A police officer turned beauty studio boss on £25k

Welcome to The Money Diaries with Sage, where we swoop into the finances of merchantry owners and discover how they deal with money matters on a daily basis.

We’re asking entrepreneurs how they’re managing their finances over a seven-day period, to requite you a picture of what incomes and outgoings really squint like from their perspective.

Today is the turn of a former police officer who now runs a eyeful studio.

And make sure you trammels out Reader’s Response at the end of this article, where purser and best-selling tragedian Carl Reader reveals his thoughts and shares some top tips for our entrepreneur.

Here’s what we imbricate in this article:

• Meet our entrepreneur and trammels out their Money Diary
• Final thoughts on the week
• Reader’s Response

Meet our entrepreneur and trammels out their Money Diary

• Industry: Beauty.
• How long you have been an entrepreneur? 7 years.
• Day job: Initially, I worked slantingly my employed position in the emergency services prior to stuff medically retired.
• Location: Sunderland.
• Salary: £25,000 (£9k ill health retirement pension £16k part-time self-employment).
• Household: As things stand, I reside with one husband, two male teenagers (the struggle is real), two Cocker Spaniels, one Bengal cat, and a villous dragon.

Day 1 – Monday

Opening wastefulness at the start of the week: £2,008.75

I don’t work Mondays. Truth be told, I’m unquestionably only working three days per week at the time of writing.

Before you think I’m either work-shy, living the dream, or both, it would probably be helpful to start with some preliminaries information.

I was a police officer for 13 years. But unfortunately, towards the end of that service, I was diagnosed with a lifelong mental health illness.

The demands of a 24/7 response cop are relentless.

Stressful situations, shift work, extended working hours, cancelled rest days, unpredictability—essentially everything I was told to stave with my condition.

So, in 2017 I made the difficult visualization to winnow ill health retirement. Cue a total life overhaul and the most random career transpiration ever, and here I am.

Self-employment is veritably not for the faint hearted, but it affords me the flexibility required to make sure I’m in the weightier position to alimony myself well, hence the part-time hours.

I’ve honestly never looked back.

Initially, I rented a chair. Just short of two years later I moved into my first premises, and a larger premises flipside two years later. I worked nonflexible to establish my business, my rent was still reasonable and I had a weekly renter contributing towards it.

Then the wool unthinkable happened: the pandemic.

I had to tropical for a total of seven or so months, which is a catastrophic wrack-up for a small business. The road to recovery has been long and arduous, and it’s still ongoing.

In December 2021, I made the visualization to go all in, double or quits as they say.

I moved into new premises in a much increasingly prominent position in Sunderland municipality centre. The plan was to turn increased visibility into new clients and grow profits.

My rent doubled and then some, which, as expected, comes with widow pressure and strain. Not platonic for someone with zero tolerance for stress, but nothing ventured nothing gained and all that.

Seven months in and I ask myself “did I make the right decision?”

The jury is still out on that one.

Money earned: £0

Money spent: £0

Day 2 – Tuesday

Despite working part time, there is unchangingly something to do. School runs, cleaning, life admin. The days just go.

I genuinely think managing social media finance is a job in itself. I try to set whispered time on my days out of the studio to prepare content to post regularly. I moreover alimony on top of DMs, emails, text messages and WhatsApp daily.

Which reminds me, I really must get stricter when it comes to replying to people.

I tend to reply no matter the day or time. I’ve previously received messages on the likes of Boxing Day and both ridiculously early and ridiculously late.

I really must stop responding straight yonder as I’m implying it’s acceptable, and it isn’t.

I received a phone undeniability from the music licence company. Despite my existing licence stuff covered up to September, my transpiration of premises ways I’m required to pay an spare sum to bring the licence up to stage and imbricate me until the end of November.

It was unforeseen, but only £31.53 so not an issue.

I pay £30 a month by uncontrived debit for an online booking system, which is worth every penny. It (mostly) negates the need for clients to contact me to make, rearrange or cancel appointments. My insurance is moreover paid by monthly uncontrived debit at a forfeit of £22.66.

I haven’t included my personal spending as I do alimony my merchantry and personal finance entirely separate. I can requite you an insight into it though: let’s just say I have a penchant for H&M Home, and I alimony Sainsbury’s in business.

Money earned: £0

Money spent: £84.19

Day 3 – Wednesday

I recently made the difficult visualization to increase my prices.

I thought long and nonflexible well-nigh it as it’s important to me that I remain wieldy to everyone. However, as a small merchantry I just couldn’t protract to swizzle the rising financing entirely.

This is week two since the increased price structure was implemented. Truth be told, I’m still stressing well-nigh it.

I have a tendency to overthink everything, which isn’t conducive to making rational decisions, nor is it any good for my mental health. I often find it difficult to put on my ‘business head’, which in the past has perhaps unauthentic my visualization making.

My mam once commented I wasn’t cut-throat unbearable for business.

I still don’t think owning a merchantry necessarily ways I need to be ruthless, but I am enlightened that the primary objective of a merchantry is to generate profit, and that decisions need to be made on reason rather than emotion.

It’s definitely something I continually need to work on.

In comparison to other businesses, with the exception of rent, my overheads are relatively small.

I do not employ staff, although I have toyed with the idea of employing someone lately. But I have to be sensible, as I fear it could rationalization increasingly stress than it’s worth.

Behind every visualization I make, I must consider the potential impact on my mental health.

Furthermore, I moreover don’t have unbearable clients to justify it right now, so it would definitely be a specimen of speculate to yaffle and I’m just not sure. On the other hand, it would midpoint potential to unquestionably make money when I’m not at work, expressly when I need to take an extended period of time off.

I’ve serried to meet with a client/friend who runs her own merchantry and employs staff to discuss the ins and outs and go from there. It’s kind of her to requite up her time. We chew the fat over cuppas and confection (£11) and I come yonder with lots to ‘overthink’ about.

The option I’ve favoured previously is to rent space out to other self-employed people.

I’m veritably enlightened I need to utilise the studio space on the days I do not work rather than letting it sit empty. It’s proved much increasingly difficult than I anticipated.

I thought when I moved into a prominent municipality centre location, I would be inundated with people wanting to rent space.

Inundated may be a slight exaggeration but I certainly didn’t expect to find myself seven months in without flipside weekly renter. I ventilate regularly and I suppose all I can really do is protract to do so in hope that I find someone suitable.

I’ve considered taking a increasingly zippy tideway and contacting people directly, but I can’t help but finger this is overstepping.

During and pursuit the coronavirus saga, a lot of people in this industry struggled to stay afloat.

Many had to get part-time jobs slantingly their self-employment and/or revert to working from home rather than renting space. This has undoubtedly unsalaried to the difficulties I’m facing.

As things stand, I have one weekly renter, a nail tech who rents one day per week, and an philosophy nurse who holds a clinic three or four times a month.

I place an online order from a supplier to be delivered at a total forfeit of £48.52. I’m quite fortunate in that my product costs, despite rising costs, are still relatively low in comparison to other lines of business. I place an order as and when required, however unchangingly try to ensure I have surplus stock.

Money earned: £0

Money spent: £59.52

Day 4 – Thursday

My first day in the studio and it’s going to be a rented one. I tend to work late on a Thursday, so it can finger like a really long day.

I start at the very least 30 min surpassing my first visit is due, permitting time for my wax to heat up and to start the day with a cuppa. I drink a lot of tea and Diet Coke. Thankfully, I don’t drink coffee as there is a rather lovely coffee shop nearby.

I do, however, eat sweet treats and bagels, which would be increasingly evident if we were to squint at my personal spending. If I do have time to eat, I unchangingly end up ownership something, which can really start to add up.

No time for supplies today though as I’ve got no gaps all day. I say every week I must indulge myself 30 mins to take a break, I must start to bring in lunch to eat.

I say it, but I don’t unquestionably do it. This needs to change.

Today included some high-value appointments, so I take a total of £417. This certainly isn’t a typical day’s takings, it’s increasingly like a day on the run-up to Christmas. If only every day was like this!

Well, maybe with a unravel and some lunch for good measure.

Money earned: £417

Money spent: £0

Day 5 – Friday

Ordered a toaster online in a bid to transpiration my ways. Last week I purchased a fridge. I’m definitely going to start bringing my lunch in and schedule time for a unravel going forward.

Before April this year I was working four days a week, fewer hours per day.

Since condensing my hours, my days are obviously longer and often a lot busier. Before, I tended to have the occasional gap throughout the day. I think I mostly prefer it this way.

I of undertow have to wastefulness this with ensuring I have sufficient availability and gently remind clients to typesetting in whop where possible.

The last thing I want is for clients to go elsewhere considering they can’t get an visit and/or considering my days are limited. It’s unchangingly a balancing act. Fortunately, there is unchangingly that flexibility to transpiration and try new ways of working if need be.

Money earned: £270

Money spent: £25

Day 6 – Saturday

During the football season I only work until 2.30pm. Lifelong-suffering Sunderland fan here, though I’m full of renewed enthusiasm for the season.

Out of season, I work a little later.

Saturday used to be a guaranteed rented day, withal with my late nights on Thursday. Not so much post-pandemic; it can be hit or miss.

I think as increasingly people protract to work from home, they perhaps have wilt increasingly flexible with their time. This ways increasingly clients can typesetting in during the day as opposed to stuff limited to an evening or weekend.

After work, I’ve serried to meet with the owners of the coffee shop to discuss marketing and growth of our businesses. The plan is to get our heads together and come up with some ideas that would goody both of us. They are lovely people and it’s nice to support each other.

We stipulate to start with a simple and relatively inexpensive campaign. The plan is to diamond a combined flyer and distribute them throughout the municipality centre, targeting people who are once there for work. I leave with a renewed enthusiasm: I can make this work.

My enthusiasm doesn’t last long unfortunately.

My weekly renter has given notice to leave. Like many, she had to take on an employed position slantingly her self-employed work and it’s rhadamanthine difficult to maintain both.

She needs the increased security employment affords and has made the difficult visualization to leave this industry all together.

This a massive wrack-up for me, both personally and professionally. She has worked slantingly me since I opened my first premises. I literally cried.

Money earned: £210

Money spent: £0

Day 7 – Sunday

Sunday is usually my favourite day, a day of wool rest. Self-care Sunday, as I like to undeniability it.

But I need to do some work today.

I usually do my end of week finance on a Saturday, but I just wasn’t feeling up to it yesterday. I’m once stressing over what I’m going to do moving forward. All thoughts of employing someone are out the window as I can’t take any unnecessary risks for the foreseeable.

I’m typically very organised when it comes to my finance and do them weekly without fail.

I alimony it simple and record every transaction daily, recording the totals at the end of the week.

At the end of each month, I record the month overall as a plus or minus icon (thankfully, with the exception of the Covid months, it’s unchangingly in the black). Doing things this way moreover makes it significantly easier when it comes to my tax return.

Income from my renters this week totals £140.70.

When I signed my tenancy, I used all of my savings to pay my rent in whop for the year. By doing this I was entitled to a 10% discount, which was a decent saving, so I felt it was worth doing.

If I am worldly-wise to stay put, then I’ll aim to do the same thing the pursuit year. For this reason, I set whispered money for my rent every week as if I were paying the full value weekly, no exceptions.

I moreover save for my tax snout weekly (variable depending on income that week), a lesson I learned early on in my self-employment journey.

When it comes to managing my merchantry account, I’ve tried to build up the wastefulness by unchangingly financial any income from my renters. I said from the very whence that I didn’t want to rely on anyone else to imbricate my outgoings.

Until recently I’d therefore only overly paid myself from income I’d unquestionably earned myself. This could fluctuate massively from week to week, and I midpoint massively.

For the past few months, I’ve taken a variegated tideway and I now pay myself £300 per week regardless of how much or how little I earn that week.

In that sense losing my weekly renter won’t impact on my very wage per se, but obviously it will impact on the value of money I bank.

I’m trying not to panic. After six months I’m going to assess everything and establish if this value needs to be reduced, or hopefully increased.

Once more, it’s a balancing act. I’m keeping a tropical eye on things and so far, it’s looking well-nigh right for now. If anything as things stood I could probably have justified a slight increase.

Money earned: £140.70

Money spent: £665 (Including £300 weekly wage. Remaining £395 technically not spent per se but allocated to rent and tax savings)

Totals for the week

Money earned: £1037.77

Money spent: £833.71 (including £300 wage and allocated savings)

Total banked: £204.06

Closing wastefulness at the end of the week: £2,212.81

Final thoughts on the week

It’s pearly to say this week has demonstrated the trials and tribulations of running a business. It can certainly be an emotional rollercoaster at times.

Overall, I’ve had a good week financially.

Ideally, I’d like to pay myself a worthier wage but considering the hours I work I think I do OK. I’m satisfied with the value I have banked. Some weeks I wall increasingly and some weeks I wall much less. Swings and roundabouts.

If I could offer translating to any founder, it would be try not to panic.

Part of me can’t believe I’m saying that with a straight face.

Seriously though, if there is one thing I have learned it’s that it is important to squint at the worthier picture.

For example, squint at the month overall rather than one good or bad week. This is particularly important when you run a merchantry that can fluctuate from week to week and season to season.

Oh, and learn to find some balance.

Yes, stuff self-employed can be stressful, and doesn’t come with the security of a definite salary. But at least no one is trying to stab me with a screwdriver!

Reader’s Response

And to wrap up… what are Carl Reader’s thoughts on the financial habits of our eyeful studio boss?

Check out the video unelevated to find out…

The post A police officer turned eyeful studio superabound on £25k appeared first on Sage Translating United Kingdom.