Having your own spa business and a part time job in the field at the same time...dilemma?
As I've posted before, I am starting my own small spa business doing treatments on my own..I plan to gain more clientele and just really get this going so I can eventually make this business huge and own my own full upscale day spa, yes I'm a little girl with big dreams and determined to make them happen....however, as we all know making a business happen, and actually getting the income takes quite some time, I don't expect to start making the money as soon as I start having clients.
Now of course I have lots of other bills to pay too, I am 24 with my own apartment, car, food, phone, life etc etc....I definitely need a part time job again on the side right now. It's just time.
The thing is...I obviously want to find a job in my field, doesn't necessarily have to be a spa, but somewhere dealing with skincare or make up, whatever...but working at a spa for even more experience woulddd really be ideal, however.. at the same time I feel like I'd kind of being competing with myself? And I just wonder if I went for an interview at a spa, now that I have my own spa business, would they all not want to hear that I have my own spa business? Would that be a no-no? At the same time I don't want to be totally dishonest, what if they find out anyway? I obviously wouldn't go taking their clients back to my business, that's deff a no-no although it would be a little bit hard not to tell the clients I have my own thing, I just know that's a line I shouldn't cross, at least until I leave eventually, and THEY choose to come to me..but how would the spa owners know and believe that....I know my true intentions, but how could they know...
Same question even if I apply at a place like Saks Fifth Avenue, or Sephora, somewhere that doesn't offer facials but does skincare..where do I draw the line in the interviews when it comes to speaking about having a business? I'd figure in a setting like this, it would be a good thing for them to hear, but maybe not..
I had an interview at a spa over a year ago, when I was still in school, it was for a receptionist job with the possibility of eventually moving up and doing treatments once I finish school, I mentioned starting my own business eventually, and I knew after I said that, before they could even respond, it maybe wasn't a good idea. And sure enough, they didn't like hearing that, they said they don't like hiring people who have or are starting their own business because then I wouldnt be bringing any clientele in, That I'd want to bring people I know/clientele to me instead, when I should be referring everyone I know to them....do all spa owners think like that? I mean it does make sense but at the same time, I've heard of plenty of etsy's with spa businesses that work at another spa part time too, and it works just fine for both the etsy with their own spa business and the spa they work at...so I'm wondering what did they do that I should be doing when it comes to actually getting a part time job elsewhere in the field again...I might just be over thinking this all, however I feel like its an important topic that's not often discussed..
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Relax & Rejuvenate on
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it's not because she isn't doing her job, because everyone praises her, it's because well in that case, they are just greedy.
You really should not assign such negative motivations to the actions of others, especially those of which you don't have first-hand knowledge.
I look at that situation and think your friend is stupid. "Oh, how awful" you might think. Maybe, but stupidity is equally likely on one side of such equation as greed is on the other, so why not leave all judgement out of it?
In case you have not noticed, it is brutal out there. Just as employees are struggling, employers are struggling to keep their doors open, and starting October 1 it just got a helluva a lot harder for everyone.
If she -- or you -- do more than they should, then either you should stop doing it or realize maybe doing it is a means of job security -- making yourself invaluable to your employer.
Maybe your friend realizes anyone can show up for $1 less and work 40 hours a week and not take on extra responsibility. The store probably goes through a half dozen people like that a year. Maybe she does not want to be one of those people.
Or maybe, like one of our SF employees whose insurance policy was just cancelled and replaced by a $900 a month alternative, she realizes its time to step up her hours so she can qualify for our company plan, which after our company contribution will save her $600 a month AND give her a lower deductible and more benefits than her alternative. And you bet she is going to have to work harder and longer and better, because I really don't need an extra 10 hours on the clock each week, so I do expect more. A helluva a lot more.
Maybe that is a huge disconnect in your eyes. Or maybe I should just cut her hours to zero, and she can qualify for FREE health insurance. Would that make me boss of the year if all my former employees got free insurance?
Everyone loves to blame the evil, greedy employers -its easy just as it is easy to fall for "the sympathetic victim" in these stories.
Neither is the reality.
People need to take responsibility for their choices and their actions. sorry if your first job "screwed" you, but it was completely preventable had you insisted on a written job offer. Maybe your school did not teach you that -- but they should, and they need to take responsibility for taking your tuition and throwing you to the wolves. Then you could hold your employer responsible for their actions -- what you describe is 100% illegal in NY and every other state in the union.
Shrugging it off, moving on and complaining about it after the fact benefits no one. They will do it to the next esty until someone hold them accountable, and graduates of your program hold your school accountable for not teaching you the basics of how to find a job in this industry. Everyone just graduates and takes their lumps and says nothing to their schools.
Jobs are not as great as they were 5 or 6 years ago, and won't be for a long time. Clients are abandoning luxury goods and services like never before. "Me Time" is not cool anymore
Employers earn less, so they have to pay less and expect more. Otherwise, there won't be many jobs.
But at least there will be free health care, two years of unemployment, blah, blah blah. Hard to build a clientele on that demographic!
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Permalink Reply by Nina on
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"You really should not assign such negative motivations to the actions of others, especially those of which you don't have first-hand knowledge."
..but then you call my friend stupid. (?)
I don't think there's any need for us to keep communicating about this being that you contradict yourself completely. And how can you assume that the inside of her story, the management, isn't negative? I know many people that work there, so I have a better shot at knowing more about it than you do but that's besides the point...
...Just as I guess you missed the part where I had admitted that I was new to the field at the time, and that it was infact my fault for staying as long as I should have, just like I said on the flip side, it's my friends choice whether to find something else or not. But that's besides the point too, was there not a disconnect between my past employer and me as their employee? The disconnect being that they did not want to pay me enough of a livable salary being that they had such high expectations such as the ones I used as an example? Think there was.
I see a lot of maybe this, maybe that from you, well maybe there are so many assumptions from your side, and maybe you're getting so argumentative about this, to where you are taking my point and picking at all of the little things and making it into something else because you are an employer who may be struggling with some of your own employees on this, maybe not? I don't really know, but I'm not going to assume... Times are rough out there, yes. I get it. I never said it was all greed, I specifically said in that one case it was. Some employers can't even afford to pay their employees to live up to their expectations, but that's just the point too. It's the employees choice to pass and find something else or not, and I think that's the advice that was being given to me before, to kind of watch out for the disconnect, and to weigh out my options. Which based off my last learning experience, I agree with that feedback. And with that, I made my point, you asked for someone to explain it to you, I did, and if you still disagree, that's fine. But then there's no need to stretch this out more than it has to be. -
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Thanks for all of the feedback ladies..I ended up getting a part time job to have on the side of my business, not in a full spa setting, but definately in my field and I'm very happy with it at the moment.
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Permalink Reply by coldsalineplexus on
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I didn't really read your whole post (sorry, it was quite long), but I wanted to throw it out there that I was in the same situation when I started to practice. I took the approach of applying at a spa in a completely different part of town from where I was setting up my business. The clientele was totally different (convention and tourist biz at the hotel spa; neighborhood biz where I set up my own location) so there was no issue and I was able to be honest. To me, personally, that was the most comfortable approach.
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Permalink Reply by Amy Sherman on
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I think the best approach is to be honest and also do something that is not quite the same thing. One doesn't want owners to attack you (eh? Relax and Rejuvinate?) Sometimes I wonder how some people can be spa OWNERS. Before I was on maternity leave, we had a spa owner that was way out there (we couldn't get her to wear a bra for years). Sometimes I work at Sephora (makeup) and sometimes I work at a cosmetics store near my house just for fun. I think that helps when you're just starting out and it doesn't cross any uncomfortable lines.
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I am not attacking Nina or anyone else. Calling her friend stupid made the point -- putting judgement into your posts dilutes your message because it inflames the situation -- and there are two sides to every judgement, and rarely is the employer's side posted in forums like these
You can just state the facts -- I work x number of hour, on call/as and employee/paying X rent and this is what I found -- what do you think? -- without getting into who is greedy, who has whacked out expectations etc.
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Lol I will say it again....meanwhile you pass negative judgements by calling my friend stupid, who you don't even know a fact about, that makes your point? Well you know what, when you contradict yourself, your point then becomes invalid. And when you base your own response off of your own assumptions about the ONE business I was referring to is greedy, a business you know absolutely nothing about, same thing. Who is to say THOSE business owners in particular are not greedy? And how do you know I don't know more about this business other than what my friend just says?...my point is, you don't know, and what you said was so besides the point, and this is just very petty. And I will leave it at that, Thank you for your time.
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Spade is a spade. You WERE attacking her and it's not nice.
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Permalink Reply by Amy Lynn Scheele on
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wow... this use to be a great place to get good advice from our professional community.
one word... contracts
best advise...
know your rights... know your title... are you a contracted worker or employee. learn the difference between both. you can be taken advantage of very easily in this industry if you dont.
for example...
if your place of employment
a. gives you sets hours to be at shop
b. gives you any kind of job description
your are an employee, and should be getting paid hourly. or hourly non commissioned time, and a percent of servuce for commissioned time, employer also must take taxes, wc, and dis from pay.
know your rights, know your state and federal labor laws... cannot stress thus enough.... so so important, and SO OUR OWN responsiability
p.s. read contracts. dont sign if u have issues. a
job isnt worth long term stress. akso, often some of the stuff in those contracts are not enforcable in court. you pick the job, treat it as such.
a former boss once told me... you dont leave jobs, you leave boses. he was the best boss i ever had... and let me know i was wanted, and needed, and was essential to the team.
odds are if the spa owner or manager is negitive, they will have staff issues.... ive seen it many places. high end spa that have huge turnovers in staff, cause no one will stay under such clicky, negitive enviornmemts.
where i am now, is a family, built on love of eachother and our clients.... and the spa does extremely well.
imm babbling... but this thread really hit a nerve.
to the young lady who stared it, goidluck, always be professional, ALWAYS, you will find your as long as you want it.
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one word... contracts
As important as the contracts are have examples illustrating the key terms.
Hourly, commission, hourly + commission, hourly vs. commission -- while it seems crystal clear to you because you wrote it, does not mean people understand it even if they signed something.
I can't tell you how many people have said to me "I did not realize that is what it meant" when they were expecting hourly PLUS commission instead of hourly VS. commission.
Being "valued" is a perception, not a reality. If someone THINKS they are earning hourly PLUS commission but get paid hourly VS. commission, they are going to feel ripped off and will leave ASAP -- even though they signed a document stating they understood the terms of employment and compensation.
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Permalink Reply by Samantha Maline on
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It seems to me that a lot of the angst between employees and employers could be remedied by having an "open books" system. Reporting quarterly on paper sales, expenses, and profits could be useful in keeping the "greedy employer" business from not coming up. Being able to see where money is going in terms of pay, overhead, and reinvesting keeps the reality of how difficult it is to be an employer right up front. If employers treat their employees as co-team members and not "replaceable" it makes everyone take responsibility for the business as a personal investment.
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lovely...
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