Hair styling is a billion-dollar industry in America alone and it’s understandable why—your hair is one of the first things people notice about you, so people are willing to spend a lot of time and money to make it look good. As a hairstylist, you can tap into this lucrative industry by opening your very own hair salon.
The fact that you’re reading this means you’re wondering how to cut your way into the market. Well, we’re here to help you do exactly that.
Before we look at how to open a hair salon, we need to discuss how much money you will need for this big endeavour of yours. To start, you need to be a licensed cosmetologist if you want to open a salon in any of the US states.
The training to get licensed will cost you around $15,000 and will take around a year. That is the first thing you will need to take care of before you can even think of starting your own hair salon.
Next, you need to decide whether your salon will be mobile, which will cost a further $12,000, or if you want to open a physical salon at a much more expensive rate of more than $65,000.
As you can see, the startup costs of a hair salon are pretty high, so take this in consideration during the planning stage. Of course, the benefits of starting your own business make it worth it, including:
- You have the freedom to decide when you work.
- You have the power to choose the ideal location for your hair salon after doing enough research.
- You can decide what to charge your clients.
- You’re your own boss!
Seeking something you started from scratch turn into a massive success will make your chest burst from success. So, let’s look at how to start a hair salon.
Tips to Open a Hair Salon
Setting up a business is not as easy as trimming someone’s ends—no lies. When it comes to starting a salon business, you’ve got even more of an uphill battle because there’s a hair salon around every corner.
You need to follow the tips below carefully and always look for ways in which you can do things differently than your competitors.
1. Find the Perfect Location
You know what they say: “Location, location, location!” Those are very true words, especially when it comes to businesses that rely on feet through the door. You can rent space in a shopping centre, work from home, go mobile, or work in a hotel or even on a cruise ship—each choice comes with positives and negatives that you’ll have to consider.
For example, if you work from home you won’t have to budget for rent; however, if you work in a hotel or on a cruise ship, you’re guaranteed clients but will have to pay for the space.
2. Draw Up a Business Plan
Without a business plan, you’re pretty much in the dark. Sure, you can try to wing it, but somewhere along the line you’re going to run into trouble.
A business plan is like a map; it helps you stay on track and shows you the various places you need to stop for fuel along the way.
Your business plan should include:
- The start-up costs.
- The equipment and supplies you need to purchase to open.
- Your marketing plan for at least the first six months.
- The services you’re going to offer and the prices you’re going to charge.
3. Check Your Paperwork
You made sure you’re qualified. But there is paperwork on the business side of things you’ll also need to get in order.
For example, you need to register for state and federal taxes by getting an employer identification number. Check in the state you live in that you meet any other requirements that they may have.
4. Start Marketing
Marketing is where the fun starts. Let’s face it, hairdressers are creative people, and you probably have many ideas swirling around in your head about how you can get your salon name out there.
As you know, there are many avenues you can take to market your hair salon; it just depends how much time you have and if you want to spend any money.
Having a website should be on the top of your marketing to-do list as it’s the latest way how people review businesses. If you don’t have a website for them to visit, they don’t have a visual representation of what to expect when they walk through your doors.
What then?
They’ll visit the website of another hair salon and make an appointment with one of their hairdressers. What a missed opportunity and so unnecessary because you can build your own website using a website such as WordPress. There are tons of templates to choose from, which are totally customizable to fit the look of your hair salon.
5. Hire Extra Hairdressers
Don’t be afraid to make your team bigger if your business grows. Remember, you only have two hands, so instead of working yourself to death or having to show clients away, hire another hairdresser.
The fact that your business is getting so busy that you have to bring in someone else is brilliant news! As the owner, you just need to make sure that the person is qualified and passionate about hair. They’re another representative of your business, so the choice you make matters.
6. Offer Your Clients Convenience
You have a website. That’s already one point on the convenience scale, but you can max the scale out entirely by using plugins to make your clients (and your) lives easier.
An appointment booking and scheduling app for example means clients won’t have to pick up the phone and hope you’re actually available to take their booking. What’s more, they can make their bookings whenever and wherever they want.
Webba Booking is an example of an appointment booking and scheduling app you can use and it integrates with Google Calendar and similar apps, which means both you and your client will know exactly when the appointment is scheduled for. As if that’s not convenient enough, you can schedule email and SMS appointment reminders as extra surety that they won’t forget.
There’s also an online payment plugin if you really want to be known for your professionality and expediency.
Final Thoughts
The biggest tip on how to open a hair salon is to give it your all even on the days that your feet hurt, that you’re tired, and that you’ve had to deal with difficult clients.
Tomorrow will be better; all it takes is that one client that leaves your salon absolutely beaming after you work your magic. That one happy client will lead to five more clients!
