Бизнес

Hairdressing salons in Velingrad are counted on the fingers of one hand, in parallel with them there exist adapted rooms in houses and apartments. The problems in the industry are not one and two, says the owner of salon "ILKA" Ilka Peleva: "

This year the situation with patent taxes for us is tolerable: 2 years ago it was 450 leva, now it is 240 leva. This is normal, everyone will pay their patent and work calmly. But we have many other expenses. First of all, we are ruined by high rents, especially in the city center. We buy a lot of supplies. The quality materials I care about are expensive: one branded comb for haircuts is 13 leva, one brush is wasted for a month, I have bought 5 hair dryers, one nice supra of "Schwarzkopf" is 50 leva. In addition, the winter is very heavy and a lot of money goes to heating - I have already burned 10 cubic meters of wood. The electricity, the phones, the insurance - it's all very expensive. I have been working alone for 15 years - 3 and a half years in Rakitovo and then in Velingrad. Before there was definitely more work, I couldn't sit down, I couldn't pay attention to everyone. Now people are penniless. Most say that they go to the neighbor to paint them or curl them, and then they come to the salon only for a haircut or to fix the damage. I haven't changed prices in 3 years, my price list has been sitting for a third year and I don't dare raise prices because I'm going to lose my clientele. I fully rely on regular customers from the city. I don't feel the thursty season coming in at most 5-6 foreign customers per month. After all, every woman comes on holiday dressed up, and the salon is in a hidden place (in the bezistena of St. "Cyril and Methodius". With a lot of expense and a little work, I compensate by more hours. If I work one shift, I won't make anything - here, today the "sefte" is at 12 o'clock. That's why I work 10 hours a day, including Saturday and Sunday, so I don't miss my customers. Among them are men I've been cutting hair for years. Men come more often, while women may not visit a hair salon for 2-3 months. Some look cheaper, they rice them, and here they come again. I'm not mad at them, people don't have money. I make concessions, I offer several services one without money, I lower the prices and so I try to survive. Compared to larger cities in Velingrad, prices and hairdressing services are lower. In Sofia, a men's haircut with a wash is 8 leva, with me it is 3 leva. We'll squeeze some more. If it can - it can, if it can't - there's also abroad, I've decided. I am making a fifth salon, and the money goes only in rents, but I to a "personal donkey" and I insist on being in the center. Hopefully next year will be different and better for everyone. And when they have money and work, people will come to me too."