Will Rent-a-Chair Work For Your Business?

Salon owners often look to chair renting as a way of saving money but do the pros outweigh the cons? We take a look at whether rent-a-chair will work for your business.

When you’re running a business it can be very easy to be consumed by the money-side of things and how you can save pennies, so many salon owners look to rent-a-chair models as an option to keep costs for themselves down. Having fewer staff on the payroll means you won’t have to worry about contributing towards National Insurance, paying sick pay or contributing to their pension. But will rent-a-chair work for your business?

Whilst the above seems really tempting — who wouldn’t want to cut costs? There are benefits to wanting to create a brand that has long-term goals, and if you don’t have a permanent team of amazing staff this may be difficult to achieve.

If freelancers are renting space within your salon, then they can dictate their own working hours, the prices they charge, the services offered, products they use, the education they choose to have and the image they portray. Imagine your whole team is made up of freelancers, all doing their own thing. What impression of your business do you think this will give your clients? Clients like consistency and transparency, and this may not give you the kind of control you want over your business.

However with self-employment being higher than any point over the last 40 years, there can be some benefits to using the rent-a-chair model within your salon. Whether you employ freelancers or change your current staff contracts, allowing your stylists to become freelancers can give them the motivation to drive forward your brand.

The first thing you should do if you are considering employing people on this basis is to draw up a contract between yourselves covering topics such as: who looks after the freelancer’s clients whilst they are on holiday or off sick, what percentage of the services offered do you take or whether you will charge a fixed rate for the chair, whether the freelancer has use of your receptionist, etc. It is also vital to ensure that any freelancer you employ, especially when taking a percentage of their services, all their invoices should be going through your salon till. This is to ensure that they are being completely honest about what they are earning and what they have to pay you.

Whatever you decide to do for your business, make sure it is right for you. Introducing a model like this into your business can only go one of two ways, so it is important to ensure that you take the time to find the freelancers that fit your plan for growth.