For hair and beauty specialists, switching from one salon to another is stressful and comes with loads of paperwork and getting used to each business along the way. After doing so for a while however, you might find a desire for starting your own enterprise, but building your own brand from scratch is not an easy task. It requires a lot of preparation and the whole process has to be well-thought-out from the very beginning. With so much work, even before opening, you might have second thoughts and begin to ask yourself: “I’m dreaming of having my own salon, but is it worth it and how much will it cost?” Well, grab your coffee and let’s cover everything you need to keep in mind before opening your very own hair or beauty business!
First of all, you need to conduct an in-depth market study to help you decide where to open a hair & beauty salon. Everything depends on your location and competition. Do not forget to take into consideration the needs of the local community – after all, they are the ones who will be your potential clients.
Before you decide on a list of services you’d like to have, define your target group and the standards your salon should live up to. Remember that catering to everyone’s needs is nearly impossible. At this step, it is also important to consider the quality of customer service and how to care for a hair & beauty salon client. Once that is done and you have decided on the location of your business, think about the types of treatments you would like to offer. When creating your menu, you should only include treatments that you are certified in providing. For obvious reasons, a PMU artist shouldn’t test their luck on a client who wants lip fillers – especially because they’re not certified to provide them. Research what treatments you are allowed to do and capable of providing or take additional courses in order to expand your options at the salon. It's best to offer treatments that you feel most comfortable providing, as well as those that make the client say “wow”!
By far the most stressful and discouraging part of opening one's own salon is the cost of doing so. However, if you’re determined to open your own establishment and nothing is going to stop you, then there are a number of things you need to take into account. From paying for water, electricity and waste bills, staff salaries, retail and backbar products, equipment and insurance, to rent and any loans you may have taken in order to open your business in the first place. Also, an important factor to take into account when deciding to open a hair & beauty salon is the location. If the business is going to be located in the middle of a bustling city, then chances are you’re going to have to pay big money. So how much does it cost to open a salon? Prices can range from a few thousand pounds to around 50,000, so make sure you’ve carefully calculated all of the possible expenses.
Preparing a marketing strategy is one of the last steps you need to take before you actually start to promote your soon-to-open salon. Start marketing only once your team knows its priorities, you have a solid treatment menu, you’ve purchased the right equipment, and you have management under control. Start your campaigns at least two weeks before you open – create fan pages for your business and launch ads from them, promoting your grand opening. Or better yet, make some friends in the area! Visit your local cafes and restaurants and invite their staff to come, but also ask if you can leave a few of your business cards for people to grab.
Once you have launched all planned marketing campaigns promoting your event, it is time to get started with your opening. It is vital that you make sure all potential clients have been notified of it a week before and finally the day before the event. Your grand opening was a success – the staff were well-organised, and customers had a great experience, however, you’re not done just yet! Before clients leave, mention that you’d like to provide them with a nice offer for attending the grand opening – ask them to give you their names and contact information, if they want to receive it. By doing so, you build your customer database, which you can use to bring them back during a low season. Or ask that they bring friends next time, in order to receive more attractive discounts. Now comes the fun part after your grand opening – the heaps of paperwork and business strategies you need to deal with! Unfortunately, that sarcasm can’t hide the elephant in the room – yes, you’re going to have loads of work to do. It’s best to start gathering data right from day one, as everything you do that day will impact your salon from then on. Thankfully, you have nothing to worry about! Booksy collects these pieces of information, all in real-time: every treatment offered, product sold, hours your staff worked, appointments they’ve had, commissions they’ve earned, everything you need to run and manage your business. Imagine collecting all of these numbers by hand!
By carefully planning out each step of your hair & beauty salon’s grand opening, your business will run like clockwork from day one!
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