Starting new venture

vodkachick68

Hi all

Not sure if this is the right place to post but here goes.

I'm a mature student currently at college doing a full time level 2 beauty therapy course. I'm hoping to go mobile offering clients various treatments and I'm going back in sept to do level 3 beauty therapy.

I need to advertise and not sure how to go about it, I know Facebook is a good start and flyers etc but not really sure how to start up. This may sound silly but how does it work with how much I can earn etc?

Thanks for any advice

sangie595

Being as nice as possible about it, if you can't work this out for yourself, and don't know how to afford or conduct publicity, you aren't ready to run a business. Insurance will cost you a lot more!

Most colleges have business or enterprise centres to advise students on things like legal requirements and business plans. I think this would be a good place to start. It's not as simple as running up a few leaflets and then popping around to someone's house to pluck their eyebrows. The answer to your question should be in your business plan. The fact you are asking it says you don't have one.

DCFC79

vodkachick68 wrote: »

Hi all

Not sure if this is the right place to post but here goes.

I'm a mature student currently at college doing a full time level 2 beauty therapy course. I'm hoping to go mobile offering clients various treatments and I'm going back in sept to do level 3 beauty therapy.

I need to advertise and not sure how to go about it, I know Facebook is a good start and flyers etc but not really sure how to start up. This may sound silly but how does it work with how much I can earn etc?

Thanks for any advice

You can earn as much as you like, the more you earn the more you need to use for NIC https://www.gov.uk/self-employed-national-insurance-rates

Google is your friend.

jobbingmusician

I don't think the question is a silly one. This is someone who is still studying - it's a good tip to harass your college for business development ideas, as part of their course or as an add on.

I don't know much about beauty therapy, but am happy to share what I do know (experience from a friend decades ago being a successful therapist, and some life experience.)

Obviously you CAN go to people's houses - especially if you have a mobile therapy setup. Depending on what you are offering you may need a couch, mobile wax melter etc. etc. I know that some therapists rent a chair or small room in hairdressers' salons. This might be a good way of getting your name known and establishing a high street presence but also might be expensive. Worth talking to local hairdressers (I imagine only independents would be allowed to consider this?) to get an idea of costs. (Or maybe going to a town a little way away to establish costs, so that if you decide not to go ahead you won't get a bad name locally?)

The way in which my friend got established was to work in a top end hotel as an assistant to an aromatherapist who has since become a household name. The job itself wasn't badly paid, and it's great on her CV to say that she was in at the startup of this particular venture. You do have to think about your own safety though - she had a few occasions where men misunderstood what aromatherapy was all about.....

bugslet

sangie595 wrote: »

. It's not as simple as running up a few leaflets and then popping around to someone's house to pluck their eyebrows. The answer to your question should be in your business plan. The fact you are asking it says you don't have one.

I disagree as well sangie, I think for that type of business, it probably isn't necessary. Advertise, then word of mouth.

As for business plans, I've never had one in 26 years, 22 staff, two depots, good profit margin. Things change all the time, if I had made a business plan at any point it would have been superceded by all the things that blindside a business.

And no offence meant if I have this wrong OP, I don't think you are looking to have a chain of beauty parlours, more that you want to build up some loyal clientele and make a living.

I'm afraid I can't give you any advice on how to advertise, different sector and we don't advertise at all. As for how much you can earn, again that's something I can't answer, but you know that at first it will be difficult until you have a built a customer base and it is a competitive market.

Good luck.

sangie595

Whether you call it a business plan, or simply know what you need to do, it comes to the same thing. As someone else has pointed out, what about personal safety? What about being sued by a client for making a mistake? What about the right kind of vehicle and insurance for business use? It isn't as simple as simply saying "i'm going to do beauty stuff in people's homes, how do I advertise?". I don't know a lot about this sorrt of business, but I do know how often I hear people saying about things going wrong - and that could be seriously wrong. So you can either plan it right or take the risk.

AlexBarret

I think you need a good blog plus FB. That`s a great idea, of course. But first of all, believe in yourself!

vodkachick68

Thankyou all for your replies. I think my course is running a day when we can get some tips on starting up so will definetly find out some more info.

Never even thought I needed a business plan! I'm not thinking of going big to be honest. I shall look into insurance etc so thanks for that tip.

I'm not sure if this is even going to work out to be honest but I'm going to give it a damn good try!! Like one poster mentioned it's about having the confidence to do it and I'm dead nervous but hey you only live once lol.

Any more tips will be very welcome thankyou.

spadoosh

You definitely need some kind of plan.

Its a really easy business to set up, in that theres thousands of existing models you can easily copy from. What will make it successful is your ability and the rapport you build with clients.

Know sod all about beauty but it seems like something that would be happening on a fairly regular basis. Ie getting nails done, tanning, make up etc for events all seem to happen on a regular basis. So you shouldnt need thousands of customer more likea good core of regular customers.

Basic websites are easy to knock up and can include booking forms etc. Helps you look more professional.

Facebook is where you should do most of your advertising. Firstly it should keep your business fairly local depending on your friends list. A friend of mine from high school set up a business, did a facebook page and simply from me sharing it about 100 people wouldve seen her advert from her area who she doesnt/wouldn't know. Its also free. It also can show off your work (get permission). You can also link to new trends and fashions to encourage business. And its not very time consuming. O and the main point free!

Flyers are ok but can be time consuming (delivering etc) and cost money. It might also be difficult to gauge how effective they are.

I'd start by giving your friends free trials (cover cost of materials). Ask them to be brutally honest with you on how happy they are with your work ask questions about how much they would be willing to pay, how affordable it is, how often they would look at getting these treatments then encourage them to be customers at mates rates. If your good they will recommend you. My sisters friend started a hair salon, sister recommended her to my OH, she tried her and now the hairdresser can guarantee £70 in the till every 6 weeks. Its a bit cheaper than what she would typically charge but shes also had a wedding booking out of my OH, and a couple of my OH friends have become regular customers too at full price.

Dont worry too much about how much you can earn just yet, im assuming here your on about tax and ni? Whatever you earn you will have to declare. Its a bit of a messy subject in terms of accounts but bear in mind your average self employed builders arent accountants either so things are rarely perfect in this sense but again theres lots of advice as and when you will need it. Speaking to HMRC and checking out their website will give you an overall picture.

Make sure you keep records!! Keep receipts of all costs incurred relating to the business and record every sale, ideally youll keep this away from your day to day spending as to avoid confusing things. So set up a new bank, someone gives you £15 cash for their nails (no idea how much that should be) put the £15 in the bank and then transfer it to your personal bank if needed. Its very easy to pick up a loaf of bread on the way home from the clients and then forget all about that money you received.

Good luck, ive always found ability and passion to be more helpful in business than confidence. The vast majority of businesses in the uk are not run by business (minded) people but run by those with ability and passion in that field.

joeypesci

vodkachick68 wrote: »

Hi all

Not sure if this is the right place to post but here goes.

I'm a mature student currently at college doing a full time level 2 beauty therapy course. I'm hoping to go mobile offering clients various treatments and I'm going back in sept to do level 3 beauty therapy.

I need to advertise and not sure how to go about it, I know Facebook is a good start and flyers etc but not really sure how to start up. This may sound silly but how does it work with how much I can earn etc?

Thanks for any advice

Another advertising avenue, if you have someone who knows YouTube, is to use it. Depending on what you do, you can do short videos on tips. Give a link to your Facebook page etc in the description. There are a few people who have actually made their living from make-up videos on YouTube. Its become a more crowded market, but still worth giving it a try.

vodkachick68

spadoosh wrote: »

You definitely need some kind of plan.

Its a really easy business to set up, in that theres thousands of existing models you can easily copy from. What will make it successful is your ability and the rapport you build with clients.

Know sod all about beauty but it seems like something that would be happening on a fairly regular basis. Ie getting nails done, tanning, make up etc for events all seem to happen on a regular basis. So you shouldnt need thousands of customer more likea good core of regular customers.

Basic websites are easy to knock up and can include booking forms etc. Helps you look more professional.



Facebook is where you should do most of your advertising. Firstly it should keep your business fairly local depending on your friends list. A friend of mine from high school set up a business, did a facebook page and simply from me sharing it about 100 people wouldve seen her advert from her area who she doesnt/wouldn't know. Its also free. It also can show off your work (get permission). You can also link to new trends and fashions to encourage business. And its not very time consuming. O and the main point free!

Flyers are ok but can be time consuming (delivering etc) and cost money. It might also be difficult to gauge how effective they are.

I'd start by giving your friends free trials (cover cost of materials). Ask them to be brutally honest with you on how happy they are with your work ask questions about how much they would be willing to pay, how affordable it is, how often they would look at getting these treatments then encourage them to be customers at mates rates. If your good they will recommend you. My sisters friend started a hair salon, sister recommended her to my OH, she tried her and now the hairdresser can guarantee £70 in the till every 6 weeks. Its a bit cheaper than what she would typically charge but shes also had a wedding booking out of my OH, and a couple of my OH friends have become regular customers too at full price.

Dont worry too much about how much you can earn just yet, im assuming here your on about tax and ni? Whatever you earn you will have to declare. Its a bit of a messy subject in terms of accounts but bear in mind your average self employed builders arent accountants either so things are rarely perfect in this sense but again theres lots of advice as and when you will need it. Speaking to HMRC and checking out their website will give you an overall picture.

Make sure you keep records!! Keep receipts of all costs incurred relating to the business and record every sale, ideally youll keep this away from your day to day spending as to avoid confusing things. So set up a new bank, someone gives you £15 cash for their nails (no idea how much that should be) put the £15 in the bank and then transfer it to your personal bank if needed. Its very easy to pick up a loaf of bread on the way home from the clients and then forget all about that money you received.

Good luck, ive always found ability and passion to be more helpful in business than confidence. The vast majority of businesses in the uk are not run by business (minded) people but run by those with ability and passion in that field.

Gosh thankyou so much spadoosh,some really good advice and points in your post. Ok I realise now that I need some sort plan to get started. I shall ask my college tutor as she was a mobile therapist for years. Also good idea to do a practice run on my friends,luckily I know lots of people😀

I am excited and daunted at the moment lol you have all been helpful thankyou.