Hi Kelly! I recommend reading this post first. What the professionals in your area are making is extremely irrelevant, as they’re very likely to be misclassified and not earning guaranteed wages for their time. Even if they are, every salon has highly variable costs and different strategies for covering those costs. For those reasons, it’s really hard to compare any two facilities meaningfully, even if they appear similar and are located in the same area.

When it comes to compensation, I recommend negotiating an arrangement that works for you and your lifestyle. High commissions generally come with major strings attached, and when the math is all done, it’s highly unlikely that the professional is bringing home that much. (In nearly every single assessment I do for the professionals I coach, they’d be better off working retail than in a commission-based salon.) Concern yourself with what you need to be paid to sustain your lifestyle, instead of what you’re earning in comparison to others. I’d argue that $16/hr plus $20-30 per service, plus tips, is extremely competitive pay for a salon professional.

Hi Christina! I normally take consulting appointments, but am on maternity leave until early-August. If you join my mailing list, you’ll be among the first to be notified when my online booking system goes back up. In the meantime, you might benefit from my book, Salon Ownership & Management: The Definitive Guide to the Professional Beauty Business.

Even if the deductions were legal (which I highly doubt, especially since they aren’t being recorded), the compensation promise isn’t being fulfilled, which means she’s guilty of deceptive hiring practices, at the very least. Cost of doing business expenses are the employer’s responsibility. The fact that the owner feels it’s necessary to deduct these costs (instead of doing the damn math and charging the clients appropriately) points to gross incompetence, if not intentional deception and theft.

Hey Tina . I want to thank you for doing what you are doing . I am a salon owner for 9 years . I decided to open a nail salon 10 years ago with just the vision of providing a beautiful experience . I went to participated and certified myself as a nail technician. Unfortunately as you mentioned in the nail program business management theory has not served me . I got very busy very fast and started to add and add services but never thought to restructure my business . I also felt I was very young to start . My lack of resources was limited . I feel guilty now that i am older and wiser and more experienced and looking to better myself and my business . (Wow i said a lot of ands) . I am currently operating incorrectly and would really like your feedback to head me into the right direction. I am inspired and empowered to provide jobs for the women in my community the right way . As well as our community correctly . Please let me know how you can help me restructure my business. Thanks

It sounds to me like you’ve already recognized that this situation likely isn’t sustainable. The renter doesn’t sound as if she was ready to rent to begin with, and her failure to retain and build (even after you’ve so generously advertised on her behalf) isn’t a good sign about her ability to succeed long-term. Allowing her to compete with the salon’s employees isn’t appropriate and the rental agreement was clear, so she knew what she was signing up for.

If I were you, I’d terminate the lease and wish her luck (or offer her a position as an employee, if she seems capable of accepting direction).

I own an established lash studio and have recently taken on a renter that does microblading. I have a few employees as well. She is currently our only renter. She pays a flat fee each month. I’ve been all but supportive and have advertised for her and sent out emails to our studio clients about her services.

The renter is struggling to build her clientele and is wanting to start offering another service however, the service she is wanting to offer is something that I’m planning on having my studio (our employees) offer. I’m not sure what to do here. Our agreement is that she is there to do microblading – I have an employee that wants to offer microblading but I’ve held off as to not be in competition with our renter. If I agree to our renter to offer this new service, and then have one of my employees start doing this service, we are in direct competition with each other in the same building which is obviously ridiculous. I’m trying to figure out a way we could fix this situation without losing the renter and also being fair to her and to myself. She’s trying to build her business which I totally understand but this doesn’t seem right. It’s very confusing and I just want to do the right thing without getting taken advantage and without interfering with her business.

Please help! Thank you.

It’s legal, but I wouldn’t consider it a good system, mostly because you’re going to have a really hard time selling that compensation system to professionals. The system you’re suggesting basically boils down to $7/hr plus 25% commission, versus $10 an hour (where the tips offset the difference). I recommend running that by some professionals to see what they have to say about it, because currently, we offer guaranteed hourly wages that are at least $5 above the prevailing minimum versus 35% commission (and take no tip credit) and have applicants bitching about that, lol. Honestly, if you were my consulting client, I would not endorse that structure–not just on account of the perception issue, but because there are also more streamlined methods that achieve the same purpose and won’t require tip credits.

Sorry if I was confusing ! We would make sure they get $10 at the end of the week regardless . The $7 is a no matter what payment from us ( 70 percent of minimum wage) with us expecting them to make the other 30 percent and then some, out of their 25 percent commission. So basically , in a 10 hour day, $30 of what they make goes to their minimum wage (10 hours at $10 an hour mandated) . 25 percent of any made above $30 is right in their paycheck . We would only hold credit card tips against them, if they failed to make minimum wage that week. Hopefully this makes more sense . And if it still seems whack.. please tell me! Lol.