Tired of running the salon business

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Joined
Mar 3, 2018
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Location
Kent
Hello everyone.

It may be a long one so brace yourselves.

I have been running my salon for 11 years now and for the last couple of years I’ve found myself not really enjoying it anymore.
I love the hairdressing side that’s not the problem it’s just everything else from staff issue to worrying about money to clients giving me grief.
I feel so lonely most of time even though I have people around me I feel everyone is just selfish and only care about themselves most of the time. I mean staff don’t ever really know how you pay them they just expect to get paid.

I’ve found the last year I’ve employed a couple more people but no more clients have come in. One is leaving soon as she is pregnant so that’s a relief and the other is a work experience girl. The both don’t cost me the earth but I’ve really felt the added strain. I don’t feel I can get rid of work ex girl as she’s so close to the end of her course and she needs the job to pass. I’m not sure it would make enough of a difference anyway.

I’m at a cross roads In July I can put my break clause in my lease in to play and I just have no idea what to do?
I speak to my partner a lot and he worries that I won’t earn as much as I do now but for me I kinda don’t care. I’m not happy here anymore and my heart isn’t in it.

My next step is to make that tough choice and I’m scared. It’s all I’ve know for the last 11 years and if I do give it up it would mean a massive back step.

Has anyone been in this position and has given up the salon and decided to just work for someone again?

Also what will happen regarding my girls do I need to pay them redundancies? How do I go about selling the business? Do I need property holder permission before I try to sell it as she owns the property? How do I go about selling all my stuff within salon?

I know the last person who owned it didn’t have much luck selling it and the property owner wasn’t prepared to give him any money for all the fixture and fittings.

Help!! Any advice would be great!
 
I feel for you, it almost sounds like you've made your mind up but need reassuring. This may be all you've know for the last 11 years, but do you also want it to be for the next 20 odd years where you feel down and low, because life is short and I'm sure you would deeply regret it. If you've got a chance to get out, get out! There's no reason you have to go back to being employed, you could maybe just go and rent a chair somewhere else and stay self employed. You will have the beauty of still being your own boss choosing your own hours, days, clients but without the stress of paying staff covering the overheads of the salon and all the other necessitys. Straight away your over heads will be minimised, so even if you lose a few clients by the sound of it you will be no worse off as you won't be paying all the added extras of a salon. I can't help in terms of selling a shop. But I wish you the best of luck! And remember clients are very loyal! They will follow there hairdresser! X
 
Hi, I had a salon for 28yrs (since 20yrs old) fed up with overheads constantly increasing I decided to go mobile and haven't looked back. I have a large client base as 99% of my salon customers went along with my change of plan! I spent a lot of money over the years on someone elses property but I just walked away without a second thought. You do have to discuss plans to sell with your landlord. I decided not to sell my business as it's mainly the goodwill that's sold and I was taking mine. The purchaser of your business can draw up a contract which prevents you from opening up/working within a certain distance around the salon I was informed. I went through a stage of losing interest in my salon but my changing plans were the catalyst I needed,and my clients support made me realise that the former 28yrs hard work was worth it. I sincerely hope you make the decision that's right for you and everything works out. Sometimes we go in directions we never imagine!!
 
Hi, I had a salon for 28yrs (since 20yrs old) fed up with overheads constantly increasing I decided to go mobile and haven't looked back. I have a large client base as 99% of my salon customers went along with my change of plan! I spent a lot of money over the years on someone elses property but I just walked away without a second thought. You do have to discuss plans to sell with your landlord. I decided not to sell my business as it's mainly the goodwill that's sold and I was taking mine. The purchaser of your business can draw up a contract which prevents you from opening up/working within a certain distance around the salon I was informed. I went through a stage of losing interest in my salon but my changing plans were the catalyst I needed,and my clients support made me realise that the former 28yrs hard work was worth it. I sincerely hope you make the decision that's right for you and everything works out. Sometimes we go in directions we never imagine!!

Thank you for your reply. The only thing with that is that I think cause I don’t live wher my salon is I would maybe only do s couple of days a week there and work near to where I live. What did you do with all your stuff in salon? I wouldn’t want to just leave it there for my shop owner as she’s not very nice and I can imagine she maybe just get a manager in there and it would be all set up for her so I don’t really wanna do that.
 
Thanks lizzy for taking the time to reply I think your right about me needing reassuring and yes life is too short! I just fed up but scared of taking a back step. I must be brave x
 
One of my clients bought my bed and sauna for her converted garage,she has several friends around to her 'spa' and pays me to go round and wax/facials etc so I have been v lucky. My other equipment was near to being replaced so I took it to amenity site. I just made decision to move on so I did! I don't have a family to consider so it made my decision easier
 
Why not sell your business as a going concern? You'd sell what remains of the lease plus a new one if the landlord or new owner wants (that's for them to negotiate). You would sell the business, client base and all your stock and fixtures. The landlord should agree as it saves them having an empty premises or having to fill the shop and the lease themselves. First stop would be a commercial estate agent.
 
I think I would put some of it in storage too and sell it separately as I go cause there’s some newer bits in my salon plus I do have an older sun-bed. Just so much to consider. Do you lose money or have to pay a lot out to get out?
 
Why not sell your business as a going concern? You'd sell what remains of the lease plus a new one if the landlord or new owner wants (that's for them to negotiate). You would sell the business, client base and all your stock and fixtures. The landlord should agree as it saves them having an empty premises or having to fill the shop and the lease themselves. First stop would be a commercial estate agent.
Yes I have thought of that as I do get things through the door sometimes. I just worry I won’t be able to sell as my old boss didn’t have any luck but maybe times are different now. I ended up buying it off him for cheap as a last resort. Plus if I sold I prob wouldn’t be able to work in the area on certain client that really wanted just me still? Also do they take on my staff Also?
 
Yes I have thought of that as I do get things through the door sometimes. I just worry I won’t be able to sell as my old boss didn’t have any luck but maybe times are different now. I ended up buying it off him for cheap as a last resort. Plus if I sold I prob wouldn’t be able to work in the area on certain client that really wanted just me still? Also do they take on my staff Also?

It depends. An agent can advise you on the best route to take. It may be that you can sell the business as a going concern (fixtures & fittings, staff, clients) or they may advise you to just sell the lease (you'll have to sell your contents and get rid of your staff). You can always add a clause in the sale contract allowing you to work on a particular client if it's important.
 
It depends. An agent can advise you on the best route to take. It may be that you can sell the business as a going concern (fixtures & fittings, staff, clients) or they may advise you to just sell the lease (you'll have to sell your contents and get rid of your staff). You can always add a clause in the sale contract allowing you to work on a particular client if it's important.
Thank you for your reply. I appreciate the advice and maybe I’ll take a look into selling it further.
 
Maybe it’s worth to give your salon one last chance.
If you love what you do, but the operational mess is killing you, maybe it’s a good idea to try some Salon Software to automate most of routine daily work. For example, good software can manage you appointments, automated reminders, schedules, client and employee records, financial reports.
There is a lot of good technologies to help you
Anyway, just give it a thought. And I can consult you concerning the issue.

Hope it was helpful.
 

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