Is a salon job really safer than being self-employed?

A salon job feels like the safe choice, and I get why. Someone else runs the business, so you get to show up and do hair. I know that feeling well since I worked in commission salons for years. Then March 2020 showed a lot of stylists what “safe” really meant.

If you’ve got a real book of clients and you keep asking yourself, “Is leaving a mistake?” then this one’s for you. You wouldn’t be the first to make the jump, either, since 48% of hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists already work for themselves, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Want a quiet day on your own instead? Then a suite might be your best fit, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Isn’t a salon job the safer choice?

A salon job gives you a place to work and someone else to run the business. And honestly, that’s worth something, because you get to show up, do hair, and let the owner worry about the rest.

About fifteen years ago, I moved to Austin and landed at a big salon there, where I became one of their top performers. I loved working there, so I did what felt like the natural next step. I told the owners I’d join their leadership team and asked how I could keep more of my hard-earned money.

They told me I was welcome to work as many hours as I wanted.

More hours. That was their whole plan for me.

I had the clients and I knew how to market, but nobody was teaching me the business side. If you’re running the numbers on commission versus paying for your own space, I walked through that math in booth rent vs commission.

What happened to Texas stylists in March 2020?

March 20, 2020 was the day a lot of Texas stylists who worked as W-2 employees lost their jobs. I told this story on Stars of Franchising because it changed how I think about the word “safe.”

Here’s what stuck with me...

Those stylists took salon jobs because they felt safe, since somebody else carried the risk and made the calls.

And then somebody else made the call.

Here’s how the next seven weeks played out in Texas...

1. March 20, 2020Bex’s account

   Bex says Texas stylists who worked as W-2 employees lost their jobs. Hear her tell it at 06:02

2. April 2, 2020Texas order

   Order GA-14 tells Texans to avoid cosmetology salons. Read GA-14, signed March 31

3. May 8, 2020Texas order

   Order GA-21 lets salons and barber shops open again at 12:01 a.m. Read GA-21, signed May 5

After that, a lot of stylists wanted to work for themselves. I’d already been doing it for five years by then, so I opened more salons, and that’s how bex+Co. grew.

So what actually keeps a stylist safe?

Your real safety net is your clients and your business know-how, and the good news is you already have the first one.

Your clients come from you, and you already know how to market yourself. The piece most of us never got is how to run the business.

Working for yourself has risk too, and I won’t pretend it doesn’t. The difference is that the decisions are yours, so you can plan for them. That’s why I went looking for a beautiful place that taught the business side.

I couldn’t find one, so I built it.

That place is bex+Co., a Shared Workspace Salon™ for independent beauty pros. Your membership comes with your own chair and a full workstation on one open floor, and you set your prices, keep your clients and stay self-employed. Want the whole step-by-step plan for going independent, wherever you land? Start with how to go independent as a hairstylist.

Here’s how the three setups stack up...

Does going independent mean going alone?

You don’t have to go it alone. Stylists are social people, and most of us got into this work because we like being around others.

I love suites, and they give a lot of stylists an amazing opportunity. In a suite, though, the learning and the social side tend to quiet down. That’s great if you’re a little burnt out and want your own space, and if that’s you, a suite may be the better fit.

I’d rather you pick the setup that fits how you work.

I built bex+Co. for the other kind of stylist, the one who wants to keep learning with people around them. That’s the whole point of it: community, collaboration and the education built in.

What does beauty school leave out?

Beauty school has a gap, and it’s the money side of your own life. So I teach it in my course, the Beauty Empire Blueprint: business education, buying a home as a self-employed person, saving for your child’s college and setting up a Roth IRA.

Some of my students are the first in their family to buy a home.

I don’t take that lightly, because I see a stylist as a whole person, and I want them to have a better life. Quick note, though: I’m not your tax pro or your lawyer, so check with yours before you act on any of it.

What should I do next?

Tour before you decide, and ask every place the hard questions, mine included. If losing clients is the fear behind all of this, read will my clients follow me next.

Then come stand on a bex+Co. floor and talk to the stylists working there. Ask them anything you want. I built it, and I’d love for you to see it before you decide.

★★★★★

The energy at bex+Co.^® is something you can't explain until you feel it. I've worked in salons that claimed to be 'family' but it never felt like that. Here, there's no competition. Everyone wants to see you succeed.