Thinking of closing my salon

[stephib]

I'm looking for some advice......I'm thinking of closing my beauty salon. We have been open almost a year which I know is not a long time ìn business but my lease is coming up for renewal and things have been really challenging. January and February have been awful and I feel like I'm at the stage now when money is really running out and I cant afford to spend the money I need to on advertising and training for new treatments etc so i feel like I'm stuck. I would love to keep going but i don't know how I can when im not breaking even and my outgoings are so high. I just dont want to feel like I've given up too easily and regret it but i dont know what else i can do. Would love to hear any advice from anyone that's been in a similar situation.

 

[thelilyretreat]

I wouldn't be disheartened by January and February. It's the same everywhere. Ido most of my advertising on Facebook, and get a lot of business from that, it's not expensive and gets out to a lot of people. Is there any way you can cut your outgoings down? Do you keep an eye on your competition and make sure your prices are competitive?

 

[Missy87]

Is there any space where you could get a hairdresser to rent a chair?

 

[surf girl]

Don't give up! I've been open 18 months and am only just now busy enough to not have to stress over keeping the place running, litterally in the last few weeks business has been good enough for me to know I've done right to keep going, Xmas was a little quieter than last year for me and that did make me doubt myself.

Can you lower any of your outgoings? Look at EVERY outgoing you have & maybe reNegotiate rent with your landlord?

Market yourself differently? I.e write a list of everything you can do to make money, then list every possible type of person that would purchase each service, then work out where they hang out and where they shop etc and target each group individually.

Give money off to every customer that refers a friend I usually do £5 off the new customer always spends enough to cover my loss

Rent out to self employed people, if your salon has space for more than one therapist get a self employed person in, be it hair or nails or beauty put them on weekly rent and you'll guarantee yourself an income every week.

As a new business owner you probably won't be taking a wage for a very long time, but imo as long as the bills on the shop are paid and I'm breaking even that's good enough for me.

Do you use facebook? I ask clients to put up a selfie and tag me, it's free marketing and reaches a huge audience in your area.

How big are your outgoings currently? Maybe if rent is really high could you relocate? Also the budget yesterday said they were cutting out business rates for a lot of places so that may benefit you soon if your rates are high?

 

[Chrysalis]

Can you run a groupon/wowcher offer to increase your visibility?

 

[daydreams01]

I am also just Over18 months in and only just started to break even since start of this year. (That doesn't include paying myself a regular wage yet though!). It takes time but every month I compare it to the same month last year and we are doing so much better. Everyone I spoke to told me it takes 3 years to get established and that year 1 you make a loss, yr 2 maybe break even and yr 3 start making profit so it seems I am going to plan. Everything starts picking up now business wise so try and at least get through the summer and after that if you still feel it's not working at least you will know you gave it a good try.

 

[squidgernetball]

Agree with the above.

Look at why you started this. Are you getting repeat bookings and hanging onto the clients you have? If clients aren't returning you need to look at why.

I don't like Groupon etc as I think they totally devalue our industry.

Do you have a USP? What makes you different or better to the salon up the road or in town? Push those differences!

February was pretty bad for us, but just as the daffs are blooming and the sun comes out, the phone starts ringing. Try and hang on for 6 more weeks.

Negotiate a temporary extension on your lease. Ask for a rent reduction. You can only ask.

Vic x

Sent from my SM-N910F using SalonGeek mobile app

 

[Chrysalis]

Maybe a few suggestions here to consider before throwing in the towel? Not every suggestion may suit you but worth a try if you truly don't want to shut up shop.

Are you getting all business rate relief? Are there grants available in your area?

Also having a look with a fresh eye from a clients perspective, is the salon nipping clean, are staff friendly, clean, professional and presentable?

Could you get some honest feedback from someone, rather like the hotel inspector?

Is your service great?

Are you marketing effectively, are your prices correct?

Lots to consider good luck let us know what you decide

 

[onthelashmobile]

Hi

Can you give us an idea of what you do at the moment? Is it just beauty? What treatments do you offer? Do you offer nail services? Do you have any extra space in your salon that you could utilise or is it pretty choca block?

This information is helpful for us to provide relevant ideas and suggestions.