With an estimated value of $532 billion per year, you can bet that the beauty industry is both steady and profitable. Navigating the beauty industry, you can find a niche-specific business called a hair salon. Hair salons have been in existence for centuries and have proven to be a profitable business that thrives even during economic recessions and the global pandemic. After all, everybody’s hair grows daily. Do you want to open a salon but don’t know how? This article contains helpful tips on how to open a salon.
Tip 1: Create A Plan For Your Business
To build a successful salon business, you need to create a plan. It starts by penning down everything you have envisioned or dreamt of. From your business logo to décor, budget to equipment, target market to SWOT analysis, you want to make research on everything needed for opening a salon.
Tip 2: Research Your Local Laws, Regulations, And Licenses
Before starting a salon, you need to research your local laws, regulations, and licenses. The essence of this research ensures that your salon business is complying with the state laws and regulations.
As a salon owner, you must apply for the following licenses, regulations, and permits:
- Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Salon license
- Cosmetology license(s)
- Building permit
- Sanitation
- OSHA requirements
Tip 3: Choose The Perfect Location For Your Salon
The right salon location is an important metric for determining your success. There are three options to consider when choosing your salon location. You can either build your salon, rent a retail space, or mobile salon. Whatever your option is, you need to consider the following:
- Is the place well populated?
- Does it have access to public transportation?
- Is it within a college environment?
- Does it offer plenty of parking?
- Is the environment clean and hygienic for your employees and customers?
If the answers to all these questions are “YES”, then congratulations, you’ve found an ideal place to start up your salon business.
Tip 4: Establish Your Company Culture And Start Hiring
While you start building your salon or renovating your rented space, you can take time to draft your core values, mission statement, and company’s short- & long-term goals. This shouldn’t take long. If you don’t know where to begin, simply write out your motivation for establishing a salon, what you want to achieve in the short-term and long-term, and what experience you want for both your employees and customers. Establishing your core values, mission statement, and goals will help you make informed business decisions like who to hire and how many employees to work with. As random applicants apply to your salon, you will filter those who don’t believe in your company culture as your salon grows.
Tip 5: Get The Best Nail Salon Equipment & Furniture
When opening a nail salon, deciding on the equipment to be used is crucial. The best nail salon equipment and furniture should give both you and your customers the comfort and best experience. Professional nail salon equipment is easy to use and can help your business grow, and is only supplied by reputable suppliers.
A reputable nail salon furniture and equipment supplier sells premium quality, professional and durable salon furniture and equipment at a competitive price. OmySalon is one of those reliable wholesale salon furniture manufacturers that have a reputation for providing high-quality nail salon equipment that will suit your style and preference.
On OmySalon, you will discover thousands of high-quality products from pedicures, manicures, spas, barbers, nail shops, and skincare businesses. They sell cheap salon furniture and equipment for salon owners with a low budget – covered with a warranty. OmySalon has consistently supplied many nail salons across the country with products that keep their customers returning.
Feel free to contact OmySalon today for the best hair/nail/beauty/salon equipment & furniture.
Tip 6: How To Develop An Effective Salon Marketing Strategy
One of the few requirements to open a hair salon is to spread the word to your target audience. Marketing lets people know about your business. When opening a salon, it is strategic to build a local following and drive local traffic since you operate out of a physical location.
Check out these salon marketing techniques that will attract traffic both local and organic traffic:
- List yourself in online directories, e.g. Google My Business, Yelp, etc.
- Manage online reviews – ask customers to leave reviews about your service
- Collaborate with local small businesses – no one is an island
- Offer referral discounts – reward existing customers for referring new ones
- Create loyalty incentives - customers love freebies but do this wisely
- Leverage social media – Create a Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.
Tip 7: Take Care Of The Finishing Touches
What else is remaining? With your business plan ready, location decided, all legal procedures completed, equipment installed, and renovations completed, it is time to ensure all the details are in place. Inspect your salon aesthetics and make sure it blends perfectly with your salon equipment and furniture. Check for your wall art, towels, and every small and big salon essentials to make sure everything is in order.
Tip 8: Opening Day
Having readied everything about your salon; you can invite friends and family members to help you celebrate your grand opening. Cut the ribbon, pop the champagne, and get ready to start living your dreams.
How much does it cost to open a salon?
When mapping out your salon setup cost, you want to consider the individual cost of the following:
- Licenses and permits
- Real estate
- Salon equipment
- Inventory – if you plan to sell cosmetics or other products
- Payroll
- Insurance
These are just some checklists of possible salon expenses. For a 1,000 square feet salon space, the cost of setting up a new salon is between $75,000 and $125,000.
There are several ways to reduce the upfront cost like leasing salon equipment instead of buying new ones, renting a space instead of building a salon, and so on. Consider what works for you based on your budget.
How do you source financing for your salon?
Every business needs capital, to begin with. Fortunately, there are many ways to source financing for your salon. They are:
- Personal savings
- Loans from friends and family
- SBA loans
- Microloans
- Alternative lenders
- Equipment financing
NOTE: The key component to starting any business is to be debt-free. Never start your nail salon business if you still have debts. Clear those debts first before moving forward.
You’re Good To Start Your Salon Business
Launching your own salon business can be a challenging process that requires skills, finance, patience, and knowledge. No matter how many of these you have, you still want to do everything to ensure your start-up is successful. In this article, we have listed some actionable tips on how to open a salon to help make your salon dreams a reality. Take time to explore each tip before finally settling on a decision.
