starting up first time?

[emily22]

Hi, I am thinking of setting up business for the first time. I want to go mobile but at the moment am only qualified to do manicures and pedicures, i can do the treatments with it, eg, paraffin wax, hot oil, heated mitts, salt scrubs etc.
I have had quite a few local people asking me for prices etc but havent got a clue where to start.
I am going to do the nail extension course at some point, but would like to do something with what i have now..

Can anyone tell me whether it would be worth me starting up now? I dont mind if i dont have a hug turnover, just a little something extra will be good, i work 8 hours a week now in a shop and would continue that. From reading on here there seems to be a lot of work involved in setting up the business, what i want to know is does all the effort and work involved (eg, tax etc) worth it when just offerring manicures and pedicures? Do you also have to do a health and safety report?

I will only be going to peoples homes - i wont be doing any treatments in my house, my home address will obviously have to be the address on my business cards, but this wont mean i have to inform the council or anything will it?

any advice you can offer would be soooo appreciated!

 

[janeawallace]

Ihave set up a mobile business but i havent put my address on my business cards, i have just started off with manicures and nail extensions and have had lots of interest also i can gauge what other treatments they would like as i want to do pedicures eye brows etc.

Prices i got by phoning round other mobile techs and aking them a bit lower, done some mates etc and give discount with any one who stays with me.

I have given myself a year to get it all going and hopefully start making a profit

good luck

 

[purpleivy]

Why would you want to go cheaper than other people? You need to charge the going rate in your area, otherwise ALL clients will end up thinking that cheap is what you pay for a mani or pedi (or other ) service. Then you will end up being paid less than you should be. Have confidence in yourself. you have good qualifications in ITEC, so must be well trained and proficient. Take a pride in what you do.

 

[purpleivy]

.... and my mates pay the going rate. They get privileges in cheaper treatments when I am doing case studies for portfolio for courses, as I 'm not able to charge full price for those for insurance reasons. THe other people that don't pay the going rate are local therapist friends with whom I have an arrangement. If we have spare time in our books, then we will treat each other half price and reciprocate.

 

[emily22]

thanks for the replies, i completely get what you are saying about charging the going rate. I thought about offering a 10% discount for first time clients or maybe a free treatment to get started, i have had a few people asking already without me doing offers but thought it would be a good idea to try and get a wider client base. Obviously this offer would be limited to one oer client!!

Like i said before, at the moment I wont be offering nail extensions as i havent done the course for that yet. So it will only be manicures and pedicures + treatments. I will be doing a nail art course soon too so this will be an additional thing to my business in the near future.
I rang around for insurance, i had a quote for £30 for the year, this covered £1 million for public liabity and some other basics that i cant think if from the top of my head! It didnt cover theft of my products though, the excess was only £50, it also covered legal help and things like damage to clients property (eg, spilliage on carpet etc). Is there any other essentials to insurance that id need?

Is it really worth me starting this all up for manicures and pedicures or should i wait until ive done my other courses?

If i wait, can i not then do the odd job without regsistering with IR? Or do you have to register straight away?

Does everyone else do their own accounts? Is it simple enough to do or would you say its best to get an accountant to start with?

 

[purpleivy]

If you start with the few people that you have found, then maybe offer them the 10% when one of their referrals has a treatment with you. That way there is some motivation for them to come again. If you offer the discount to first time customers they may not feel the need to return if someone else down the road is doing a first time offer for new clients. Word of mouth is a powerful thing, let them do your advertising for you! I had to make this decision too about whether to start or not. My treatment room isn't ready yet and circumstances not that easy at home because of a major extension being built. But all the time I'm talking to folks about what I do and friends are starting to come for treatments. THey know that when the time comes I'll be taking anyone who wants a treatment, but at the moment I'm limiting myself.,

 

[purpleivy]

You need to keep a record of incomings and outgoings, if you are only doing a little bit it shouldn't be too onerous. I filed my self assessment for the first time today, did it online. Income from dh's business in dividends, PAYE 2 day job, bank interest and Loss from self employed manis, pedis, etc. It was easy enough to do, income, less allowable expenses.

 

[bombini]

I think you should go for it !

You will still need to register as self employed even if you are only doing a few treatments but you've got 3 months to do it from your first treatment.

My advice would be to work out how much you've got to spend and decide if its going to be worth it.

I think its also worth checking if the local people that have asked about prices are genuinely interested or are they just after cheap treatments ? I had loads of friends & colleagues express interest when I was setting up and I didn't see them for dust when I gave them the price list !! Have money set aside for advertising to,

 

[emily22]

Thanks again for your quick replies! Purpleivy - is it only the inland revenue you need to regsiter with? Do you have to do a health and safety risk assesment? I was reading on the net that every business has to do one by law, if so what sort of thing do you have to do?

 

[emily22]

hi bombini, thanks for your reply, i wouldnt have to really sepnd much at all to start up as i already have my kit sorted, i went well over the top when i did my training and bought just about everything. Only thing i would need is a steriliser or some sort. When i did my training i was told that barbacide is sufficient, but ive aslo read about glass bead sterilisers etc.. I have a spray from 'the edge' that is a hospital grade sterilising spray, but would i need anything more intense than the barbacide and spray? Or is this enough for being mobile?

 

[purpleivy]

Business support, information and advice | Business Link

This is the business link website address. I found them very useful as a source of information when setting up. You can get the core of the info as a book from your local business link office. There's a link on the website to find where your local office is. There are people there who can help you as well.

 

[blossom]

I definitely think you ought to go for it, and charge at least the going rate; people can think you're rubbish if you're too cheap, and take it from me it's hard as hell to raise prices when you've pitched too low and a lot easier to price higher and make offers . . .

I started mobile and now work from home as its got busier and busier and makes more sense to stay in one place and let them come to me now. Good luck with your business. x

 

[purpleivy]

I too decided that I would prefer to work from home, the thought of packing up kit all the time and ending up at client's home without something I need was just too much. I am happy to go to someone if they're unable to get out.... disabled or whatever, just that I don't want to do it on a regular basis.

Agree that if you start cheap, you'll more than likely end up staying cheap. OK, so when you're a novice, things will take a bit longer, but you still end up with the price for that particular treatment if you charge realistically.

 

[poppy2]

Anyone starting work as self employed whether part time or full time needs to register with the Revenue within 3 months of their start date or you will be fined.

You can do your own tax return but you are not tax trained and you may miss soemthign to your advantage such as offsetting losses etc if applicable. I woudl recomend you either get an accountant ( money well spent and is not a lot for veyr small set of account sif you are starting) or if you take your figures to the Revenue if you are only doing a small amount then they will help you but again they only do basics and wont tell you of any extra information that may be beneficial

Hope this helps
sharen