room to rent, options?

[nicjill]

Well, the sale of my shop fell through (after the buyer dragged it out for 3 & half months!) so now I am looking ahead to what I'm going to do with it while I'm off on maternity leave.

I want to put in a room and rent it out for treatments/services that I currently don't offer. I can't really offer beauty treatments as there is a bit of a problem with what I'm restricted from doing in my lease. So, I'm thinking of offering it for holistic therapy or something else non-beauty.

Anybody got any ideas of what else I could offer, bearing in mind that I currently offer nails and tanning so it would have to be compatible, but something that isn't beauty so I don't need to worry about getting refused permission.

Also, what is my chance of getting a good tech to cover maternity leave? I figure its gonna be difficult as nobody will want a 6-12 month contract if they are any good. Most people want something permanent. I'm not sure if I want to go back to work after normal maternity leave or not but I don't want to offer somebody a permanent position if I'm going to go back after a few months. At the moment I'm thinking I'd like to do part-time for a few years but I'd have to see how my finances went to see if that was possible, I might not have a choice as I have a mortgage to pay!

 

[Cathie!]

I posted on another thread about sub-contractors....the Inland Revenue are hot on this at the mo, rent a space/chair, if you go to the same place of work every day they see you as employed by that business and therefore an employee so PAYE and emplyers NI apply.

I'm just saying this as I know and have seen that they are cming down on salons in my area.....with BIG bills........

salon owners beware!

 

[number1kitty]

This law came in a few years ago, its a pain in the butt for small business owners. If they pay you commision then they need to raise an invoice to your business, thus making them responsible for their own tax, Ni etc, or they pay a set rent for space which is contracted or invoiced you are exempt. You should just make sure that you have a good contract in place.

Most landlords are pretty flexible. Speak to them and see if you can work round the restrictions. If you explain your situation then I am sure they will understand especially if it is the difference between the business surviving or not (sometimes it helps to exaggerate a bit!).

Theres always these vibro plates and vacu step machines that you could add to bring in extra revenue.

with regards to cover, if your busy enough and you can cover regular wages then why not employ a girl on a rolling contract. Say 6 months at a time. You may find they are good and keep them on still enabling you to work part time around there full time hours!

Good Luck with whatever you decide to do and good luck with baby! I have two weeks left to go with my pregnancy and its dragging!!!

Kate

 

[nicjill]

Thanks for the info re tax & NI. I hadn't read the other post. I would have contracts drawn up by my solicitor so I know where I stand with anything like that. I certainly don't want to be responsible for anyone else's contributions if I am not actually employing them as such so I will be sure to look into that if I go for the rental option.

I just need to make sure I am still getting a good income if I'm not working there myself! Rental income seems to be the most reliable. Plus most people want to be self-employed these days. Will have to look into the details though before I agree to anything.