Starting your own salon business is something remarkable. I’ll tell you why. First, beauty is something that concerns everybody. Second, on average, the salon industry has experienced growth of 2.7% annually in each of the past five years. With these, it is obvious that the salon & beauty industry is here to stay. Do you have a passion for making people look good? Opening a salon checklist could be a huge step. In this guide, you can learn the A-Z of how to start and grow your salon business.
STEP 1: THINGS TO DO BEFORE OPENING A SALON
Beauty is something that excites everyone. I mean, who doesn’t want to look good or be complimented? The beauty of owning a salon business is that it is profitable and can be done with uttermost convenience. But, before opening a salon checklist, there are a few things worth considering. They are:
Learn salon business knowledge: The first question you want to ask yourself is “what do I know about salon business?” The best businessmen are a compendium of knowledge. They have spent time harnessing knowledge in their field. So should you. Before opening a salon, you need to learn about the business. Learning how to run and operate a salon business will teach you what equipment you need for your salon, the startup cost, licensing, the skills required, and so on. You can self-learn or/and submit to a salon mentor. Self-learning involves seeking knowledge about the salon business yourself. There are various ways to go about this. You can enroll in an online course or watch YouTube videos of top salons and learn how they operate. Self-learning could also mean visiting random salons in your environment to see how they work. While self learning can help learn some salon business tips & techniques, it is not always enough. You will still need to get a salon mentor.
Get a salon mentor: A salon mentor is someone who has enormous years of experience in the salon business. Salon mentors are successful entrepreneurs who have surmounted many obstacles and have come out stronger. Submitting to a salon mentor is crucial if you want to own your own salon. A successful salon owner who knows how to navigate different challenges can teach you how to do the same. By not making the same mistake they’ve made, you will achieve success faster. Get someone around you whose salon mirrors what you dream of.
Learn about competition: Learning about competition allows you to replicate the formula of a successful salon business. Look for successful salon businesses and learn how they operate. Know how they attend to their customers, how they promote their service, what kind of software they use, etc.
Decide the type of your salon business: From nail service to hairdressing, barbing to product sales, manicure to pedicure, the salon & beauty industry is very broad. Instead of struggling to offer 8 different services, you can focus on 2 or 3 services for a start and then scale up as your business expands. If you know how to barb, then focus on barbing. If you know how to fix nails, then focus on that service. Don’t be a Jack of all trades and master of none.
Figure out the cost: Who builds a house without first counting the cost? Before opening a salon business, you want to figure out the cost. How much would it cost to:
- rent a space
- buy salon furniture & equipment
- pay employees, at least for the first 6 months
- licensing
- buy a truck if you want to venture into a mobile salon
- marketing, advertisement, and promotion
- buy salon products if you want to sell, and so on
Getting this overhead cost will help you know the best financing option.
Put up with a salon name: If you get everything else and put up a silly salon name, you’ve gotten everything wrong. A business name is an asset. When choosing a salon name, think of names that will reflect who you are and what you offer. Your salon name must be short, memorable, and relatable. It should give an instant clue of what your business offer without brainstorming.
Consider financing options: Having figured out the cost of opening a salon checklist new salon business, you still need to consider financing options. Where do you get the money to start up your new business? Consider the following financing option
- Your personal savings – it is wrong to start up a business you have no dime contributed.
- Friends & family members can raise a token for you to start up your business.
- Investors – speak to a group of people who can invest in your vision to raise funds for starting a salon.
STEP 2: THINGS TO DO FOR SALON BRANDING
Salon Branding is the representation of your business that makes you unique and different from your competitors. As a salon owner, you need to carve out an identity for your business. This identity is what presents you to the world to attract attention. Branding entails the following:
- your business name
- logo
- color scheme
- mission/vision statements
- fonts
- how you attend & communicate with your customers
- the kind of experience your salon offer
- the tone of voice you use, etc.
As part of your salon opening checklist, you want to learn how to create a consistent brand for business across all mediums. Consider the following tips for salon branding:
Get inspiration: If you want to create a brand for your salon business, get inspiration from successful businesses. Look at your competitors and get inspiration for the ideal business name/logo, color scheme, customer service, equipment, and so on.
Come up with a salon logo: A business logo is a powerful asset that visually connects a brand with its users. It is most likely the first thing people see when they contact your business. Take for instance, whenever you see the swoosh logo, what comes to mind? Nike. That’s it! Any business can be recognized by just looking at its logo. A good logo is memorable & can convey the brand’s message with the ability to build a lasting relationship with the audience.
How do you design a professional logo for your salon business?
Consider the following essentials:
- Keep it neat and simple
- Pick the right colors – avoid multiple or unrhymed colors
- Your business logo should reflect your story
- Use clean fonts
How do you create a professional business logo?
You can hire a graphic designer to create a logo for you or do it yourself. If you have a limited budget and want to DIY, then download logo-making tools like Canva or LogoMakr. This is a good start but hiring a graphic designer who can make professional & attractive logos for reasonable prices are better.
Design the visual identity: Your visual identity allows you to make a good first impression. We know that creating a business logo is ideal, but make sure it communicates your vision & mission excellently.
Define your competitive advantage: Why is your salon different from your competitors? The answer to that question is your USP (Unique Selling Proposition). Successful businesses define their competitive advantage at an earlier stage. Your USP will make your salon unique and give your customers reasons to keep coming back. Without it, your marketing techniques and services will be the same as the ones in your neighborhood.
How do you create a USP?
- Understudy your competitors and see what they are not offering that you are.
- Identify an unsolved problem among your competitors and solve them.
- Do you offer affordable but quality services than your competitors? Use that as your USP.
- Do you have the best stylist in town? Feel free to brag about it.
- Is your salon or spa the best in your neighborhood? You’ve got a winning USP.
- Do you use eco-friendly products, green technology, and appointment software? Include these in your USP.
Once you think you’ve found a USP, communicate it to your customers and prospects. Once they know you offer unique services, they will dump your competitors for you.
Build your website: Today, there is hardly any business without a website. Thus, creating a website for your salon business should be a priority. A professional salon website reflects your brand and gives customers the platform to learn about your service, contact you, or book appointments with you.
How do I build a website for my salon business?
Simple! You can either hire a professional website developer or do it yourself. So, when you set out to design and build your website, it is crucial to keep your brand in mind. You can use Content Management Systems like WordPress, Shopify, Weebly, or Wix to create your salon website. These platforms come with tons of features necessary to build a stunning salon website.
To help you design a professional salon business website, here are a few tried-and-tested tips you can consider:
- Focus on your brand – clearly state your mission/vision/short- & long-term goals on your website
- User-friendly and customer-centric
- Use logos and color themes that reflect your salon’s vibe
- Use quality content for your website
- Use only professional & high-quality images and videos of your products and services
- Include CTA (Call To Action) to make it easier for your clients to contact you
- Add a salon scheduling software to allow your clients to book appointments online
Upgrade your website: Your website serves as a medium for your potential clients to reach you. So make sure your salon website has all the important information like services, location, contact, business hours, and mailing address. It doesn’t stop here; you still need to upgrade your website by ensuring the following:
- Fast page load speed – you will lose customers if your website is slow to load
- Run frequent website maintenance
- Backup your website frequently
- Publish SEO content so your website can rank on search engines
- Consider creating a mobile app since most users access the internet using their smartphones
Ask yourself what you can do to make your salon stand out. If you think of any besides the aforementioned points, make sure you include them in your salon checklist.
STEP 3: THINGS TO DO FOR SCALING YOUR SALON BUSINESS
Are you ready to get more customers and make more money in your salon business? Growing and scaling your salon business is the answer after opening your own salon checklist.
Below are some tips to scale your salon & beauty services business:
Develop a salon marketing plan: Unless you want your family members and friends alone to be your customers, you should develop a salon marketing plan. A salon marketing plan details the strategy that your business will use to market its services to clients. An effective salon marketing plan identifies the target market, the value proposition of the brand, customer experience, the campaigns to be initiated, and the metrics to be used to measure your marketing progress.
Try networking more: Networking involves relying on independent representatives or salespeople to assist your brand with lead generation and sales. If you have the budget, you can hire or train a few salespeople who will use their network or go out to recruit customers or partners for your business. Your clients can also network for you. By offering professional services to your clients, you tend to recruit (without paying) them as brand evangelists. They will tell their friends, neighbors, and family members about the wonderful service they enjoyed in your spa.
Make use of social media: The number of social media users is alarming. As it stands, every smartphone users use at least one social media platform daily. The numbers can be terrifying which leaves social media as an effective branding tool for your salon business. The benefits of using social media for your salon business are enormous. To name a few are:
- Social media can help you create a strong social media presence
- It can increase the visibility of your brand
- Through social media, your business can reach a wider audience
- With the help of social media, your brand can communicate with customers
- Social media is ideal for engaging with potential customers
- Businesses can leverage social media to monitor the activities of their competitors
- Prospectives can learn about your business
- Your business can answer any questions people might have about your service on social media
The list goes on. To enjoy the enormous benefits of social media, you first need to sign up with at least three social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, Google My Business, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, Quora, Tumblr, TikTok, and Snapchat. Signing up is the easiest part. Before you start creating social media accounts for your salon business, I have a few tips for you:
- Research and discover which platform best suits your business and customer base, and then focus on those. Instagram may work for an eCommerce business whereas Pinterest might be ideal for salon business.
- Register your business on Google My Business and fill out the correct business details. This helps to increase organic traffic.
- Make your profile look professional and aesthetically appealing. Use your brand logo, colors, and theme to increase your brand identity.
- Optimize your profiles for search engines. Use the bio section to describe your USP. Add a CTA (Book Now) button to your Facebook, Instagram, and Google My Business pages to it easier for people to contact you right away.
- If you use Instagram and YouTube, make short behind-the-scenes videos of your salon interior and how you attend to customers. This helps to gain brand recognition.
- Use contests and giveaways to increase your social media engagement and reach.
- Consistency is key to success. Consistently post quality content that will engage your audience and make them keep coming to you.
Social media is emphasized in this section because it is the surest way to get more followers. This is worth investing time, money, and energy in as it is these followers that will help you spread the word (by liking, engaging, and sharing) about your salon.
Figure out your clients' needs: One of the most effective ways to scale your business is to put your client’s needs and satisfaction above everything else. What do your clients want? Do they want an easy way of booking appointments? Do they like sophisticated salon equipment? Find out what they need by asking them via email, word of mouth, or survey, and then provide them accordingly.
Engaged with digital marketing: Social media is just one aspect of digital marketing. To get more audience or attract more clients, then you should consider other forms of digital marketing like:
- Email marketing
- SMS marketing
- Search Engine Optimization
- Content marketing
- Viral marketing
- Affiliate marketing
- Influencer marketing
BONUS TIP: SOURCING A REPUTABLE SALON EQUIPMENT SUPPLIER
While opening a new salon checklist is important, sourcing a reputable salon equipment supplier is also important. After all, nobody wants to buy fake or obsolete salon equipment. Unfortunately, make salon owners have fallen prey to fake or unauthentic salon equipment. There are hundreds of options available for purchasing salon equipment and furniture. However, Omysalon is the go-to place if you want genuine products at a competitive price.
Omysalon is a dedicated salon equipment supplier renowned for supplying professional, high-quality, and durable salon equipment furniture for salons and spas. At Omysalon, you will find a wide range of salon equipment available in different designs, sizes, and shapes that will provide the desired comfort to both your clients and employees. From salon chairs to trolleys, travel makeup cases to foldable manicure tables, Omysalon has everything you will need for your salon, spa, barbershop, massage parlor, mani-pedi center, or skin-care business? Omysalon offers fast (24-hours) delivery services to any part of the world. What’s more, they adopt an easy return policy which makes it easier to return a product when you discover a flaw. Feel free to visit Omysalon for more details.
CONCLUSION
The way you plan and execute your salon branding ideas will make you stand out from your competitors. In this opening a salon checklist pdf, I have explained what things to do before opening your salon, salon branding ideas, and how to scale your salon business. Once you can instill a sense of trust in your clients, they will feel rest assured that they can trust you with their skin, nails, or hair. Competition in the salon & beauty industry is ever-increasing. If you want to succeed, you must carve a brand identity, map out a working marketing strategy, and adopt new ways of doing business.
