Salon/ Spa Studios

Have you heard of those little salon studios/ spa studios they say it is subleasing your own room inside a building where it is your entire business. Do you feel it is a wise investment for someone with a very small clientele?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Brenda Griffin on November 7, 2012 at 8:08pm

In Arizona they are called Sola Salon, they may be elsewhere. I checked into it and their rent is outrageous. My two cents.

Permalink Reply by Soynia Cosby on November 7, 2012 at 8:24pm

Hi Brenda, lol I ran into Sola Salon for San Fran, for weekly rent it was pretty high. The one in my current city is okay. Thanks for your two cents because you guys are hitting on important concerns.

Permalink Reply by Sayra Hill on November 7, 2012 at 8:08pm

At one point in my life I subleased a small room for a gift shop. After setting up my business and running it for 3 months the girl I leased from told me she was closing her business and I had a choice: either rent her whole space and mine or move out. Needless to say I moved out as I did not need such a large space! That was a good thing to happen to me as I decided to go back to school and get my license as a professional esthetician! Have you thought about setting up a practice in your home?

Permalink Reply by Soynia Cosby on November 7, 2012 at 8:22pm

Hi Sayra, I have thought about the at home spa practice, my only two problems I am living with family (very unorganized and unprofessional), and the other there are so many rules in California I want to be sure I have the right home/office.

Permalink Reply by Sara Kathleen Bohlmann on November 7, 2012 at 9:13pm

Hi Soynia,

I did EXACTLY this last February with zero clientle. If it's something you're passionate about, you can do it. I started out with having no money really. I worked out a deal with the salon landlord so that I wasn't responsible for full rent. I ran Groupons and Living Social Deals to help bring in clients. It can be a wise investment. For me, it was and I am MUCH happier than I am working in a spa, but to each his own.

Permalink Reply by Soynia Cosby on November 7, 2012 at 11:06pm

Thanks Sara that is all helpful and pretty much my situation.

Permalink Reply by Robyn Prazmark on November 7, 2012 at 9:32pm

Never will I go there!

Permalink Reply by Soynia Cosby on November 7, 2012 at 11:07pm

Permalink Reply by Sayra Hill on November 8, 2012 at 8:25am

Soynia, Count the cost of what you pay for your personal home rent payments and add the cost of renting a space. Not knowing what your personal life is like, you may find the cost would be the same if you could move out of your present abode and have your own place to live with your practice. Our problem with keeping a quiet atmosphere is hard to deal with sometimes. I turn all my phones off and put a sign on my front door that says do not disturb when I have clients here. I have delt with neighbor's dogs barking and street noise so I turn the music up sometimes! There is something special about inviting clients into your home envirement and they feel much more relaxed and safe than a commercial spot. Do you know anyone who lives alone that has an extra spare room that you could rent?

Permalink Reply by Soynia Cosby on November 8, 2012 at 4:08pm

Sayra - thanks that totally sounds like the best of both worlds. I will ask around really innovative idea.

Permalink Reply by Kate Rodrigue on November 8, 2012 at 1:35pm

Hi Sonynia,

I have been looking at spaces to rent with some friends from school (just starting out). We actually stumbled upon a great space, located in a new "Wellness Center" that is designed for sole practioners such as acupuncture, LMTs, etc. It only has a handful of spaces and the developer was specifially looking for an esthetician to round out his group of service providers. The rent is cheaper than those "Sola Salons" and it's a good mix of complementary services without competition, per se. Plus, the Sola Salons in my area are off the beaten path. The place we found is in an office building, next to many businesses and is close to downtown. It has a shared waiting area but everyone is their own business.

I'm splitting the rent with people based on our available days. Hopefully it works out! Anyway, we found it while looking at various commercial space for small offices & not necessarily just at salon/spa spaces. Hope that is helpful to you!

I actually have space in my home that I plan to convert one day. But, it's in a cul-de-sac and I am not sure I'd be able to get enough clients initially to justify the cost of a conversion.

Permalink Reply by Soynia Cosby on November 8, 2012 at 4:10pm

Hi Kate, your suggestion is very very helpful because it is more innovative than what I originally tried to do. It's creative you guys have given some amazing options. :-)