gareth69

Hi Im Gareth a barber from scotland who would love some feedback on on whether it would be a good business to start up in spain as my family and I have been thinking of relocating for some time now.Looking forward to hearing your views and ideas.By the way only speak a little Spanish this may give you an insight to what customers I could get and the best areas to look for work.Thanks again .

spain

hi there

this might seem stupid but I cant see why people would particulary want a Brit barber ?? there are haidressers everywhere, even most small villages will have one with hair cuts from under 10€

saying that if you are going to an high expat area you could set yourself up as a mobile - expect to have a lot of competition though

Fortaleza

Gareth,

My advice would be to go to an area with a sizeable English-speaking community so you're looking at the usual costas etc....

My town of around 21.000 people (which triples in July/ August and Semana Santa) has one dedicated men's hair stylist and two spit n' sawdust barbers. The hair stylist is busy because all the young lads want fancy styles, the barbers are barely scratching a living and they operate almost as though it is their front room as they spend all hours of the day there waiting for a punter whilst watching TV or chatting with family and friends. These guys don't charge much either. Some time ago I got my barnet cut - although I'm bald it does need cutting every couple of months or so, usually with the clipper, but as I hadn't shaved during the winter months, I decided to treat myself at the barber's. Full shave and haircut 6 €. How you can make a living on that I don't know. The hair stylist obviously charges more but as I've never really needed his services I can't say how much!!!!

lynnxa

we have one here, he's always busy

hubby uses a spanish one though - cheaper & at least as good a job...
the english barbers/hairdressers charge more around here, I suppose because they speak english & some are prepared to pay extra for that

actually it seems that all 'british' services charge more!:curse:

spain

:curse: thats so annoying isnt it mind you have heard of Spanish bumping up prices for Brits as they think "son ricos"

Bigbhudda69

Although most brits round my way are cave dwelling hippies the ones that do cut their hair use the home clippers on a number 2...too hot for hair ?, last time I was in the village my hair cut cost 4 euro, this done by the village hairdresser who thankfully speaks no English, she did this in her spare room...with a free neck massage thrown in..but that could be because I am so hot.....

spain

Bigbhudda69

Oh spain....what do you mean

lynnxa

some here do - but when they realise you are not a tourist they charge the 'local' price

gareth69

Looks like im up the creek without a paddle as regards to barbering in spain ,Iv around 20 thousand pound put aside for the barbering venture ,as a barbers shop is pretty easy to kit out ,any suggestions on another venture .I know they always say dont try something other than what you have done in the uk .thanks

spain

thats the 20,000 dollar question

Bigbhudda69

I would not say it is up the creek yet...but you would have to do some serious research in to what areas you are thinking of, there is a thread on here called ayamonte costa esuri, which sounds like a big new development on the Spanish/Portugese border...I will no doubt be put right by the residents but I believe there is quite a large Brit presence there, whether it is all year I don't know...Pam Sarky could probably advise, there may not be a barbers there..or any big new developments ??..worth a try I suppose..ask in that thread..good luck and sorry you could not get a more positive welcome to British ex pats forum, but that is the thing about this forum you do get honest advice.

mikelincs

We have a British Barber here and he does very good businesss all year round. He has even got an assistant now. He is just the normal hairdresser, nothing fancy, and he does cut hair for women, but there aren't that many women wanting a number 2 ( but I have seen some get their hair cut there). A female does have the salon one day a week to cut hair as well.

gareth69

Thanks for all your help, some positive and some but all very honest and probably the best insight I have had into my project ,Im thinking its a case of location ,location ,location ,the same as in scotland ,you could be the best barber in the world but if your not in the right area you can forget it .Once again I would like to thank you all for your help and any more comments or help are much appreciated .

Fortaleza

Bigbuddha, you mean well but he'll die a very quick death here. It just simply isn't viable. The "large British presence" in this area doesn't amount to a fraction of what is on other coasts. There are not even 300 registered on the council records in Ayamonte - OK, you must take into account that many choose not to register and many are simply a few weeks a year. There's still nothing like other resorts. It's coming though.....fast