I have never hated my job this much or felt so passionate about nails. All I can think about is new ideas for nail arts and I'm constantly checking out how to develop myself further with new courses and practicing nail techniques.

Sorry for going on I just want to give as much info as I can. My mobile client base is quite small but this is due to my limited hours as I can't always accomodate requests due to long hours in the office. What I'd like to know is ... Is the new year a terrible time of year to consider becoming self employed?? I need to give 8 weeks notice but I can get away with leaving my job at the end of January. From this point I would be looking at taking up space in a salon if possible but may need to work mobile if there was nothing available. This isn't ideal as I would waste a lot of time travelling etc but I just mean i may need to do this if there is no other option.

I think I am quite business minded, my clients are always happy with their enhancements and I am extremely hard working.

But is that enough? Your advice is appreciated and thank you so much for taking the time to read this mammoth post!!
xxx

 

[jessiemw90]

Hey! I'm not a veteran geek, but i am a self employed beauty therapist that started business in a January. It's not too bad a time to start, especially seeing as you already have some clients as it is, however no matter when you start it will be a bit of a struggle, because you'll have to build up your client base. I would suggest that if it is possible you rent a chair or room from a salon, as you will immediately have advertising, to the people that use the salon anyway.
If your not sure about building up a client base, maybe you could go part time and do your nails the rest of the time, and build up slowly. I think you should also consider the economic climate at the moment. It is not an easy time to start a business, no matter what time of year, and setting up can be quite costly. But your kind of already doing it, so i suppose you know sort of what your doing anyway!
I think that if nails are your dream then you should definitely go for it! Doing what you love is always worth it! And our jobs, especially, are brilliant because we make people feel pampered.

Hope any of what i have said helps! let me know if you have any other questions.

Jess

 

[Nat-Nat]

I'm in the same boat, work FT in an office and do beauty in the eves and on a Sat in a room in hairdressers.

I've decided that 2011 is the time to take a risk but rather than quitting completely, I'm looking for part time role that way I can build on the clients I have and build the business up slowly whilst still having a regular wage.

I tried to go PT in my current role but they weren't up for it therefore I am looking for somthing part time before I go.

You have to take the chance and I am a great believer in doing what you want to do rather than what makes the most money! I think if I dont do it I wont know and if it doesnt work, what have I lost??

Good luck and let us know how you get on?

N xx

 

[Luscious85]

Funny this is exactly the situation I was in - full time in a very demanding job that was running me into the ground. I had to give 8 weeks notice too, and I was at a now or never stage back in November so I resigned actually without a job to go to! Planning on properly launching business in January so I've had website, price lists, cards etc all done ready for this. I've since found a job in a beauty wholesalers starting in the new year and that will mean there's some money coming in while I build it up.

My advice would be to go for it if you're really serious, but be prepared for it to be slow and hard work finding clients in the beginning. Do all your marketing (web site and other things which involve spending money) while you're still earning in your current job. Is a good idea to seek something part-time (bar work or something) to take the pressure off in the early stages.

I've got 10 days left and then I'm leaving work and I can't wait. Good luck!! Keep us posted!!

Laura

 

[Ruth Mills]

If there's two pieces of advice that I can give you, they would be:

(1) Don't go overboard with spending out on advertising when just starting out; things like a reasonably priced website, flyers, business cards are OK, but avoid expensive newspaper/magazine advertising and don't get pressured into signing up to any expensive online directories or anything like that (you'll probably get quite a few cold calls from speculative sales people). There's no point in running your first quarter or two at a loss because you've overspent on advertising!

(2) Make sure your pricing is high enough - don't be tempted to price yourself too low just to try and get clients early on. If you do, then you'll have to put your prices up eventually or you won't be able to make ends meet, and may even have to go back to office work with a vengeance when that deadline from HMRC starts to loom... also there's no point in being too cheap and then having to work silly hours to compensate - make sure you give yourself a decent work-life balance as there's no point in burning out in pursuit of your dream!

Incidentally, those two bits of advice come from me working from home doing IT-related stuff - but probably equally well apply to many other businesses, including beauty/nails...

 

[Emzo]

I am in the same situation I work as a full time Receptionist which I absolutely hate! I work mon-fri 0800-1800 and most nights I can be out till silly hours doing mobile which can be very tiring. I will be renting a space as from January 2 nights per week and all day Satuarday as my employer will not let me reduce my hours. Its going to be a struggle but hopefully I will get there and eventually become full time in the salon. My mobile clients have said that they will follow me onto the salon wich I am hopeing they will. Heres to 2011 hope it all works out for everyone x

 

[ally-mac]

Thanks everyone for your advice and support. I suppose it will always be daunting regardless of when I do it but I just want to be happy! I'm sick of working myself into the ground for someone else when I could be working myself into the ground to set up my own business and give myself a better future. Thank you for all the replies and best of luck to those in a similar position!
Here's to 2011!!! Xxx

 

[Ruth Mills]

Thanks everyone for your advice and support. I suppose it will always be daunting regardless of when I do it but I just want to be happy! I'm sick of working myself into the ground for someone else when I could be working myself into the ground to set up my own business and give myself a better future. Thank you for all the replies and best of luck to those in a similar position!
Here's to 2011!!! Xxx

All the best for 2011!!!

I'd definitely recommend that you "go for it" though - but do please be careful with the cash flow and don't get yourself into too much debt trying to get by during those first few months!

Also, it might make sense to have a "Plan B" that you can fall back on too - at least temporarily. Before I embarked on getting my business off the ground properly, I was doing IT consultancy work in an office - up until the end of October last year. Then 10 months of working 100% on the business - cash flow was getting better but still not marvellous - and a tax bill was looming at the end of November - so when someone whom I had worked with in the past phoned up and offered me some more consulting work, I would have been a fool not to take it, even though it's meant having to slow the business down far more than I would have liked to after the past few months.

Sometimes you have to make changes to your plans though - it's made me seriously consider the direction in which I was previously taking my business in terms of it not having brought in enough money so far - and doing more consultancy for a few months is a much better option than running out of money and not being able to pay the tax man - as short term cash flow is crucial for long term success. Also it's made me realise how good I am at what I do best - which is hard core software development. As previously, I've been spending far too much time (working from home on my business) on what one of my current work colleagues describes as "grunge work" - the easier, more repetitive, run-of-the-mill, nitty gritty type stuff - which it would make a lot more sense to pay someone else to do, leaving me more time for the more challenging and interesting software design work.

 

[hippy-chick]

If you rely on a set amount of money coming in every month don't do it!

a lot of people give up a FT job expecting to earn as much as they did but it doesn't happen like that.

you get good weeks and bad weeks, I've just had 2 weeks unpaid leave due to the snow conditions.

What if you are sick? What about holidays? I take 6 weeks unpaid weeks of a year. So already I am looking at 8 weeks with no money coming in and bills to pay.

If you've factored all of that into your giving the nail trade a go of it, then good luck, its brill being self employed, but its hardest for people who jump from FT employment to SE. I eased myself in from giving up work to have a baby so I had already gotten used to not having (12 years ago) £12k coming into my account.