Home business BOUNDARIES

Are you a home salon owner struggling to achieve a work-life balance? REBECCA HITCHON chats to pros about their experiences & shares advice

Home salon owners: how successful are you at separating your work and personal lives? Do you find yourself regularly squeezing in clients during what would otherwise be commuting time? Or maybe your family members often venture into your workplace, and clients into your home environment? If you find it challenging to separate personal and professional responsibilities, we’ve sourced advice from esteemed home business owners to help you set and enforce boundaries.

Inside home salon, Meraki Nails Cardiff, owned by The GelBottle Inc ambassador, Joanne Thomas. g,

Pretty Neat Salon, Hertfordshire – owned by Dawn Patrick.

The impact of not building boundaries

“Blurring the boundaries between your job and home tasks can lead to the feeling that work is consuming your life. This can cause resentment, burnout and impact your mental and physical health, as well as personal relationships,” shares owner of Ulu Beauty, Dorset, Scratch Stars Home Nail Salon of the Year

Fiona Fox,

Fiona Fox finalist 2024. “Professionalism can also slip. For example, you may take work calls in noisy environments, lack privacy in your salon or have nail products scattered around the house.”

Jenny Harris

“I used to struggle to switch off from work, which was exhausting, and would wake up in the early hours with my mind racing,” says Jenny Harris of Jenny Harris Nail Artist & Educator, Hertfordshire, Scratch Stars Home Nail Salon of the Year finalist 2024. “I realised that I often worked in other areas of my home aside from my nail studio, as I would respond to client messages while cooking a meal, sitting in bed or watching TV.”

Dawn Patrick

“Many home-based techs only count the time in front of clients as ‘work time’,” explains Dawn Patrick, owner of Pretty Neat Salon, Hertfordshire, Scratch Stars Home Nail Salon of the Year finalist 2024. “When I had this mindset, I felt worn out, as I was working outside of those hours on other areas of the business. This caused me to fall behind with personal responsibilities, as I would get distracted replying to clients or placing an order. My home salon used to be based in a room in my house and clients would ring the doorbell when they arrived, which was intrusive for my family. Now, my salon is a garden cabin and we feel we have our home back.”

“A business being home-based does not reduce its quality. Home salon owners must be professional to set the tone for their client relationships.”

Physical barriers

“Even though Ulu Beauty is a home-based business, everything about it is different from the rest of my house – even the room scent,” reveals Fiona Fox. “Wherever you work from in your home, making this a distinct area helps to create a boundary between your work and personal lives. After my last appointment of the day, I lock my garden gate, which physically and mentally enforces that I can unwind.”

Joanne Thomas

“My nail studio is not connected to my house, but I am very clear with clients that they must text me when they arrive, so I can meet them at my gate,” shares Joanne Thomas, The GelBottle Inc brand ambassador. “This prevents them walking into my home area unattended. Boundaries like this mean I can achieve a good work-life balance, which helps my creative flow.”

Catherine Jimenez

“My salon is based in a room upstairs in my home, so I do not have physical barriers like a separate premises or entrance, which can be challenging,” describes Catherine Jimenez, Gelish educator for Buckinghamshire. “However, I always meet clients at the front door and lead them to the room, so they are not left on their own to wander around the house. I make sure that the only open door is that of the salon.

“Clients will follow your rules, as long as you are clear, and I was a lot stricter with mine during the pandemic, which helped to put boundaries in place,” Catherine continues. “I also have a coffee area and mini fridge in my salon, so I can offer clients a drink without disrupting my family.”

“I find it helpful to have specific work clothes, such as t-shirts or an apron that I only wear in the nail space,” shares Kirsty Brown. “Wearing these distinguishes between my work and home lives.”

Toni Jelley

“When I established my home salon setup, I sent an email to my client base explaining where to park and enter the salon, when to arrive and who is allowed in the premises,” shares Toni Jelley, owner of Beauty Care by Toni-Nicole, Bournemouth, Scratch Stars Home Nail Salon of the Year finalist 2024. “New clients are sent the same email, as I have found it effective to put boundaries in place as early as possible.”

“Blurring the boundaries between your job and home tasks can lead to the feeling that work is consuming your life. This can cause resentment, burnout and impact your mental and physical health, as well as personal relationships.”

Kirsty Brown

Working hours

“Home salon pros need to make their working hours clear to clients – and stick to them,” advises Kirsty Brown, owner of Paintbrush Nails, Stirling, Scratch Stars Home Nail Salon of the Year 2024. “Otherwise, clients may think that because you are at home, you can easily fit in an extra appointment or they can turn up early. Working hours also need to be made clear to family members, so they don’t interrupt appointments.”

Jenny Harris agrees. “You should inform those you live with about your working hours and explain to them that when you are in the home salon space, you are working and not to be interrupted,” she says. “Implementing and sticking to working hours is challenging, as it can feel that you need to respond to clients straight away to avoid them booking elsewhere. That may be the case, but it may lead to you attracting higher quality clients.”

“You should complete your admin and social media tasks during your set working hours,” adds Kirsty Brown. “I used to reply to messages from clients at all times, but realised that by engaging with them, I was encouraging clients to contact me out of working hours.”

“Home salon pros need to make their working hours clear to clients – and stick to them.”

Kate Joyner

Group support

Kate Joyner, owner of home salon, The Beauty Hut, Oxfordshire, has founded Facebook group, The Balanced Beauty Bosses. It is for ‘busy mums running nail/beauty businesses who want to achieve a work-life balance and earn an amazing income’. The beauty pro saw an opportunity for a community group aimed at mothers in the beauty industry. “I wanted to create a safe space for women to connect with like-minded business owners and feel less alone,” Kate tells Scratch. “I strive to show them that it’s possible to earn well without working long hours, and share my knowledge from running businesses around my children for over a decade.

“Running a home-based business makes it hard to separate work and home lives, and for mums, the added pressure of wanting to spend time with children, while also providing for them, can be a struggle,” Kate continues. Over summer, she hosted weekly, free training sessions via The Balanced Beauty Bosses. “Members can also post their questions into the group, to receive support,” she says.

Scan to join The Balanced Beauty Bosses group