Setting up in buisness

[fortunata]

:hug: Hi i am currently in my last year of beauty therapy at college doing level 3 and in the process of setting up my own treatment room and working from home, offering nail & beauty services, i have now seen a small shop to let and inquired about it earlier the rent is fairly cheap and the location is pretty good with a hairdressers next door too, so i now have this mad idea to go for the shop, i have a bit of salon experience but this would be fantanstic but so scarey and different at the same time, and a lot to take on, i would need to build the buisness up from scratch, as i would from home the only difference is i dont have to pay rent at home which is a big saving but a shop is so much better, i think maybe i should play it safe and work from home until i build a clientele but the shop is ideal. Do you think im nuts for even considering it ? Would love to know what other people would do in my situation, any advice on setting up, or tips and tricks of the trade are greatly appreaciated at this very exiting time x

 

[champagne]

Well i may be hung for this but.....if you can afford to do it & it wont get you into massive amounts of debt....if you feel confident enough then i would say go for it....

just work out to the penny how much you need to make a week & if you are sure you can cover this then you may as well...

 

[fortunata]

Hi at the moment i wouldnt be able to cover the rent with treatments, i would pay the rent for the year and then i would have to try and get some of this back through treatments so yes it is a crazy idea as it could go badly wrong for me and make a huge loss. :cry:

 

[Martin Duffy]

Unfortunately a new business is rarely without risk, and even with an existing clientelle you never know how many people will follow you to a new place. The main thing is to know your finances inside out & more importantly to know you have the inner resources to keep plugging away when you're sitting there twiddling your thumbs or cleaning out the cupboards for the hundredth time running - I reckon I had the cleansest floors going for the first year of my business!

It took me yearss to bite the bullet & make the step from employed to self-employed & years again to make the step to having my own clinic - but I have never regretted it, except perhaps that I didn't do it a lot longer ago!

 

[champagne]

If i had a years rent up front then i would do it....

If the locations good and you have made all the other checks.....Then give it a go...

The salon will become your life ! lol

 

[fortunata]

thanks for replys it is hard to know what to do for the best it is a big risk, and i will look into it further before commiting myself to anything. I know this sounds realy stupid but what do i need to do legally if i said yes, and what things should i be looking out for like in terms of aggreement x

 

[Violet Star]

To be honest I would wait and get yourself established first. I.e go mobile or home based for a few years build up your client base and make sure its strong before you move onto having a salon.
As you know opening up any kind of business can go really well or just fail but the difference is setting up at home your not at much of a loss where as if you dive in and open a salon and it doesnt work out then you have lost allot of money! Also with the recession doesnt help too much

You also need to remember about advertising this salon i know it advertises itself but you do also need to advertise and have some experience or knowledge on this.

I know how it feels when you come across a great opportunity to have a salon (i have) and you just want to do it and go for it! But sometimes you really need to sit back and have a deep think about it.

Also remember you would need to buy all the products for your salon which is rather expensive especially if your using a great product and of course you would want to use a higher brand for your salon.

But the choice is upto you really but my advice would be to wait get yourself established at home or mobile get your client base built up for at least a year or 2 and then go ahead and open up a salon.

hths x

 

[fortunata]

Your right, thanks for the advice and its true the idea is great but i shouldnt run before i can walk and one day hopefully i can have my dream salon i have decided to be homebased, at least if it dont work out i wont be in debt. Thanks all for all the advice given, you all seem like realy nice people, i have found this site very useful to me x:hug::hug:

 

[beauty123]

i would wait, and build up your client base. Ia m a big beliver in faite and if its meant to be it still will be once you are fully ready and if its not there, than it wasnt meant to be and there will be another that crops up. gud luck what ever you decide

 

[fortunata]

Thanks for the reply, it is best to wait. x

 

[blutopaz]

i am currently in the process of setting up my own hair and beauty salon, it has taken me til now and a strong clientele to feel ready for the commitment of a salon, even tho its what iv wanted since the word go.

i have the experience of being self employed as i have rented space for the last 6 1/2 years were i am, but as i have said its taken til now for me to be in the right place to do this.

even with my strong clientele i will have to rent out to make sure all the costs are covered, i couldnt do this if i was starting from scratch.

at the end of the day, if u did go for it its only money, an expensive idea that didnt work, but without the experience u are biting off an awful lot.

the rent is only part of ur cost, all the bills u get for home....ur'l get another lot for work. where as having a home salon will cost next to nothing that u already pay out. have u considered letting in a salon, that way ur pay a fee for being there without the stress of all the other bills, rates and so on.

we cant tell u what to do, u need to follow ur heart and ur head. write down all ur pro's and cons on all sides, once its written down its alot easier to make sense.

i wish u every success what ever u choose

 

[fortunata]

Thankyou thats realy nice :hug: x

 

[angelina221]

I run my own hair and beauty salon and my rent is cheap but it is still only 1/6th of my monthly outgoings. You have to pay rates, water, electric, fone, accountant, advertising, solicitors fees, stock, refurb to mention but a few.
You need to make sure you have enough money to see you through the first year.
Most businesses wan't make a profit in the first year so if you can't afford it then don't do it.
Hopefully you will get a good reputation whilst working from home and when you have accrued enough money then you can maybe think about getting your own place.

 

[fortunata]

Thanku for the advice, everyones been realy helful much appreaciated x

 

[madamgooch]

I am a new start business (last October), working from home (salon standard treatment room). I have found things very slow. I have a few regulars now but certainly wouldn't be able to afford rates, water, electricity, etc, on what I am earning. I have also found advertising a bit of a nightmare - have to work out what works and what doesn't which isn't easy. One of the girls mentioned product lines. I went for a top of the range product line which wasn't cheap and all the equipment costs, fitting out the room, stationery, additional training for specific products, etc. The costs really mount up and that is just for a room at home. Mind you the upside is that I can work strange hours as I don't have to travel and can take any kind of appointment at any time of the day which at the moment I need to do in order to build up a client base.

HTH.

 

[fortunata]

Thanks, i am going to work from home i think il play it safe, it is hard i know, it was a mad idea but hopefully in a few years time, the amount im spending now is mad but i dont belive in cutting corners, if you want to be the best than you have to spend the money, thats my motto, my clients will have the best products i can give them thats half the battle and the rest is up to me. Thanku for your reply:hug:xx

 

[fortunata]

Hi not sure if you got my reply! thanks for your reply, i do agree im gunna work from home its gunna be tough i know. i think u need good products and the rest is up to me im not naive, and it takes good dear determination but i hope one day with all my knowlelege i will get there cause i want to be the best not just another therapist, thanku for ur advice xx:hug: