Debate: Did you go with a salon suite rental or stay at a commission shop?

I worked at a commission shop in Columbus for about 2 years but finally switched to a salon suite rental last month. The freedom is nice but man, the overhead hit me harder than I expected like my rent is $800 a month plus supplies. On the other hand I keep 100% of my service price now instead of 40%. Has anyone else made this jump and regretted it or was it worth it for you?

3 comments

3 Comments

aaronsullivan5d ago

lol my best friend did the exact same thing last year and she texted me three months in like "I just spent $600 on backbar and color and I haven't even paid myself yet." The "overhead hit me harder than I expected" part is so real for her. She had to start booking way more clients just to break even. But after about six months she finally got her groove and now she's actually taking home more money than she ever did at the commission shop. It just took a minute for her to get used to being her own boss with all the little costs adding up.

drew_hart45d ago

My friend saw $0 in profit for four months before it finally clicked.

claire_grant345d ago

Ah yes, the classic "spend money to make money" trap that feels more like "spend money to cry about money." Four months of zero profit sounds like a solid business plan if your goal is a stress test. At least when it finally clicked, it wasn't a total meltdown.