“How to Start a Mobile Spa Business”
Comment Page 2

@Hilaire Radowick - make sure you incorporate multiple profit centres/income streams to your business which are complementary to your mani/pedi service. Let me know if you would like some help.

@nicole - in your mobile business, what types of services are you looking to offer? How far are you willing to travel in the area? Let me know if you'd like a chat or IM conversation for help.

@Shonda - yes, mobile can be very lucrative when you incorporate all aspects to the equation. Email me so I have your email and can outline a few options that you can review. See if they suit you.

@Eleftheria, I would be pleased to help you with options for offerings in your services. Please email me and I can outline some options and recommendations.

@vivien, Can you tell us where you are building your business so we can better help you? We need this information to help you better.

@lashar, Let us know if you are still seeking help. We can assist you with your mobile spa offerings.

@tumi, What are you using in SA for your offerings? We can help you with several aspects to enhance your business.

@sandra torres, don't charge extra for your travel time and gas. You just need to think otherwise, that is your investment like setting up a spa. Once you get your 80% time booked then start raising the price for the new customers.

Clearly, you have no experience in this industry. The fact that you called it "lucrative" is proof enough of that. I'm a salon & spa management consultant. I've been doing this for over 12 years and can tell you right now that most successful physical salons & spas generate a little over 10% in profit each year, depending on their location and how they're managed. This is a very high overhead business. Most stylists command anywhere from 50-60% and a lot of businesses pay out their nail technicians even more because of the low service costs in their department. If the average signature manicure is $25 and takes about 35-45 minutes and you're paying out 60% to a technician who is using anywhere from $2-4 in product (depending on what lines you use and how conservative she is with it), you're bringing in around $8-9 during that 45 minute period (and that's if the client doesn't smudge the polish, which takes another 10 minutes to fix and dry properly.) That's not a great profit margin considering your operating costs (water, rent, electricity, advertising, any web hosting you may pay for, and any online scheduling systems you may use). So no. This business is not "lucrative" by any means.

Your article is poorly written at best. It contains no real information outside of the things people can figure out on their own. Obviously, any business is going to need financing. Any business is going to need equipment and staff. If you're running a mobile spa, it makes sense that you would hire people that are qualified to perform spa services. You're also incorrect about spa employee compensation. The majority of spa employees are NOT paid every month regardless of whether they service clients. Most of them are on a commission based pay system. They make a percentage of their service sales and retail sales. If they are not servicing clients, they do not make any money at all. It is extremely rare to find a business that utilizes what is referred to as "team based pay" where everyone makes an hourly wage and earns bonuses based on performance.

In addition, many states do not permit (or at least heavily regulate) mobile spa businesses. You didn't mention ANY of this in this three paragraph piece of shit you call an "article." You also mention nothing about the required insurances, business licenses, or tax deductible expenses. Read the numerous questions people have posted in your comments and you'll see how far short your article falls. If it were effectively written, you'd have more "thank you" posts than "please help me!" or "please send me more info!" posts.

I encourage anyone seeking advice here to look elsewhere or email me at tina.alberino@gmail.com. These people do not know what they're talking about.

Hi @Peggy rodriguez! I also live in Florida, so I know exactly what you mean with the retirement communities. Your post leaves a lot for me to assume since it isn't very specific as to what you're hoping to do or what licenses you're referring to, so I'll cover everything and if you have any more questions, just ask and I'll be happy to help. If you're asking about a professional license: Yes, you will have to obtain and maintain your nail license through the DBPR, without a professional license, you will be charged with a second-degree misdemeanor when (not if) you get caught.

If you're asking about a business license: Yes, you will need to get a salon license, which costs $55 per year to renew. The state also requires that you carry and maintain professional liability insurance as well. These policies generally cost around $200 per year. I'm not sure if you're planning on establishing a mobile business (with a state-approved mobile facility) or if you're simply looking to work out of people's homes or retirement communities.

If you are planning on establishing a legitimate mobile business: You will be required by the Board of Cosmetology to have an actual physical location that is inspected and approved. The law states that, "A mobile cosmetology salon must maintain a permanent business address, located in the inspection area of the local department office, at which records of appointments, itineraries, license numbers of employees, and vehicle identification numbers of the licenseholder's mobile salon shall be kept and made available for verification purposes by department personnel, and at which correspondence from the department can be received." All appointments must be booked through this physical location. Your mobile salon (whether it's an RV or van) must meet the state's requirements for fixed location salons. Also, you are required to provide the Board of Cosmetology with a written itinerary every month letting them know where you will be. The specific paragraph I'm referring to states, "To facilitate periodic inspections of mobile cosmetology salons, prior to the beginning of each month each mobile salon license holder must file with the board a written monthly itinerary listing the locations where and the dates and hours when the mobile salon will be operating." What this means for you is that you will have to set a schedule for when you will be in certain areas. If you're planning on investing in a legitimate mobile salon, you would operate basically the same as a bloodmobile or mobile veterinary clinic. You would set a monthly schedule, submit that to the board, and go to the same locations every month.

If you are just looking to simply perform services at private residences WITHOUT establishing a legitimate mobile salon, you need to read chapter 477.0263. The arrangements for beauty workers to offer their services in a community care facility or nursing home must be made through a licensed salon and the information as to the name of the client and the address at which the services are to be performed shall be recorded in the appointment book which must remain at the salon and be made available upon request to any department inspector.
FLORIDA LAW EXPRESSLY PROHIBITS COSMETOLOGY WORKERS TO PERFORM SERVICES IN PRIVATE RESIDENCES UNLESS:
1.) The clients are disabled or otherwise restricted to their homes for legitimate medical reasons, or
2.) The services are being performed in connection with the motion picture, fashion photography, theatrical, or television industry; a photography studio salon; a manufacturer trade show demonstration; or an educational seminar.

If this is what your intention was, my suggestion to you is to start your own business as a booth renter inside an already licensed salon and be sure to take only those clients that can NOT leave their residence for medical reasons. I get anywhere from 5-10 emails a day from women begging for help because they were caught violating the board's laws. Their licenses get revoked, they get fined $500 for each violation (many of them have upwards of 4 violations), and several of them get charged with second-degree misdemeanors. That's just what the state board does to them. The state board gets the IRS involved and the health department and then you're really, really screwed. Trust me, you don't want to go down that road.

In Florida, there is a lot of money to be made working on the disabled and the work is much more satisfying than catering to people's vanity in a standard salon--trust me, I know. I work in a private office located inside a medical practice. I specialize in medical nail & hair care. Many of my patients are suffering from advanced disorders, going through chemo, or recovering from surgeries. I make house calls regularly for our patients that are restricted to their beds. I strongly encourage you to pursue that line of work, but PLEASE do it the right way. The easiest and cheapest way to make this happen is to rent a booth at an established salon that is already inspected and licensed. You will still need a separate business license because as a booth renter, you are simply leasing space. You can use your cell phone to make appointments, but leave the appointment book with all the relevant information at the salon itself. Be sure to abide by the sanitation & disinfection requirements.

As for internet advertising, I encourage you to stay away from it altogether. A more "mature" clientele is not going to find you on the internet anyways. A Facebook fan page will suffice in getting your work out there and maintaining relationships with your clients (it's also free, which is awesome). If you have advertising money to spend, invest it into your local neighborhood newsletters. I live in Tampa and the ones I advertise in are called LOLA (a cute little newspaper that circulates in Land O' Lakes) and Neighborhood News (another little newsletter that is distributed freely at grocery stores and neighborhoods). The good thing about these small publications is that advertising space is cheap and people actually read them because they focus on positive news stories that happen in our town and showcase upcoming events in the area. The response I get from them is overwhelming. I only run 4 a year at this point because when I was running one every month, I didn't have enough staff to keep up with the client demand. Trust me, if you run an ad saying that you do house calls for disabled women or women with mobility challenges, you will get a HUGE response. I'm the only person in my area that offers it and I'm sure you'll be the only one in yours that does as well.

If you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to ask!