Would love some advice on...

[BALDCAT]

Hi all

Me and my partner have recently been looking into opening a Barber shop. For some background information, I have worked in an office for the past 11 years as a Senior Hire Controller and he has been a hairdresser/barber for 8 years. We have had enough of life in the area we are in, our jobs are not very rewarding. We have around 12-15k saved and no dependants (unless you count the cat)


I'd love some information on the below:


- I am assuming service charges are applicable on any type of commercial building we rent therefore we should factor this into our budget?

- Do we need public liability insurance? (apologies if I seem a complete noobie by asking this)

- CAPITAL ALLOWANCES! Can we claim a barber chair as a capital allowance? Is this possible? barber chairs are mostly all around £1,000.

- Do business rates apply for any kind of business, eg. a barbers?

- I do not quite understand renting agreements in the commercial sense.. What are break clauses and how do we (and the landlord) benefit from them?

- Is it worth obtaining a license to rent a place for 6 months? As most of the commercial rent I have been reading about seems to be 4 years+.. Seeing as we are just starting out I do get concerned we'll end up on 'Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away' in 2 years.


Thank you all in advance!

Samsam

 

[Scalloway]

Do we need public liability insurance?

Yes

CAPITAL ALLOWANCES! Can we claim a barber chair as a capital allowance? Is this possible? barber chairs are mostly all around £1,000.

Yes

Do business rates apply for any kind of business, eg. a barbers?

Yes. But a small business may get a discount.

- I do not quite understand renting agreements in the commercial sense.. What are break clauses and how do we (and the landlord) benefit from them?

You get to end the lease early

When you get to the point of being offered a lease get a solicitor to go over it.

 

[Mr D]

Some small shops / small businesses get a reduction or even no business rates to pay. Its zero up to a point then a sliding scale up to another point.

Have to agree most strongly with Scalloway - a lease and a commercial solicitor go together. Not cheap to use a solicitor but can save you a ton later.
You sign a lease you are stuck with it - you don't get the same protections a consumer does.

Didn't realise barbers chairs sold for that much, I'm in the wrong business....

Seriously most people need a haircut so if there's sufficient demand you should do OK. Even in bad times people still get hair cut. Its a lot better idea than plenty we see on the forums anyway.
Good luck.

Oh and if you need a singer to make up the quartet....

 

[The next Steve Jobs]

Dont expect to get rich quick

Be very carefull on how much rent u have to pay out

it's a safe idea, but you need to be really carefull not to paint yourself into a corner financially.

2 customers an hour times 50 hours a week at £10 per cut = £1000

Plus 20 hours a week on misc chores and paperwork


VERY IMPORTANT

Many factors are far less of an issue if you allready own a barbershop outright, please remember that many small business owners don't earn much...they just have much lower outgoings than most....hidden advantages that make direct comparison difficult.

Imagine two identical barber shops side by side, one is losing hair and the will to live, the other is coasting and enjoying life .... The difference? Hidden advantages!

Owns shop outright
Is due a large inheritance that will clear thier mortgage
A rich uncle for interest free loans paid back at their convenience
Retired parents who do the book keeping
Cousin who is a web designer and IT expert
Children who work for free
A magic cat with an IQ of 2000

You get the picture ... you will be surprised how many hidden advantages are not advertised by those who appear to be 'doing so well'



the grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence (optical illusion)

 

[Caledonian TV]

Your partner should know his trade better than I; but aren't there a whole raft of health and hygiene regulations to be complied with?

Certainly you'll need public liability insurance (almost every business does) but you may well need some sort of professional indemnity insurance too - in case a customer throws a hissy fit and threatens legal action. And I suspect there will be a lot more needed by way of equipment than a chair... A whole raft of potential fitting out might be needed surely?

You need to drill into all of this a bit deeper... Make a list of ALL the equipment you'll need and start costing it. As for the statutory requirements, a quick google reveals:

https://www.nhf.info/advice-and-res...ealth-and-safety-requirements-for-your-salon/

 

[Mr D]

OP, may well be worth checking out wholesale suppliers / warehouses if you don't already for the products you want to buy.

A few towns and cities run a system whereby a product / service supplier meets their requirements and they certify the business, enabling them to put a sticker in the window and advertise they meet 'best of xx' in their category.

 

[BALDCAT]

Thank you all so much. I will read into everything you guys have mentioned before going ahead with anything.

@The next Steve Jobs I understand we won't get rich fast, to be honest we'd be happy just having a place of our own and affording to live relatively comfortably. Hardships are definitely expected!

We need to list all the things we need (not just outfitting for the shop but health and safety, public liability etc) and the costs and go from there.

Also need to look into the things we can capitalise on like @Mr D mentioned.. and 'Capital Allowances'

Last question... Does anyone know any particular estate agents that specialise in this type of thing? I have been honestly searching the net quite a bit and most commercial properties are JUST commercial.. We'd like to ideally live above our shop.

 

[GTL]

Don't practice on the cat though.......

In all seriousness best of luck. Think about cashflow, halve your forecast, do out your shop as nicely as you can and tell folk about the shop.

 

[The next Steve Jobs]

I guessed you were after the lifestyle factors

Hi rent and a bad landlord will your kill dreams

Finding the right property can be a long frustrating journey, the temptation to gloss over the downsides 'it will be allright' will become quite strong... before you know it you will have painted yourself in a corner.

STAY VERY COOL HEADED AT THE OUTSET

Get the key factors right and the warm fuzzy glo stuff will follow


Things to bear in mind.

The UK is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, the population has been growing rapidly for decades and will continue to grow for several more...property and land prices are much higher than many other countries and there is a dire shortage of quality homes and commercial space, this means that landowners and landlords can charge high prices and setup lease and rent agreements that our strongly in thier favour...this situation is unlikely to be reversed in your lifetime.

Landlords are not necessarily evil, but in business land your landlord isn't going to care if you have to work 100 hours a week to pay his rent...afterall it won't be long before a+nother dreamy eyed couple with fuzzy dreams and fuzzy financials comes along.