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Comment by Gina Williamson on March 15, 2011 at 5:56pm

Hi all! I am a newly licensed esthetician (licensed in January) and have been trying to figure out how I wanted to approach my career change... and sort of landed in a situation of renting a small space in my chiropractor's office, next door to a hair salon (without esthetic services). I think it is going to be a good location to get my feet wet and hopefully build a clientele. I am excited, and terrified. My "start month" is May- so it's fast approaching!! I have been entrenched in sorting out product lines, equipment, and wall colors! haha! along with designing my website, business cards, and brochures, and a million other business details. I feel so overwhelmed!! but it's a great overwhelm b/c I feel like I am finally on the path to what I was made to do- be in business for myself with a professional career!! YAY!!

I have been trying to decide between PCA skin and Bioelements- and think I have opted to just use both. Is this a bad idea?

I also am considering becoming an Arbonne consultant. Even though it's not a professional product, I'm thinking it might a useful sideline to boost my bottom line (aka help pay rent...!)- and a way to meet women interested in beauty and skincare to market my services to. :-)

I am loving this forum and all the information it provides- in a professional, mature manner. There are a lot of discouraging forums online and it's easy to start second guessing your decisions- but this is one I feel is very valid and validating.

So thank you for being here!!

Gina

Comment by Heather Capitanich on March 10, 2011 at 10:43pm

IN ORDER FOR YOUR YELP REVIEWS TO STICK, YOU NEED YELPERS THAT HAVE REVIEWED OTHER COMPANIES-THE NEWBIES ALWAYS SEEM TO GET FILTERED.  IN MY EXPERIENCE, ONCE YOU HAVE SEASONED YELP REVIEWS, THEY DO STICK.  I ALSO ADD THEM AS FRIENDS & MAKE A POINT TO REVIEW THE BUSINESSES THAT I FREQUENT & LIKE.

Comment by Cat the bikini waxer on March 10, 2011 at 10:24pm

oops 300.00 a month

Comment by Cat the bikini waxer on March 10, 2011 at 10:24pm

@ Laura...You know we love Yelphere in the Bay area,,..BUT they want 300,00 a month for us to Advertise! They call me EVERY week!

I cant pay them them, nor would I!! FYI..I have 6 or 7 filtered yelps currently, and they are REAL yelpers...however,,the NEW Place(I wont name call) is Paying for Yelp..and NONE of their Yelps are filtered..and Some are QUITE Obvious are FAKE!  hmnnnn...

Comment by Pamela Cantor on March 3, 2011 at 1:11pm

Not having any success on any of the networking sites finding other co-op salons.  Anybody out there?

 

Also do any of you have any favorite business insurance carrier.  ASCP is great for individuals but I'm looking for biz insurance quotes.

Comment by jackie mozingo on March 2, 2011 at 2:01pm

@Deirdre, Thanks for the help. I just had to turn them down as I do feel our space is to small and would allow noise in. This makes me so sad, my roommate, that does massage doesn't want to be preceived as a "salon", we are therapist, she says. I say, let's lower rent and work together...

Comment by Laura Cooksey on March 2, 2011 at 1:26pm

Hi Denise - glad you liked the article.  When someone gives us a Yelp review and they have no "friends" on Yelp, I send them an "add friend" link right away with the message that I appreciate the great review and please friend me and others so their review stays up.

 

We don't discount for their review either; but there's no harm in asking your happy clients to post.  And great idea about giving cards telling them how to post.  We have a flyer at the front desk.

Comment by Denise Ivers on March 1, 2011 at 5:44pm

Laura, thank you for posting the article last month on effective marketing for small businesses.

I just joined this group and read the discussion.  Here's my situation; I rent a space in a salon and spa with 4 other estheticians and 6 hair stylists. We all pay a monthly rent to the owner.   I do get a few referrals occasionally from the head stylist/owner but since I'm the newbie of the group many of the clients already have an Esthetician. If I'm there and the other Esthy's are busy,  get the rare walk ins.   I think that your advice on marketing is just what I need.  I've done some work on the Salon's website and Yelp page doing updates and just cleaning it up a bit because I feel a presence on the web is vital to gaining and retaining clients.  I do have my own website (www.faceitbeautiful.com) also.  I really like the owner, I've known her for years but she doesn't do any advertising, and says to me that since we are all "independent contractors" we are responsible for our own advertizing.  I don't expect her to pay for my advertising but can anyone out ther tell me if  this is the way they manage their salons/spa that don't pay a salary and have only renters.  She has a small boutique and also sells skin care and hair products at the salon and I can never wrap my brain around why she won't advertise.....Can anyone help me understand this?

I too have gone the Yelp route and have been successful in gaining clients this way.   Yelp does filter reviews if the reviewer isn't a regular Yelp user. Yes Deirdre, Yelp does discourage businesses from asking for reviews (I had a conversation with a rep) but I still encourage my clients to leave a review and to also review other businesses. I ask my clients to be honest with their review and I don't offer a discount for leaving a review. That would be considered enticement.   I made up little cards out of cardstock with step by step instructions on how to create an account on Yelp and how to post a review.  A couple other things that I've done to get the word out (i posted these ideas on other discussion forum topics) is doing facials at a retreat 3 times a year, donating services as a raffle for the Cancer Organization Fashion For a Cure Facebook business page and Trubates. Trubates is similar to Groupon.  Looking forward to more discussions.  Thank you ladies!

Comment by Deirdre J. Boath on February 24, 2011 at 4:17pm

@Pamela- I think it really depends on how you want to run it. Here we are all worker bees... meaning there is no boss. We all make decisions together about our space etc. I work there and do not collect on any of their services. They pay a flat fee per day and that works great! I know of other Co-Ops where they are basically employees that are responsible for their own taxes and such. Understanding your state law is most important for covering your own rear but also feeling confident in your business. I would see another Co-Op owner in your area and I would think they would have the best information. I am still learning as I go too ;)

If you have therapists/ technicians ready to go in with you; that is a wonderful start! I didn't have that and struggled for a few months going in. I had used my previous works contract as a template for writing my own and had a relative (lawyer) look them over. Basically for us, we are little and our system runs primarily on honor and hard work. I have no idea if I would have two feet to stand on if things came crumbling down. My security lies in the fact that there is little risk for my little space. I keep it simple and that helps me feel at Peace. I am also very up front with the therapists about what I need and want.

My question was about getting people to commit to the space for a solid future and not just another step stone :) Sometimes I think it is just hard to find passionate, mature therapists that believe in their work for the love and not for the money.

 

@ Jackie- I would check with your property manager. There are different laws in each state. There are also loop holes. We do not sublet... we lease time and space ;) That way they are not required to be added to the lease and you may offer more flexible terms. However, this can be abused very easily and is not always recommended. One other thing to consider is that hair stylists are noisy. I can say that because I grew up in a hair salon. As long as you are not planning to work the same hours... I say go for it!

**Let me know if this has helped in any way or if you have any other questions. I'd be happy to help if I can!

Comment by Pamela Cantor on February 21, 2011 at 4:37pm

@Deirdre.  I'm just now looking into starting a co-op and would love to talk with you.  We have 2 estheticians, 2 manicurists, 2 hair stylists and 1 permanent make-up artist ready to come on board.  I'm looking for samples of contracts, lease or rental agreements, etc., so we can start discussion among us before putting out the big bucks for an attorney.

 

Also, I'm not sure what you mean by the time commitment. Do you mean renting long-term or how many hours a week they'll work?

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