Making the move from employee to employer

As part of our Build a Business campaign, Salon owner and business mentor Michael van Clarke talks to Matthew Batham about the move from employee to employer. What experience had you had prior to buying your salon that made you ready to make the move to salon owner? I spent ten years with John Frieda, working my way up from being his apprentice to managing his flagship Mayfair salon. What attributes did you have that helped make the transmission? I was good with numbers, challenges, and puzzles. Business can be like a multidimensional ever-changing Rubik’s Cube that you never quite complete.

• I was happy to play a long game.
• I had the capacity to work long and hard.
• I had proven experience of building a bigger loyal clientele than I could service alone.
• I had proven experience of developing others - I left six good stylists at John’s who had apprenticed with me.
• I had the courage to take the risk and naivety of youth to not fully understand the risks I was taking.

Did you attend any courses to help prepare yourself for the change? Not on business but a lot on my personal development - psychological, emotional, spiritual. Tell me about the early days of being a salon owner – what were the major lessons you learnt? I learnt how difficult business is for the uninitiated and why 80% of new businesses fail in the first five years. How if you want to grow a business further than your own hands you must have good systems in place and they must be constantly evolving and improving. In terms of people management, what were the major challenges and how did you deal with them? Most people want the opportunity to give their best, be their best, and be recognized for it. However, left to their own devices, most people think short term and want to take more out of life than they put in. There has to be organization and direction for the team. We aim to help people develop an inspiring vision for themselves, plot a clear path and help coach them along. All the while making their progress as clear and transparent as possible, with rewards and recognition at key milestones. Based on your own experience, what advice would you offer to someone making the change from employee to salon owner?If you get the urge to open your own business, go and lie down until it passes. I read that comment after I opened, and in the darkest hours it always came back to me. I don’t agree with it but people should think very carefully about what they really want from a business. It is highly unlikely to give you more time, flexibility, or money in the short term. Possibly not even in the medium term. Most likely only in the long term and only then if the business is one of the tiny percentage that survives and flourishes. So think deeply and carefully on the reasons why you want your own business. As an employed hairdresser, you are likely taking a commission on your client takings. This equates to a net profit on your column, which is far greater than the average net profit of a whole salon business. Given the recession, some research suggests the majority of salons are barely making 3-4% profit margin. Many are making losses. Have you maximised the potential of your column business as an employee on commission? Do you have so much demand that you can raise prices above the local average? Do you create a lot of colour work and retail sales? Do you cover the full range of skills; social, creative, technical, business? Do you have a partner or potential employees, sub-contractors to fill the gaps? I would want to tick yes to all of these before considering the risks of opening a business.   For more informative and inspirational business news and features subscribe to HJ