Salon's not working, need advice please

[EnviousNails]

Hey guys and girls,

I'm new to this and thourght this would be the perfect place to get some advice.

I've been doing nails for 2years. At 17 i opened up my own nail salon, now 8 months on, im starting to wonder if i did the right thing.. (Please dont let this put off, any of you who are wanting to open up your own salon!)..
Im working by myself and i've recently got a sunbed in the other room.. which went really well to start off with and now its just died down.

I am just so confused in what i should do, im not drawing a salary. my rent for the place is very low but on top of that there is the power, phone, alarm and im just struggling to pay for these things aswell as advertising and product.

My Cliental vary's.. some weeks its really good, but lately - its just been so dead. & i get so frustrated because im stuck there, (i even took my little tv over! & there is only so much dr phil i can watch!!)...

So im not making much money, if any. it all just goes back onto the rent and that kind of stuff.

I Know that they say that the 2years is the hardest but at the end of the year we are going back to south africa for a holiday and i havent got any spending money and so im really just stuck on weather i should go or not?

I Had an idea, i could go back to work and then set up at home and do mobile and clients at home? and then eventually if it picks up, in 4 years or something set up another bussiness?

or should i keep at it?

Please any advice would be great.

Thank you all ..

___________x Dani.x

 

[lizzie27]

hi hun sorry to hear about your salon being quiet, i too have a salon, and it is very hard work and long hours, it is totally your choice weather you stick at it or not, as its your life, and i cant help thinking you are very young to be doing it all on your own, but if you want to make it work why dont you spend some of your spare time thinking of new promos, designing leaflets, and maybe taking them to the local gyms, hairdressers,cake shop(weddings), bridal boutiques, and other businesses, maybe the local council. put an add in the paper, even make your salon its own facebook or my space!!!
build relationships with the shops around you and offer discounts to their clients, as they may be more established, have you thought about doing wedding fairs? or sending gift vouchers out to all the local schools for their summer fetes? try and get the mums in the playground talking!! put posters up in the local nurserys,
theres loads of ideas in my little brain, so im sure you will be fine, you've come this far....... sorry to waffle on...good luck
liz xxxx

 

[skymark]

Lizzie has given you some great ideas, you should give some of them a try.

I understand that it must feel like a lot of stress especially at such a young age, but try and use some of the experiences of the geeks on here and look for threads about getting more clients, incresing business and advertising. See what seemed to work for others and what didn't.

Also, don't be afraid to rope your friends and family into helping you with things. If they work anywhere you could advertise, give it a shot or ask them for ideas if you really get stuck for them. They may have not run a business before but they may have come across different ideas for promotion etc in their own chosen professions.

I think that you will be faced with the same marketing issues if you were to go mobile or be home based so which ever choice you make, make sure you brush up on those marketing and self promotion skills.

And don't forget the number one rule in my book......never let your customers know that you aren't getting much business.

 

[EnviousNails]

Thank you so much both of you for your advise, I Will DEFINTALLY Give all of those advertising ideas a try - I've got the local new paper already and dairys aswell as regular flyer drops. I Guess every bussiness goes through this once and a while.

I Will have a look on the site for somemore business ideas.

Thank you all so much. :hug:

 

[skymark]

I would give this article a read if you haven't already


http://www.salongeek.com/business/28153-sassy-guide-advertising-your-business.html

:hug:

 

[EnviousNails]

Wow!! That was great, thank you!! x

 

[lizzie27]

great, well if nothing else im glad i gave you some new found enthusiasm for your business, which im sure you worked hard to set up! keep fighting for it being your own boss is the greatest thing in the world..xxxxxx

 

[redsadie]

Hi hun

I just wanted to say Well done you for being brave enough to open up a salon. Not everyone can do it and (I know age should be irrelevant but it's not always like that) as you are younger than most, for that I applaud you too.

It's tough opening any business but it's even tougher keeping it open!

Instead of watching TV, can you take in (if you have one) a computer - either desktop or laptop? That way if you have it hooked up to a printer and play around with Microsoft publisher, you can get some great, individual to you, promotional marketing material that doesn't cost the earth.

Try having a focus evening where you have wine and cheese (or something similar), invite the local press or send in a story about yourself and the evening with a picture.

If you can, create a professional-looking press kit.

Approach this as you would applying for a job. You create a cover letter, addressed to a *person* (find this person on the masthead of the paper). Generally you want the Lifestyle Editor or the Business Editor. Add a few pics of your nails and outside of your salon, a bio page and your contact information and those are the basics! Being young AND a salon owner has to get their attention!

Get a questionnaire together for people to fill in on the night and get all your friends and family to come (remember those ms publisher invites?!) and get them to invite their friends and family, work colleagues etc, old college friends, you get the gist?

Use any and every available resource to leaflet drop. People need on average to see something seven times before they will respond. Use holidays like Mothers day, St. Patricks Day, St. Georges Day, May day, use seasons, summer is pretty much upon us so can you do gel toes (Hollywood toes?). How about adding a line of body jewellery?

Make a list of all the customers you've had in the past year. You already know they like what you are doing, so take advantage of it! Within the next three months, you should contact every single one of them with a special promotion for repeat customers. Do this either by post, by phone or by email. This is one of the most important business strategies, and it's used by the most successful companies.

If you use email, (or post) put the name of your salon, it's location and the website address on as your signature.

I have some interesting articles about advertising outside of the box and will hopefully get you to think about promoting/advertising in different ways if you want it http://www.salongeek.com/biz-geek/7...ing-startup-info-offered-if-anyone-wants.html LOADS of people requested it and I had a good deal of positive feedback about it so if you want to PM me with your email address then I can send it through to you and you can either print it out, or sit and read it from you computer you have in your salon now :wink2:

My point I suppose, is stick at it, you can and will succeed. It's still early days although it probably seems like a lifetime. Talk to your bank, electricity people etc and see if you can work out some terms with them too to see you through the short term. Speak to your accountant. If you haven't got one, get one, they are invaluable.

I hope I have helped a bit, and good luck with everything sweetie Please let us know how you are getting on and if you don't get your holiday this year, please don't beat yourself up over it. You have a great future with your business and it will all be worthwhile in the long run. Who knows, in a year you may have one or two people working for you so you can afford the money and the time to go and not have to worry about anything!

Sorry if I have waffled, that's an inherent fault of mine :o but :hug: to you and you can do it!


Sarah. xx

 

[jax]

Hi Dani

You've already had some great advice on this thread that will help you no end. I just wanted to say that I think 8 months is still early days for a business so dont feel its doomed just yet!!
Promoting your business is a never ending beast that is completely essential, if you take your eye off this ball, your business is likely to fail. Its as important as the quality of your services.
Luckily with this issue, there is an immediate direct benefit - the more time you give it, the more customers you get.
To get it spot on, you need to make sure that your promotion is right for your type of client but that is a whole other issue. Meantime just get out there and tell everyone about your services.

Good luck
xx

 

[Nicki-Marie]

As everyone has mentioned, try to keep positive chick 8 months is still very early days. Im into my third year of business and only just now have I turned a corner and have a healthy client base. Its taken Blood sweat and tears! :hug:

 

[EnviousNails]

Hey,

Thank you all SOOO Much for your advice. It really has helped.

I'm going to go and talk to my landlord today and see if he can help me out a little bit.

Thank you for all of the advertising ideas, its hard when your trying to pick at your brain and when you sit down and really think about it there is heaps more i could be doing.

So far i've had 2 cheese an wine nights, which have been good, like i said, ive done the local news paper, flyer drops and also word of mouth has been the best!! but also ive done the specials to my excisting clients and to the public aswell as on the shop window.

I Still haven't decided - as i REALLY have to go to south africa at the end of the year, its my grans 80th birthday, & bless her heart, she is quite sick and i think really just hanging in there for us.

but i am really wondering if setting up at home and still doing the advertising and everything would maybe work out better? i wouldn't have so much stress on the overheads, aswell as going mobile...

hmm..tough dession..but, i'll get there.

THANK YOU all so much again for your help.xo

 

[littlegrohl]

setting up at home and going mobile is ok.. but you have a space, and as you said relatively cheap rent!
I work from home.. and that comes with a whole new set of problems.. i do the odd mobile.. but lugging all my bits and pieces was annoying (for me)

what you do from here is your choice.. but i have to say, if i wasn't a full time mum, i would kill to have my own space.. away from home and ... everything...

I would think, that its easier to get clients when you have a space in a business area then when working from home.. No matter what i do advertising wise, it almost always comes down to word of mouth, but getting the clients in, to your home, is a battle itself.

either way, no matter what you do.. its hard work in the beginning.

good luck.

 

[Lavander Rose]

Hello there

I just wanted to let you know that you are not on your own:hug:

I am in the same position as you hun, I opended a salon up just renting within a hairdressers 3 months ago.

I had my lovely glossy leaflets proffessionally printed with a discount and its been going really well BUT i do have quite days even weeks were i am there on my own getting frustrated just like you.

In the end i had to get out so i let the hairdressing staff know that i would be out for an hour and if a booking came in to ring or text me.

This is what i did: I took a load of leaflets in a big bag selected were i was going to go drove there then just stood there handing leaflets out to the public, walked into shops, offices, leisure centres, doctors surgerys, anywhere that i could think of i went lol.

The thing is it will always be hard when you first start out babe, you have to get yourself out there get yourself noticed clients wont come to you if they dont know who you are or where you are, ive realized that now.

I know its really hard and it wont get any easier once those clients start coming in you will be busy and you will be knackered.

PLEASE stick with it I dont do nails but i do holistic therapy and beauty and its a great proffession to be in whatever route your in.

Stay possitive and it will happen you have to be strong, im alot older than you and that probably helps, but regardless of the age if this is what you want to do for a long time to come you have to stick with it DONT give up things will improve soon.:hug:

 

[Mrs.Clooney]

Can't offer more than has already been mentioned except to say that you are brave to have taken on so much at such a young age! But good on you!

I take it you are ex South African? Me too :green:. I'm 21 +++++++++ so I am going to say this for what it's worth ..... if you were my daughter, I would advise you to take a break and go back to SA to visit your lovely but ederly gran. Have a good think about all you have done and all you still plan to do. Then set up from home added in with mobile as you suggested.

Don't look on closing down you current salon as failure, because it is not! Look on it as experience. You were willing to give it a go whereas loads of young peeps your age would be happy to do nothing worthwhile which required any effort. You should be well proud :hug:.

Best wishes x

 

[EnviousNails]

Hey,


Yup i am, i was only 4 when i left south africa, but LOVE IT over there! My Parntner is maori (Newzealand) & he hasnt been over there before, im dying for him to meet my family and see what south africa is really like, and its quite different from what you see on tv.


Im going to give it 6weeks, the bussiness. I KNOW, that isn't long. im going to advertise my bum off! Run a special, go and hand out flyers, EVERYTHING everyone has suggested, then look at getting a parttime job aswell. Just so i havent got the stress of money for the trip. Good idea?

Thanks again everyone, who has helped offer me advise. i really have taken it in and ive even printed this forum out so i can tick off everything.

xo:lol:

 

[emma_168]

just been looking at the pics of your salon - its lovely and looks like u have put in alot of time and effort, I personally would stick it out little longer maybe have an offer each month and then switch it, or you could try doing a pre paid package for your sunbed- where they would pay for a course of tanning upfront.

I no how you feel tho, im slightly newer to this than you so I'm focusing on hurdle at a time, got to think summer is approaching and with it so wil the new clients!

hope it works out xxxx

 

[pinkren68]

hi hun have you thought of doing some sort of party plan along side your business i have a treatment room and do party plan for virgin vie at home products, its fab,i use the products in my treatments, i retail them so earn from them and when i do parties i promote my treatments and when i do my treatments i promote the products. it works hand in hand is there a product you use or can use or retail it could be cosmetics or jewellery. another idea is if you have a local avon rep offer her a freebie to pop a flyer in her catalogue weekly.i am envious of you at 17 you are a star,i wish i could have a salon but time and funds do not allow maybe one day. goodluck...........

 

[EnviousNails]

Wow..Thats a great idea!!

All of the ideas everyone has offered are great!!

Im defintally alot more motivated now!

But there is still the worry of southafrica.. and money for that.

Im going to hand out my cv - still wanting to stay in the beauty industry, to places and just see what offers come along for jobs, and then do nails part time - i havent yet 100% decided from home/mobile or from the salon.


THANK YOU ALL AGAIN SO MUCH!:lol: