Freelancing has exploded in Melbourne. Here is what you need to know.
1 - Renting a chair in a salon
2 - Opening a Salon Suite / Home Salon
3 - Mobile Hairdressing
4 - Opening a Salon
These options all have different varying degrees of risk and expense attached to them, and one option may work better for you than others. But all of these options have a few things in Common:
Contractual Agreement
Opening a business in a premises needs to be written in a formal legal document, or contract. This contract stipulates the conditions of your business within an existing salon premises. These agreements usually will outline how much rent is, what you are given in exchange, your agreed hours in the salon, what you need to bring and what you are responsible for.
Be careful with these agreements, as sometimes you might be signing as as freelancer, but might be given roles, responsibilities and duties that is more of an employment agreement i.e: Having to work on a Thursday from 10-9, having to answer the salon phone when it rings, taking care of clients that belong to the salon.
If a contract is written a bit wishy-washy, and there a muddled up terms and stipulations, the salon owner may be liable for you as an 'Employee' even if you both agreed to work independently.
Insurance
Insurance sounds really scary and formal, but its quite easy. As a sole trader, you just need to protect yourself from Public Liability and Professional Indemnity. These protect you if a client is injured in the salon from a trip or fall, or from medical costs associated from a chemical service. Professional Indemnity protects your indemnity as a professional with the advice and recommendations you give a client. Such as what product to use, how to use it, and how to achieve something at home.
It is important to note that the salon owner you are renting from does not have insurance to cover YOU or YOUR business.
Register your ABN and business through ASIC
Registering an ABN is free! it enables you to run your services as a legitimate business, and is used for tax purposes. Not registering your ABN can make tax returns really difficult, and could land you in some hot water with the ATO for not declaring income correctly.
Your business name being registered with ASIC means you can trade as the name of your business. NOTE: Registering an ABN as a sole trader with registered business name does NOT separate you legally from your business if legal action is sought against you. You need to register as a Company to do this.
Policies and Procedures
As a sole trader, you may have a general idea and understanding of how you will handle the intricacies of business. Ensure you remain consistent across your whole business by writing these down, and ensure you are following Consumer Affairs for the rights of you and your clients.
Closing
Starting a business can be a challenging & rewarding experience. The ups usually outweigh the downs!
it is important to understand what is required from you as a business owner, and how you can protect yourself.
COLAB is a freelance hair salon in Melbourne, where you can rent a chair and grow your business. Support and guidance like this is offered all the time, so if having the right support is important to you, you may want to consider reaching out if we have availability to host you!