Utility bills in a hair salon?

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Louise Clarke

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So a friend and I have made the plunge and have decided to open a hair. We shall be having 5 hair stations, 2 back washes and 1 beauty room.

We have managed to get rough monthly prices on most things but struggling to get an idea of electricity, gas and water prices! Can anyone give us a rough idea what we shall be paying?

Many thanks guys
 
Here’s a recent thread asking a similar question. The @TheDuchess has provided a very helpful answer to get you started.

https://www.salongeek.com/threads/o...xpenses-outgoings-advice.332238/#post-2660819
However, before you sign anything, consider getting a detailed partnership agreement drawn up by a solicitor.
You need to know where you stand legally should either of your circumstances change: short term health issues - e.g. broken arm, long term ill health, babies, new hobbies, extended holidays etc.

You don’t want to become bankrupt because you were left covering all the bills by yourself. There’s been a few threads on here asking for advice when partnerships have failed and they hadn’t bothered getting legal advice at the outset, because they completely trusted their friendship.
 
Could not agree more with AcidPerm about the importance of getting advice and a contract for a partnership agreement. Another point to consider is if you trade as one company you will be liable for Vat once your combined turnover hits £85k. It you stay as independents with a business arrangement splitting bills you can each take £85k before registering for VAT.

Regarding utility bills it really depends on how large and insulated your space is. If you have a large glass window and lots of people coming in and out it will cost you more to heat and cool the space.

Your water heating will depend on how much hair washing and rinsing you do and how you dry hair. There is an eco aware training scheme set up by Prof Denise Baden of Southampton University. Adopting the changes identified in the Sustainable Salon Certification saves the average four-seat salon 286,000 litres of water, 24150 kWh of energy and £5,300 a year. Note the phrase "save" it suggests that salons spend quite a bit on their utility bills. The training is online, free and only takes a few hours and gives you plenty of food for thought.

For an information overview see here https://esrc.ukri.org/news-events-a...ting-carbon-footprints-in-the-service-sector/

And the training and certification is
https://ecohairandbeauty.com

And there's an interesting ted talk here

I don't do hair so I can't really help - we get through 2-3 loo rolls a week and our water bill is £18.50 a month. I've worked really hard to get our heating bills down with insulation and Eco infrared heating but we still spend £250 a month in winter and about £100/£150 in summer depending on how many cooling fans we switch on. This doesn't include heating water for hair washing which is the biggest cost.

i use far infrared heating panels in my salon which are the cheapest solution for me, I believe you can get infrared water heaters as well. At present gas is by far the cheapest form of heating but that is likely to change as the electricity grid supply is getting cleaner and pricing reflects pollution costs as well as supply costs.

My salon gets uncomfortably hot in heatwaves because we face the morning sun and have a large glass window. I'm looking into fitting blinds or awnings to reduce the hear and it turns out that we also benefit from "free" solar heating in the cold months of the year so I need a summer only shading option, not a blot the sun out all year round option.

Lots to think about. If either of you are working in a salon at present, discreetly read the electricity meters every week. If you do some sums on energy consumption and number of chairs you should get at least some feel of costs. Electricity is around 25p per kilowatt.

Hope this is helpful. Good luck
 
Could not agree more with AcidPerm about the importance of getting advice and a contract for a partnership agreement. Another point to consider is if you trade as one company you will be liable for Vat once your combined turnover hits £85k. It you stay as independents with a business arrangement splitting bills you can each take £85k before registering for VAT.

Regarding utility bills it really depends on how large and insulated your space is. If you have a large glass window and lots of people coming in and out it will cost you more to heat and cool the space.

Your water heating will depend on how much hair washing and rinsing you do and how you dry hair. There is an eco aware training scheme set up by Prof Denise Baden of Southampton University. Adopting the changes identified in the Sustainable Salon Certification saves the average four-seat salon 286,000 litres of water, 24150 kWh of energy and £5,300 a year. Note the phrase "save" it suggests that salons spend quite a bit on their utility bills. The training is online, free and only takes a few hours and gives you plenty of food for thought.

For an information overview see here https://esrc.ukri.org/news-events-a...ting-carbon-footprints-in-the-service-sector/

And the training and certification is
https://ecohairandbeauty.com

And there's an interesting ted talk here

I don't do hair so I can't really help - we get through 2-3 loo rolls a week and our water bill is £18.50 a month. I've worked really hard to get our heating bills down with insulation and Eco infrared heating but we still spend £250 a month in winter and about £100/£150 in summer depending on how many cooling fans we switch on. This doesn't include heating water for hair washing which is the biggest cost.

i use far infrared heating panels in my salon which are the cheapest solution for me, I believe you can get infrared water heaters as well. At present gas is by far the cheapest form of heating but that is likely to change as the electricity grid supply is getting cleaner and pricing reflects pollution costs as well as supply costs.

My salon gets uncomfortably hot in heatwaves because we face the morning sun and have a large glass window. I'm looking into fitting blinds or awnings to reduce the hear and it turns out that we also benefit from "free" solar heating in the cold months of the year so I need a summer only shading option, not a blot the sun out all year round option.

Lots to think about. If either of you are working in a salon at present, discreetly read the electricity meters every week. If you do some sums on energy consumption and number of chairs you should get at least some feel of costs. Electricity is around 25p per kilowatt.

Hope this is helpful. Good luck

That's incredibly helpful- I'm going to look into this too.

A word to the wise- an awning that stops the sun getting to your glass will be more effective than a blind that is trying to deflect the light that has already been heated by your glass.
 
So a friend and I have made the plunge and have decided to open a hair. We shall be having 5 hair stations, 2 back washes and 1 beauty room.

We have managed to get rough monthly prices on most things but struggling to get an idea of electricity, gas and water prices! Can anyone give us a rough idea what we shall be paying?

Many thanks guys

I can't help with this, however ensure you source your energy from a commercial broker- many Utilty Warehouse partners also do commercial ( My mate does this). A broker works on your behalf to get the best deal, and they can help with water, and pdq machines too.
 
The Oracle, thanks very much
A word to the wise- an awning that stops the sun getting to your glass will be more effective than a blind that is trying to deflect the light that has already been heated by your glass.
. Sounds so obvious when you explain it.

My issue is that an awning will be a lot more expensive to install and require listed building consent. Will a blind make much of a difference do you think?
 
The Oracle, thanks very much . Sounds so obvious when you explain it.

My issue is that an awning will be a lot more expensive to install and require listed building consent. Will a blind make much of a difference do you think?

An awning will stop the light hitting the glass and being heated whilst going through it.
A blind stops the glare of the light but doesn't prevent the light being heated.

If you'll be there longer term it would be worth exploring the expense. If you could reduce your cooling bills by £100 a month for an average 6 months a year how many years would that need to pay off the investment?
You could also get your salon logo and details on it as marketing, and potentially in the summer create a little shaded seating area for clients who are waiting if your council allows such a thing.
 

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