Finding a Place to Rent...
How do you find a place to rent to try to open your own business? Did you solicit salons that didn't have skin care but had room available? Or just find an empty space and open just doing skin care? I would really love to open my own skin center, obviously I have to start small, just me, for now, but I don't even know how to begin to try to find a place. I posted an ad on craigslist basically asking for anyone looking to add skin care to their salon/spa to contact me, but I've received no replies. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, as always.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Adrain Davidson on
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I am still a student and I have been looking feverishly. The best option that I have came across are salon suites/studios where everyone rents a room offering a service of their choice and you pay a weekly rent for your space with utilities included. I am not sure if they have them in your area but that is a option you should try researching.
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Permalink Reply by Nicole on
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In my area salons post on Craig's List under the job section category salons/spas/fitness when they have a room for rent. You might start there. Good luck finding the perfect place!
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Permalink Reply by Jodi on
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I look at that section of craigslist every day. Haven't found anything. It's frustrating. Thanks.
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Hi Jodi, I just recently rented my own place in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania doesn't allow us to rent space from a salon (we have to work for them and I didn't want that), so it required that I rent separate space. At first I looked at Craigslist. Instead of salon ready space, I actually looked at just plain commercial real estate. You just need to know what the regulations for your state are (ours is a minimum of 180 sq. ft. and a bunch of other little requirements). I also looked at Loopnet.com which is a commercial real estate site. And...I drove around my city and wrote down telephone numbers and real estate managers that run these buildings. There is a ton of space out there, but I had to call a lot of people to find exactly what met my needs.
Commercial real estate is very different from residential. First, very few places will allow you to rent on a yearly basis - most require a 3-5 year commitment. Secondly, many landlords expect you to be responsible for a lot (if not all) of the maintenance. The first place I signed a lease with ended up being a nightmare with many sewage issues and noise issues etc. I had to break the lease within the first 2 months (which I was able to do legally given a clause in my contract), but I still had to dissolve my company in case the landlord decided to sue me anyway. $6K later, I ended up finding a new space which I love love love and they are run by an incredible management company which is doing my entire buildout since I signed a 5 year lease...so a big deal.
The biggest recommendation I can make is this (a very expensive lesson for me :( Hire a lawyer. Commerical real estate lawyers in our area cost about $1000-$1500 to negotiate a commercial lease (may be less or more in your area - they charge by the hour and usually require a 4 hour retainer fee). Had I not had my lawyer negotiate my lease, I wouldn't have had a realistic out in my first lease which could have cost me upwards of $30,000, so I take my $6,000 loss in stride. The clause I had written in said essentially this: should the lessee not receive their PA State Board of Cosmetology Esthetician Salon License by such and such a date, then this lease is void. This is key because your state may require you to be licensed "salon" owner and you'll want to make sure that you can get the salon license to be able to do business.
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Jennifer, thank you so much for all that info. I know booth rental is not legal in PA, but others told me (and I know others who do it) that there are ways around that. I know a local spa has her space in the basement of a hair salon. It has a separate entrance and that makes it hers alone and not a salon space rental. I was hoping for something like that, to have access to clients walking in & out. I will check out those sites you mentioned. I didn't know that about the 3-5 year lease, I'll have to think long and hard about that, as I plan to eventually leave this county and move about an hour and a half away. Appreciate it!
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Yes, there are definitely ways around it! And I hope you are able to find that option, because it is optimal. I didn't mean to discourage you. Actually, I meant the very opposite. The more information we are armed with, the better off we are!
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I also rent space in a 51 room place. In this area the concept is hugh. Having said that, my 10x12 is also $239 week, and now we have to pay $1 wash&dry each load of laundry. I'd also add trying maybe a new medical place, real estate office etc. that might be willing to rent and unused room, only thing with that is you'd probably have to have their hours. Gyms might be another open, though personally I did not do well in them, when I lived in another state and was only an LMT. Is working out of your home an option/legal? It isn't here, just trying to think options.
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Hey Jodi,
I didn't realize you were in PA! I saw that you know Shannon from IDI and I thought, "duh!", I've probably been in class with you! I was talking with my Dermalogica rep and she was saying that the way around the "booth rental" in Pennsylvania is exactly what you were saying - try finding a space within a salon that has its own entrance like your friend has (which means you can be your own owner). OR, what I know a lot of skincare folks do is that they have a somewhat "loose" working relationship with the Salon. The Salon is technically the owner in name and so rather than paying "rent" to them, you share your profits to work out as the equivalent of what you'd pay in rent (you just can't call it that). I am not sure tax wise how this works, but it is a perfect solution to having to be completely on your own.
And like Natalie said, if you can find a month to month place or a 1 year lease, then do it. But that wasn't an option in Philadelphia. The benefit to signing a longer lease is that often any work that needs to be done (like putting a sink in the work area or painting or putting up walls), the landlord will often do for you at their expense.
I'll look out for you in class at IDI!
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Thanks so much! I'm 1 class away from completing my 'expert certification' at IDI, I'll be there Tues 2/12! I cannot wait!
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Cool! I'll see you on Tuesday!
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