Have you thought about going freelance?
If so then ask yourself are you ready to take that step?
We see everyone advertising rent a chair spaces with great deals to entice you through the door, telling you what a great deal it is and how wonderful life will be because of it.
It’s not as simple as it sounds.
There’s more legal ramifications to it than most people are aware of and the current way many salons are doing this is going to come back and bite them in the not too distant future.
So what do you need to freelance? Here are my most important things to have before you can even start thinking about venturing in to your Solo Stylist journey:
Good skills in your chosen area
If you’re going to cut hair in your own business then make sure you can cut well. Same with colour, bridal, perming, styling, etc…whatever you are going to provide…be the best you can be at it. Educate yourself often. Do courses, watch YouTube, subscribe to online education. People will expect a quality result.
A client base
Without this you don’t have a business. You need regular returning clients who are happy to pay your prices. These people are who pay you and without them coming to you…you have no income.
How many do you need? I have a previous newsletter covering this here if you want to refresh your memory.
But it’s as simple as hours worked per week x number of weeks you want them returning.
30 (hours) x 6 (weeks) = 180* (clients)
*if you allocate 1 hour per service.
A place to work
A chair and a mirror are all you need to start. This could be in a salon, in your home, travelling to a home or venue. You just need a space.
This is totally dependant on your own personal feel. You might like the excitement of being in a busy salon surrounded by other creatives or being in a small space to only have one on one interaction with your client.
The proper paperwork
I’m not an accountant or financial advisor and can’t give you any advice on this but I can recommend that you get yourself a good accountant to help you with these things.
Find one that will sit down with you and go through all of the things needed to set up your own business. The best things I got from mine when starting my Solo Stylist journey was
Setting up as a registered company over being a sole trader
How to set up my bank accounts to allocate money automatically to cover GST, BAS, Super, etc.
Assistance in correctly allocating business expenses in my accounting software.
Insurances
I can’t stress insurance enough. If anything happens to you as a Solo Stylist and you can’t work you’ll be glad you paid for this. Talk to an insurance broker (you’ll find there are some who specialise in this sort of insurance) to discuss you individual needs for you business. Don’t forget to consider things like Public Liability (for anything that might happen to your client during a service) as well as income protection, medical, permanent disability or death (for yourself…god forbid).
Working Capital
Cash is KING.
I can’t stress this enough. Have as much working capital sitting in your bank account as you possibly can before venturing into your solo career. Personally…I’m a fan of 3 months working capital sitting in your bank account after all other setup costs.
But what is working capital and why do I need it?
Working Capital is excess cash sitting in your bank account to assist in the running of the business. Every business will have Fixed Costs (the minimum amount it will cost you to run your business each month…wages, insurances, rent, etc.) that will be the same each month. Having 3 months worth of fixed costs put aside is what helps when you may have a slow month or if an emergency expenditure or opportunity comes up unexpectedly. Always endeavour to replace or build that amount as quickly as possible though. Think about it as a safety net…just in case.
If you have these things in place you’ll be off to a great start building your Solo Stylist career.
Making the move to a solo career isn’t as daunting as you might think.
Key Points:
- Anyone can open a business
- Make sure you’re well prepared before starting
- Have a safety net for those unexpected times that come
Until next time…
Craig
The Solo Stylist
P.S. Not sure if freelancing is right for you?
Download the free “Are You Ready to Freelance?” Checklist and find out where you stand.