Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Monica Grajales on January 9, 2014 at 4:16pm

Hi

Not sure about Pinellas County, but this is what I went through:

- give your business a legal name (e.g. LLC)

- get federal tax ID

- get business license (for what you do)

- get business license (for the location - non transferable)

- get sales license (so you can report your taxes quarterly)

That's basic.

inspections: once you get your license for the location, they will come to inspect unannounced. What they're looking for?

- waxing pot clean and covered, sticks covered and enough for them to assess that you will not be double dipping.

- covered tool sanitizer - UV AND liquid. You must have your Cavicide or whatever you use to sanitize, and it MUST include tubeculosaidal in addition to being bactericidal, virucidal and fungicidal.

- hamper must have a cover

- pretty much, as long as everything is clean and covered, you're good to go. They're not bad at all.

- Bathroom needs to be about 20 steps from your room

- you must be showing ALL your licenses at plain sight.

Advertising:

I have survived 2 years in business with ZERO advertising. I have done everything through social media and SEO and I have a virtual administrative assistant who helps me with these as well as with blog, newsletter, etc. Anything related to social media/Internet, she helps me with it. Also, I have joined many different networking groups in my life. The only one that has worked for me is BNI. Worth the investment. Meetups are also good. My advice: find a niche.

Overall, your county's website should have information on how to go about doing business. In Hillsborough County, their business division offers FREE mentoring (one or 2 meetings) on what steps to take and review with you what you already have. Check if Pinellas has the same.

Best Wishes!!

Permalink Reply by Bunny Crockett on January 9, 2014 at 4:38pm

Monica, thank you so much for taking the time to reply and so quickly! What is SEO and BNI?

Permalink Reply by Sheila Gordon on January 9, 2014 at 6:15pm

Awesome info Monica!! Hope you are well. Good luck Bunny!! I'm in Palm Harbor and started 2 yrs ago Feb. My best advice if you can, ESP just starting out is partner up w someone or strategically partner w someone who is already busy and compliments your business. Word of mouth is the best advertisement. Networking is great but mostly overrun with mLm business I have found. Donate when u can even just a small service like brow wax. Always have cards on you.

Keep us posted!!

Permalink Reply by Bunny Crockett on January 9, 2014 at 6:26pm

Thank you for your reply, Sheila.  Good information!

Permalink Reply by Monica Grajales on January 9, 2014 at 9:23pm

Hi Sheila, Haven't heard from you in a long time. Hope the new year is treating you well. Bunny, Sheila is right on. It's better to start alongside someone who complements your business. E.g. massage therapist, acupuncturist, etc. I rent a room at a nail spa in S. Tampa. Lots of foot traffic. There are 7 spas on my block alone. As you can imagine, there is business for everyone! Create a niche. It seems like people who like to get their nails done, also like to have 3D lashes. So that's a niche for me and they don't have to go next door because I am right there.

As Sheila said, word of mouth is the best advertisement. My advice: be genuine, keep your place CLEAN and smelling good and never stop learning. I offer my clients 50% off for every referral they send me. It works! I also have loyalty cards (every 5 times they come in, they get their 6th treatment free). be careful, because people like to abuse your generosity and you need to make money. I have a whole page on my website dedicated to "terms and conditions".

SEO = Search Engine Optimization

This means that you sign up for every single social media and free online directory there is so that when people Google "facials in St Pete", you show up first. Some companies charge a lot of money to do this for you. So you need to do your shopping around. If you an get someone referred to you that you can trust, it's better. But it's worth the investment. If you can't afford the SEO through a professional, you can do it yourself. I did it myself in the beginning and I learned a lot. But it's extremely time consuming. The more business you develop, the less time you have to DIY.

BNI = is a networking organization and stands for Business Networking Int'l. They are the largest in the world and only accepts one member of each non-competing business category in each chapter. They do a background check on you and they are very selective. Their purpose is solely to pass you referrals if you are really worth it. It cost me $410 to join (per year) and I got my investment back within the first month. Plus, I got other services from within the group, like credit card processing, banking, photography services, resume preparation, reflexology, chiropractic care, etc (things that I have needed) and it's better to get them from within the group because it's like they protect you and you protect them. They also hold you accountable, you need to take CEUs on marketing strategies, have 1-1 meetings and also pass referrals to others. You need to dedicate about 5 hrs a week for BNI, but if it's your first year in business, you won't have to do any marketing at all. BNI IS your marketing strategy. If you ever want to join me as my guest, let me know. You can come only as my guest just to see what it's about, but you won't be able to join because you do the same work I do and they won't even give you the application. But you can learn which chapter is in your area to see if you are able to join. They can also put you on a waiting list.  It's the only networking group that I would and will recommend. And it's very prestigious. Other networking groups, like Sheila mentioned, are full of MLMs and they don't really scrutinize the members. Waste of time and money.

I have 23 years of experience in the business and have made EVERY SINGLE mistake in the book. I have had my business broken into; I have waxed entire eyebrows, and I learn something new daily. I am more than happy to help. This is what this group is for :-)

Permalink Reply by Bunny Crockett on January 10, 2014 at 4:59am

Monica, thank you so so much for all the good information.  I can't believe someone would take that much time and effort to write all this!  I am so appreciative. I actually looked up BNI and SEO after you first mentioned it and felt pretty stupid for asking. lol Thanks for giving more info on it.

The place I am looking at is sandwiched between a nail and a hair salon and is very tiny.  Only 300 sq, ft. I definitely would be a solo act.  I am an esthetician as well as a massage therapist so I think I could do ok there.  The rent is cheap and the area is fine and well traveled. It's not upscale but not in a dump either.

I have a full time job and am currently working in a spa part time and am happy there and am making 50/50.  Love the place, no problems at all. Some people would ask what else do you want?  I  do want to grow and I guess it's every esthetician's dream to have their own place.

I was thinking either I use the place for appointment only or sublet and have someone work during the day while I'm at my full time job and then I use it the rest of the time. Could this potentially cause problems?  What are your thoughts on that?  I don't mind just keeping it for appointment only but wonder if I'm really going to be able to make a go of it if I'm not there during the day. Am I just biting off too much?  If it really became a success, I would be willing to do it full time.  I would have the opportunity to work full time in the summer (I'm a teacher) which is typically a slow time around here, so I could get a feel for how bad it could get. 

Lots of questions and lots of thoughts.  

What kinds of things should I be aware of when negotiating a lease?  I've already called and asked some questions.

Thanks for any information.

Permalink Reply by Monica Grajales on January 10, 2014 at 7:53am

No problem :-)

Your location is PERFECT! Your room is big enough. Mine is 100 sq ft and works great! IKEA :-)

I would connect with the nail and hair salons and give them a certain number of gift certificates of $25 each so that they can give to their clients as they see fit. Maybe they will want to run a deal where their client purchases products from them and they get a free $25 for a facial, for example. NEVER discount. Use Gift certificates for a small amount instead. Psychologically, people think they get a better deal when they get a FREE gift certtificate for $25 than to get a $25 off a facial (they see it as a de-value). Also think that you would be paying more on advertising to reach people you would never know if you're reaching. With the Gift certificates scheme, you know someone is getting something from you in their hands, literally.

I work by appt only. My hours are 9am to 9pm by appt only and it works fine. I do accept walk-ins from the nail salon if I am there and have nothing to do :-) I've had FT job while working my bix PT. It works just fine. If the rent is cheap, don't sublet. You will have enough clients in the first several months to make the rent. Been there, done that. the FT paid the bills. the PT biz paid the biz rent. Then, I was able to not just pay the rent, but afford to re-invest in more products and add more treatments. Subletting will cause problems in the short run, believe me. If you sublet or share with another aesthetician or massage therapist in your same location, people can get confused as to who is who, and if they like the other person better, you lose potential clients. Your space is for you only. Your energy, your space.

If you choose to sublet, do so with someone who doesn't compete with you at all. But you also need to remember: are they as neat as you are? Will they respect your space by not leaving cookie crumbs on the floor and risk getting pests in your room? Can you trust them with your retail products or not using your backbar and make you spend more money than you should replacing products? All of these things happen! Do a background check: OMG! This is important!! Check their linkedin, FB,twitter all the social media accounts. Search (free) the county's sheriff's dept mugshots. Check if there are blogs from them and check their personalities before committing to sharing the space. True story: I was managing a spa and the sheriff's dept (like 3 or 4 people) stormed into the spa looking for one of our massage therapists. Turned out, the massage therapist had raped a client in one of our rooms during a massage session. We had no idea this had happened. It was nerve-wracking. I called my boyfriend to tell him what had happened. By the time I got home, he had already found an old blog where he mentioned having been accused of rape a year earlier. So this guy had history! And he seemed to be such a nice guy!  I quit the next day :-)

You can make it happen. Just be honest about your hours of operation. I did this for a while. But instead of telling people that I had another job, I marketed myself as "the skincare clinic that works when others don't." I targeted people who also worked FT and didn't have time on weekends because they had kids. I used the rush traffic as an excuse to come in, get a facial and avoid the rush traffic. I had clients coming to me up until 8pm. You need to ALWAYS look for the positive angle, NEVER the problem.  Your niche for a while could be working moms - after hours skincare.

Another thought: Does the smell from the salons at each side of you come into your room? How about the noise level? Have you spent time in the room when the 2 places are busy to see how the smells and sounds get into your room?

About leases:

pest control

who pays utilities?

can you come and go and work weekends and after hours? (some landlords don't want that even if it's a stand alone building)

Who cleans/maintains the outside of the building?

How soon will they be able to come to you if you had the toilet breakdown, for example.

does it have wifi? You may need it for credit card processing or when clients are waiting, they might want to use their ipads or something

parking - do you have at least 2 assigned to you? street parking?

preferably month to month, will they charge taxes on your rent? vacating notice terms should be clear.

signage - are you allowed to put a banner or a sign big enough so that people can see it?

any deposit for keys or for anything else?

how disputes are handled

Ask away. I may not be able to respond today as I have a full day, but I will respond :-)

Permalink Reply by Bunny Crockett on January 10, 2014 at 7:17pm

Thanks for all the good information again.  Ok, here's what has developed.  I rode by there this evening to show my boyfriend the place.  He is a contractor so can easily do a little work for me. The place is just a wide open 300 sq. foot place with a bathroom. So he will be able to do walls and such with the landlord's permission.

While we were there the nail owner was at her place next door so I got to talk to her.  There used to be a skin place in there til the lady had to go travel with her husband, or something.  Bottom line, landlord is supposed to be great. She said, that they did referrals back and forth with the hair place, her place and the then-spa place.  Both hair and nail place have been in business there for over a decade.  It all seems perfect for starting out. Utilities are paid except the electric. I'm seriously considering giving the property owner a call tomorrow. 

Hesitancy:  I have never owned a business. I don't even have a business name. What if I sign a contract and the place can't pass inspection?  I don't think this will happen since there was a skin place in there at one time, but my bf mentioned no handicap bathroom.  Is that even a requirement?  We don't have one at the spa where I work. 

Positives: I have pretty much all my own equipment, including a professional facial bed that Santa brought me. : )  The nail girl said she does all her business by appt. which is the only way I will be able to work at least for awhile.  She's busy 50-60 hrs a week and it's all by appt. so that was encouraging. 

Anything else I should be considering at this point?

Permalink Reply by Monica Grajales on January 10, 2014 at 7:38pm

300 sq ft with a bathroom is great! handyman bofyfriend - better than great ;-)

if your neighbors are open to referrals, that's a major plus.

If electric is not included, I would ask why. And I would ask how much he is currently paying and I would talk to your neighbors and get an idea of how much they pay. That way you can be prepared for it.

You don't have to have a place ready for handicap people. My place isn't either. It's not a requirement for our type of business.

Inspection concern: what type of inspection are you talking about? Fire inspection? That's the owner's business. That's a question you could ask them about. Inspection from the dept of cosmetology? All you need is a bathroom 20 ft away at the most. Other building requirements are the owner's business - like I said: fire safety, electric outlet safety, dumpster outside, etc. All you need to care about regarding inspection as a renter is that you have everything CLEAN and COVERED. No wax markings, no soiled linen at plain sight, etc.

If you don't have a name for your business, you don't have to do an LLC. You can just do a DBA (doing business as). It's the minimum required to get a business license, it's not permanent, it's cheaper and when you do get a name, you can easily abandon the dba.

keep me posted :-)

Permalink Reply by Bunny Crockett on January 10, 2014 at 7:54pm

Thanks, Monica, yes, I was talking about the inspection that the dept. of cosmetology does. Do I have to have a washer and dryer for my linens or can I take those home?

Permalink Reply by Monica Grajales on January 10, 2014 at 7:59pm

sure you can take home. That's what I've been doing for the past 2.5 yrs. Those requirements are for when you have staff and several rooms. You worry about that in a few years :-)

Permalink Reply by Bunny Crockett on January 10, 2014 at 8:18pm

Monica, you have been so wonderful answering all these ridiculous questions of mine.  I really don't feel so frightened by the whole process as I did a few days ago.  I just had so many unanswered questions and it seemed overwhelming.  I'm feeling a lot better about the whole process now, thanks to you!

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