Giving my salon up and going mobile.

[ellie82]

Hi all I've had my salon for 8 years and recently decided to give it up and go mobile. I have had problems with staff over the years and don't really like managing people as I like to give my clients all of my attention and I don't really like the stress of the huge rent I have and the salon is quite a distance from home... I have never gone mobile before and am just wondering if anybody has Any advice for me pleeeaase xx

 

[Annemarie]

Aww that's a shame about your salon but if it's stressing you out that much maybe it is time to go in a new direction and become mobile. At least you will have less overheads. Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[ktoso888]

There are loads of good threads on forums here. If u type in"mobile" then loads should pop up, good tips on storage solutions and lots of others!! HTH x

 

[Pip]

Firstly good luck with your new mobile adventure....I love the flexability of being mobile after so many years of set hours!
The one thing that stands out for me when i became mobile was finding clients...because when you work in a salon it doesnt matter that you have never met your new clients...but being mobile i think changes things! (although im assuming you will be taking your clients with you so this may not apply)
When I 1st went mobile i put ads on free web pages/yell.com as well as doing a local leaflet drop.....now 99% of this was positive but I did have a few oddball calls (perv calls in fact)...and this got my mind thinking about when a new client phones and i then go to their house am i potentially putting myself in danger???? After all i dont know them from Adam!!
I told all my friends/clients that if they recommended me to a friend/family and that friend had their hair done by me I would give them £5 off their next appointment...this has worked a treat and everyone I do is now a friend of someone else I do and that makes me feel a tad safer.
I wonder if im just a paranoid type or if any other mobile stylists feel the same!!

 

[ellie82]

Thanks for your replies.....that has been one of my worries about going mobile, I don't do mens hair but I suppose there are oddball ladies out ther too...:-/ I am hoping to keep a few of my old clientele but try make new clients in my area. A bit scary !!! I keep doing courses to make sure I can do all sorts when it happens. Eeek x

 

[rachael204]

I gave up my salon after over 3 years and now work from home - best move I ever made for me and my business (and health)! My time is now my own, if I decide to take a day off I don't have to get someone to watch the shop, worry about missing calls etc.

And the surprising upside was that I am busier than ever! I have to make way more of an effort now with my marketing and self promotion as I no longer have a high street presence so its all word of mouth and local advertising.

I had massive overheads in the shop - over £1200 per month with the rent and bills before stock, any wages and training etc. The removal of that pressure was immense, it had started to make me ill!

For me a salon was not a good idea whereas for others its a great move so you need to weigh up the pros and cons!

good luck with your decision xx

 

[Buttercup Honey]

Good luck to you on your new venture:0)
Have to say I'm a lot like pip in that I am a bit freaked out by strangers ringing me so for that reason I haven't put my cards anywhere or advertised. I am still getting at least one new client per week just through word of mouth. Might be a bit slow for some but suits me just fine as I am slowly getting a feel for the scene again and don't want to take on too much too soon. X

 

[ellie82]

Thanks!! I feel more confident now I have spoken to other mobiles because all of my hairdresser friend are salon based, my rent is 2000 a month and it's a big black cloud over me...even on a busy week!! I probably won't know myself when it's gone. It's nice to know that I have got like, minded helpful people on here to talk too thanks again fellow geeks xxx

 

[cass1992]

Awesome! Goodluck. Ive been doing hair for 2 yrs & i love it! I cant wait toooo build my client base up & be able to rent my own booth one daay

 

[sarahpoppy24]

Hi im mobile and I realy enjoy it..why not use some of the money you will be saving on rent on advertising in the local paper and then you can put your name, formaly at..(your old salons name) then the good name of the salon will come with you.. im sure your clints will follow you! xxx

 

[SomersetPysco]

good luck - love being mobile.. never boring! x

 

[Tess Warwick]

I don't want to pee on your bonfire but I would suggest you think long and hard before going mobile. I did it for a few years after I sold my first salon and I absolutely hated it. It really wasn't for me.

I hated the fact that generating trade was almost impossible, the work environment wasn't good, in that you work in some very small bathrooms, no electric sockets, you constantly chase time, etc, etc, Your clients have 'got you' for the time you're with them, etc. I have found myself working with a dead body in the room, with a client whose husband had died and who'd never paid a bill in her life, etc, etc. I had some truly bizarre moments ... LOL!

I wish you luck whatever you decide. I'm not trying to disuade you but I would suggest you think very hard before deciding ...

Hi all I've had my salon for 8 years and recently decided to give it up and go mobile. I have had problems with staff over the years and don't really like managing people as I like to give my clients all of my attention and I don't really like the stress of the huge rent I have and the salon is quite a distance from home... I have never gone mobile before and am just wondering if anybody has Any advice for me pleeeaase xx

 

[sarahpoppy24]

OMG a dead body in the room, you have got to be joking, I know that alot of people actualy work for funeral homes etc but for me that would not be acceptable! How awful! Its ALOT more physical than salon work I dont think you realise till you are mobile what being busy does to your body, I feel like some kind of work man sometimes sweating over a shower lugging around heavy bags all day! But the freedom is amazing and I havent found getting clients a problem, I mean there are only so many hours in the day so once your books are full there is no room for anymore. If you are successful at it you will end up turning work away which is another annoying thing because you think its like turning money down, but hey ho if they want an appointment in three days but you are fully booked for three weeks then you cant do it! Its annoying for me because I have to turn away people in the summer because im so rammed and in the winter I have gaps! But good luck, I realy like my mobile business and sometimes I take for granted that I have it so good, yeah Im never loaded but I am not a materialistic person. So as long as I can pay my way im fine! Oh and one more thing, be prepaired to work evenings, when im busy I work 5 to 6 evenings a week because people want after office hours. Just thaught id give some friendly advice. xxxxx

 

[NeelieGel]

I work at my home having turned the back of my garage into a salon. i must agree with some others. I hate going to other's houses and having to struggle over a bath, squeeze in round a kitchen and not have decent sized mirrors to work in front of. The other thing is how much people think that you should do it much cheaper because you don't have the salon overheads. You will spend a lot of money on fuel travelling round. I did mobile for a while in the 80s and the fuel prices were manageable then. Days that panned out badly for me were a nightmare too. Go left for the first client and then in completely the opposite direction for the next one and then another way again past the first one for the next client. The mileage racked up can be a lot. You need to charge accordingly to cover the fuel and extra wear and tear on your car. Also you might find if you are involved in an accident, your insurance company might say you aren't just using your car for domestic and leisure as stated on your policy. Add traffic jams into the mix I found it all too much stress to be honest. But I am the kind of person that hates being booked too tight. Last time I worked in a salon i couldn't control the length of appointments and as the receptionist was married to the salon owner (they were a greedy pair) I constantly had the next client waiting whilst finishing off the current one and sometimes two clients waiting. I still sometimes have a recurring dream that I am doing one client and it is taking me longer and another client has turned up and I have several waiting... then I wake up. Its horrible.

 

[sarahpoppy24]

Yeah that is one of the down sides of mobile it is not at all dignified or glamerouse lol!! But there are up sides, you dont have to answer to a boss, or cope with employing anyone, you also dont have to worry about bitchy staff roon nonsence and all of the other things that can come with too many women under one roof lol!! If you dont like salon life but love hairdressing then mobile is defo the way forward. Its not that I dont like salons, I have worked in some lovely ones and met some great people, but I do prefer doing my own thing because i am my own boss and one thing I cant STAND is bitchy gossip at work I just hate hate hate it so much, and you cant avoid it when working with loads of women not just in hair salons but anywhere. So I would sacrifuce the great working conditions of a salon, for the atmosphere and freedom of mobile, as said before, dont make your prices cheaper, and cover a small area, also the good side of covering a small area is people know each other and can refer you on to others who are near by. So you can build up your clients in one area so as to keep them all compacted so you can save on fuel etc x

 

[LauraLush]

I gave up my salon after over 3 years and now work from home - best move I ever made for me and my business (and health)! My time is now my own, if I decide to take a day off I don't have to get someone to watch the shop, worry about missing calls etc.

And the surprising upside was that I am busier than ever! I have to make way more of an effort now with my marketing and self promotion as I no longer have a high street presence so its all word of mouth and local advertising.

I had massive overheads in the shop - over £1200 per month with the rent and bills before stock, any wages and training etc. The removal of that pressure was immense, it had started to make me ill!

For me a salon was not a good idea whereas for others its a great move so you need to weigh up the pros and cons!

good luck with your decision xx

Hi girls
Gosh that was so weird to read that as everything you have said in that I am experiencing right now.. Ive only had my salon for just short of 2 years but you said; the overheads are a joke, it's so pressurizing and you literally don't have a minute to switch off from it - you dream about the salon, you spend so much of your home time planning and thinking of work, staff are hard work most of the time although I have a great team and even when they don't necessarily give me problems, just organizing their wages and hours and 'small issues' they may have is all sometimes a little mind boggling! I'm off work today as it happens Coz I'm ill Coz I've ran myself absolutely into the ground and it's took me to physically not be able to hold a hairdryer to make me come home! I have to pay out over £5k a month.. It's all pretty stressful! Sorry to rant all! It was just a bit surreal to read someone else describing my position.. I went the opposite way around from mobile to salon - I look back now to when I used to moan about feeling unhappy mobile but you know what - i wasnt! I was mobile for 2 yrs, if i can give any views, the only things that bothered me was that i felt unprofessional - I hated washing people's hair over a bath! It's pretty stressful if your clients end up being quote spread out - I was busy 9-9 6 days a week - sometimes later! But I still have to get home and return my messages.. So honestly if I learnt from my mistakes, I'd say try to book off some me time even if it's just an afternoon, some time to do your books and receipts so you don't have them all building up (like I did then it took me a whole day every month or so)
In terms of advertising, word of mouth is definitely the best option - and if you ever have any doubts or what you think could be a dodgy phone call, it's not worth the risk - just say you'll call them back when you have your diary and then don't if you're worried then save the number as ?? and don't answer them..
Hope that helps somehow xx

 

[Cesalon]

Hi all I've had my salon for 8 years and recently decided to give it up and go mobile. I have had problems with staff over the years and don't really like managing people as I like to give my clients all of my attention and I don't really like the stress of the huge rent I have and the salon is quite a distance from home... I have never gone mobile before and am just wondering if anybody has Any advice for me pleeeaase xx

1st of all let me say good luck to you, secondly I was wondering what you will be selling? chairs, mirrors, hood dryers etc... after all they won't fit in your car :lol: