How Do You Get Paid When You Sell Retail As An Independent Contractor?

In my recent blogs I've been discussing the types of independent contractors and how it affects your esthetics' practice. This is probably way down on the importance list for many of you, but it is something to think about: how does retailing work as an independent contractor? Who pays for what?

In one of my independent contractor positions I didn't get a cent, nada--not one single penny. The owner said she couldn't afford to pay us a percentage for retail because she had spent so much money opening the spa. I think this scenario was unfair to us because we are the ones educating and promoting these products. In my new position, the owner is much more reasonable, and she will either buy all the products out right and give me a commission, or I buy the products and she takes 20% after we mark them up 50%. So in other words I get 80% of the net and she gets 20%. She also deals with the state tax issues so that is a relief to me as well. I decided on the later because I like to be in control of my own inventory, and I have dealt with overzealous owners who buy every product under the sun only to find out that clients favor certain products, and those are the ones that sell. There is nothing worse than products that hit their shelf life before they sell, and an owner who tries to get you to sell it despite the fact it is EXPIRED PRODUCT!

In some scenarios as an independent contractor you will get a commission based on your retail sales, but that is something you can and should negotiate before you sign. I wish I had demanded that in my other position instead of waiting to find out after I had signed on that I would get zip for retail sales. I know a lot of you fresh out of school are just happy to get a job, but slow down and make sure you are getting the best contract because the spa owner doesn't care about your bottom line. You need to think about how much it costs you to work somewhere vs. another spa. For instance, if I had worked at a spa that paid commission on retail instead of the spa that gave me nothing for retail sales, I would have made more money per year. Just something to think about.