Concerns Regarding Sharing My Esty Room

Hi friends, I've moved into a new space after a disastrous false start at my last location. My grand opening is on Wednesday and I'm so excited to get started. My new landlord just told me that there is an Esthetician who is interested in sharing my space on Wednesdays. In my last place, the Esthetician I was to share with did not have the same high standards for sanitation as I did, turns out she didn't have an Independent Contractor's License, her Estheticians license was expired by 6 months and when I went to apply for MY Independent Contractors License, found out that the landlord running the space didn't have a facility license! When I asked everyone to get the appropriate licenses to operate legally, I was encouraged to just "go with the flow" and not make waves, that they'd never been inspected, etc. I was horrified and immediately moved out and requested my first month's rent and deposit back. Ultimately things got ugly and they tried to intimidate me. Long story short, I stood my ground and got everything back. I'm a new esty, embarking on a new career in my mid life and I've already been burned. I feel like I should meet this new Esthetician first at the least. Since she'd be using my facial bed, towel warmer and steamer/mag light, should I charge her a weekly fee for this? I'm also carrying the facility license which is $250/year. My rent is $450/month and having her share would take $100 off which would be great for me since I'm just starting out. Do you guys think it's worth it? What questions should I ask her? Thanks everyone.

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Permalink Reply by lisa bova on October 13, 2014 at 7:24pm

Hmm several strange things about this situation. First of all, when you say "landlord" are you referring to a salon owner, like a person who employs beauty professionals? My reason for asking is typically landlords supply you with a space for a monthly fee. Period. This person has no right at all to inform anyone about sharing days on a space you sign on to pay monthly. This makes no sense to me. Is this more of a booth rent situation and you only agreed to particular days? Otherwise the space is YOURS and if you choose to allow another esty to work on a Wednesday then YOU may consider sub-leasing the space and charging her accordingly for the day. And certainly if this person is going to be using YOUR supplies, equiptment, ect then HECK YES you charge her!! Do not let others walk all over you, as in this industry there are many grey areas. I would surely suggest getting a feel about this person and making sure she is clean and respects you and your things. Hope you can figure this out. It is nice to knock some $$ off rent when starting out, but keep in mind that you may get busy and want that extra day. Perhaps just consider a 6 mo subleasing agreement in case you want your day back!! Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by Chelle Yelvington on October 14, 2014 at 9:49am

Thanks for the good info, Lisa. My new "landlord" is actually subleasing me a room within his collective of massage therapists. Everyone is an independent contractor. He didn't just spring the possibility of a room mate on me--he told me it was totally up to me and that if I ever decided it wasn't working out, I could end the agreement. She answered his ad for the space just after I'd viewed the space and decided to take it. I'm just trying to decide if I really want to share. She's an established esthetician so has her own equipment but I definitely don't want duplicates of everything cluttering up my space. What do you think would be a good figure for me to charge her for equipment usage?

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Permalink Reply by lisa bova on October 14, 2014 at 2:26pm

ok gotcha. please be sure that this man has legitimate salon licensing as well, as massage therapists are not licensed through cosmetology but rather the medical board. I'm also scratching my head as an "established" esty that only wants one day a week. I think its great to share space, as it is economically beneficial for all. But I have personally been in the situation where several months in the person sharing space wants more days/change days. This can be very troubling and affect business. I would be sure to have everything in writing signed by both parties stating days to use space. I know this sounds over reactive but, you just can't trust anybody. Not sure the going rate for your area, but i think $50-75 is quite fair for 1 day with shared supplies.

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Permalink Reply by Chelle Yelvington on October 14, 2014 at 5:54pm

Thanks Lisa--I'm actually going to carry the facility license so I'll be responsible for my room and the common areas but not the other massage therapist's rooms. In Oregon anyone can hold the facility license--it just makes more sense for me to have it since I'm the only one (unless the other esty comes on board) who will need it. She works as an Esthetician at a wellness clinic but is looking for a new location to do her own thing once a week. Not sure what happened with her last space. Anyway, I will definitely have everything in writing should I decide to share. Thanks for the guesstimate--that's really helpful!