Self employed, 7 year itch or just need a holiday? Advice appreciated

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diane86

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Apr 12, 2010
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Somerset, UK
Hi everyone.

So I'm self employed beauty therapist and have been for 7 years. I work in a back room of a hair salon which has had a few changes over the years of me being here. Both myself and the hairdresser are seperate businesses. We are on the outskirts of a town and the only ones here so big bonus that I get a lot of trade as no competition directly near by. My landlady has just put the property on the market to sell as investment only (3rd time in 7 years!! ) I wouldn't of necessarily picked the hairdresser that works here. Personality clashes and she has a knack of taking over areas and jeez she tells all of her clients her problems that I hear on a daily basis.

To get to the point. I'm literally not wanting to be at work every day which isn't great I know. It may be that I'm due some time off (away in September thank the Lord!) or is it really that I've lost my interest in my job or super hormonal?? I'm proud of my work and happy with my results and most of my clients but I just know that how I feel must be rubbing off on some of my clients as much as you try not to. If I was to move premises (I live 7miles from work) I know that I would lose so many clients as they wouldn't travel. It would mean having to start up a successful business all over again. Has anyone had any experience with anything like this??

Sorry for the long post.
Thanks for being my sounding board.
Diane x
 
Sounds like a bit of everything lovely :( I do think we give so much of ourselves to our clients, emotionally and physically that we forget we need rest and relaxation too so I think you are in desperate need of a holiday. If nothing else it will give you some breathing space and a clarity of what you want when you get back. If you come back to work full of inspiration and enthusiasm again then that's great, if you find yourself still in a funk then maybe it's time to move on. You will know when you come back, it's amazing what a few days distance can do.

Don't assume your current clients won't travel to you if you move, we all know the struggles to find a decent technician, we're worth making a effort for :D

You've done it once, you can surely do it again, it can be a great opportunity for change too, be it prices, treatments, logo, whatever. Change is often good once embraced.

Have a great holiday, let us know how it all goes
 
I agree that starting with a vacation could give you time to reflect and you might come back with inspiration or a plan of attack. I definitely wouldn't jump ship too hastily - starting from scratch with a new location and building up a new client base can be difficult and expensive.

I'm wondering if there could be a way to be a bit creative with your solution? What is your area like? Who are your customers and what do they do? Maybe a large local company would hire you as a benefit to their employees (some companies in my area have personal trainers on staff that do this). Maybe you could have a travel kit and do appointments at businesses around town. There might be options that could get you out of the office sometimes, even if you don't completely vacate your current location, perhaps?
 
The salon where I worked, the hair dresser was exactly the same. It was torture listening to her problems all day every day. I left.
 

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