I’ve learnt so much from doing this project and I think it’s really important to share because, sometimes we don’t know what we are getting ourselves into. With a project like this you have to imagine the worst possible scenario and almost plan ahead for it. I can safely say that without the people I had by my side this move would be impossible. You can’t do this alone and if you try to… you might end up barking mad!
1. Don’t be rigid
We originally planned to open in May…then June…and now July! You have to take things like this on the chin. Imagine yourself a year from now. Will it seem like that big of a deal? In the history of your salon, how long is a month? It’s not much; this can be hard to remember when you are trying to meet your own deadlines. But if you’re open to change, and you can be flexible, you might just come out the other end of the project completely sane!
2. The right people
If you are going to renovate, or move, or do anything big in business… you need to surround yourself with the right people. I was lucky enough to have my boyfriend as a project manner and I would say he was the reason we are where we are today. Not only did he do a lot of the work himself, but he managed everything, haggled for me and had my best interests at heart. If you’re going to do this you need to have someone you can turn to, who can help you with the process: whether that’s family, friends or just a really trustworthy employee.
3. Budget, budget and a strategy budget
no matter how good you are at budgeting…something will go wrong. Someone will charge too much, you’ll have to call in a favour. Make sure your project is within the limitations of your budget and that you also have emergency money on the side for when things do go over budget. Because, they will!
4. Be wary about hiring friends
Although, it seemed like a great idea at the time, in hindsight I should have assigned my electricity to someone that I only had a professional relationship with. We hired friends and we didn’t even get a “mate rate”. We paid full price for someone that is excellent in his field, but perhaps a bit lenient with our deadlines because of the fact that he knew us. It was disappointing to have our project constantly pushed back, but we never would have been in that situation if we’d hired someone we didn’t know.
5. Sense of humor
If you can’t laugh at the things that go wrong then quit now. You can’t take it too seriously. It’s life and things will go wrong and right. Thing will go better than expected and worse than expected. In the end, how you deal with it is, is what defines you. So try your best to laugh when things go wrong or at least think about how you will laugh about it in a weeks’ time!
Sue Carter is the owner of Image Salon in Ipswich Suffolk which has been going for 11 years. She has been using Phorest Salon Software for two years. The Phorest Blog is going to be following Sue’s salon business over the next 6 months.
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