Working as a stylist in England - where to start: pros and cons and what to keep in mind?

Working as a stylist in England - where to start: pros and cons and what to keep in mind?

Setting my foot on English soil, I wouldn’t in my wildest dreams have imagined that I would become a nail stylist. It wasn't until several years later that my life took a180 degrees turn. At first, nails became my hobby. However, thanks to my fascination and development opportunities, it soon became something much more. Currently, I am the owner of a salon and a training center in Peterborough, where I’d like to cordially invite you. During my trainings I very often get asked the question: "HOW TO GET STARTED"? 

Since, in my own case, no-one could answer these questions concisely and understandably when I needed it the most, I hope that the following text will prove very useful to you! 

Being in a foreign country, we may feel a bit overwhelmed when trying to start our business - although the British tax system is favorable, not everyone knows where to start. So - in order: 

If you are a stylist who’s gotten her education and certificates in Poland - I have some bad news for you. Although you have most likely gained lots of knowledge, in the UK your education won’t be enough to obtain the insurance recommended in the course of doing business. The word "recommended" is interesting here - although the so-called "public liability insurance" allows you to sleep peacefully in the event of a failure or accident that happened to a potential client - it is not a 100% requirement if you run a business as a self-employed person - it's different for people who already have employees in their salons. 

Back to your qualifications - it will be best to contact a potential broker or insurance company directly, as they will be able to advise you on what you need to do to obtain your insurance - sometimes a certificate in English and several (at least, unfortunately) years of experience working in Britain are enough; other times, the only way is to get an English qualification/training. Such training is available throughout the country - but you must make sure that your chosen school has accreditation, otherwise it will be money flushed down the drain. Following England's withdrawal from the European Union in 2021, English law has changed and there are no more concessions here - basic training must be accredited to be eligible to legally start a business as a nail stylist - a so-called Nail Technician. Nevertheless, it is worth calling several insurers, as guidelines may differ. 

In addition, it’s also recommend to check with your local council (city hall) what else you will need from a legal point of view - e.g., in London and the surrounding area, you must also have at least NVQ lvl2 education to be able to be employed in a salon; in some parts of the country’ you’ll also need a so-called service license, renewable annually. 

At the beginning, many stylists treat doing nails as an additional source of income and start by styling friends, then clients at home, where they usually have a designated corner or room for this purpose. Theoretically, at this point, everything I wrote above doesn't matter - as long as no one knows, right? But should anything go really wrong and a dissatisfied client files a lawsuit, a lack of insurance can cost us dearly. 

Moving on, we have to ask ourselves - is nail art still a hobby or are we serious about starting a business? Because it's really not that hard! British offices are flexible, allowing a potential stylist to consider whether they want to run a business or not and provides a 3-month period to report this fact. This means that we get a 3 month worry free period. After this time, we must register our business - at the latest, at the end of the financial year, i.e. on April 5. In practice, it looks like this: if we started our business in August and continue to run it in November, we have until April to submit all the papers and settle accounts for the current year. However, if we start in February and want to have documented income for February and March - we must act earlier. Setting up a business is very simple - all you need to do is register at: https://www.gov.uk/ , after which you get your unique tax reference number. However, if we are afraid that we will not manage on our own, there are a lot of advisers or accountants who can help in such matters - for a fee, of course. 

What else is important? Of course, the National Insurance contributions. At the time of settlement, our accountant will to tell us how many contributions we have to pay. This is a one-time fee that is paid together with tax at the end of the tax year. So far this was 12%, and the threshold at which it is paid is £9568.00. The coming tax year may bring about an increase of 1.25%. The tax itself has been stabilizing at 20% for a long time, and the tax bracket was £12,500 for this year and has not changed for several years. 

So, we already have insurance and in the near future we will become the proud owner of a one-person business. Now we still have to decide on our base of operations. 

We have several options to choose from: 

• go mobile, which many novice stylists decide on due to the lack of funds to rent or buy a place. Often, mobile businesses simply operate from the comfort of the owner’s home - which must be verified with the appropriate office (council). 
• subletting a chair in a salon / employment in a salon - allows for a good start, as we usually join a salon that has a stable client base, but it often causes stress for novice stylists. Clear and understandable terms of contract or sublease are very important for mutual benefit at this point. 
• registering part of a property (a room or part of a residential house, which is not a detached building) as a business. This is also a fairly simple option - however, due to the variety of requirements in different councils, it is best to make appropriate arrangements in advance. We will get instructions on, for example: Business Rates (fees for the use of premises) - which we can try to reduce up to a certain limit, information on advertisements and banners, parking or traffic congestion restrictions, which are very important in residential districts. 
• renting premises for business activity, or construction/transformation of a building into a business - the most costly and time-consuming option, which is usually chosen by companies already established on the market. 

When we go through all the above options, it remains to congratulate ourselves on perseverance and stubbornness - and on my part, I would like to wish you all good luck in your future business and the development of your career!