How to Start a Hair Salon

A well-run Hair Salon can be a profitable business regardless of the overall economic situation. People are always willing to pay for services that cannot be done at home, and hairdressing is at the top of that list. Managing a hair salon and being a hair stylist are two quite different things. You’ll need to organize your business, hire employees, engage customers, and make sure customers stay happy. Read on to understand in detail how to open your own hair salon.

Table of Contents

Starting a business

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Decide whether you should start a business from scratch or run an existing business. Opening a brand new hair salon is ideal if you want a challenge, but if you want to reduce the risk, you can also buy an existing one. Here is a summary of the options:

Starting a Brand New Business: You’ll need to find a location, rebrand, attract customers, and run your business without a steady stream of customers and brands.
Open a franchise salon: Choose a branded salon chain and open a new location. You’ll have to follow the franchisor’s policies, and you’ll have less autonomy in business decisions, but you’ll benefit from using a reputation your customers already know.
Buy back an existing salon: If you know of a salon for sale, you can buy it back and take over the business. You won’t have to search for locations or buy equipment anymore. However, it’s important to find out why the owner wants to sell to make sure it’s a deal that works for you.
Operating a rental salon: A popular option lately is to open a salon and rent out different corners to hairstylists, who are responsible for procuring equipment and finding client. ^{[1] X Research Source}

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Learn about competition. Pick a group of salons that have been successful and have the same target audience as you, then find out what makes them successful or what they’re missing. Try acting as a customer to these salons to get a feel for what your customers will expect, and how you will provide service. Then you can master these solutions to your business. Eliminate what doesn’t work, and apply what works for you.

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Pay attention to the legitimacy of the business. Each government has slightly different requirements for small business registration. Visit your local courthouse and Small Business Administration website, or also contact your local People’s Committee and Department of Planning and Investment to find out all. what you need to do to be able to run your salon legally. Here are a few things you must follow the rules:

Register business license. To legally start a business, you will have to apply for a license where you live. Visit your local courthouse and Small Business Administration website, or also contact your local People’s Committee and Department of Planning and Investment to find out how. where to apply for a business license and where to apply. You will have to fill out the required documents and submit them along with the fee to obtain the permit.

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Apply for a Business Tax Identification Number (or Federal Tax Code). This is a mandatory step when you start a small business. Your Business Tax ID will be the number you use to file your business taxes. Visit your local tax office’s website for information on how to apply for a tax identification number.

Make a business plan. This is a detailed plan that details all the issues related to your business strategy, what the costs will include, and what the competition will be like. You will probably need it when applying for a loan or permit.
Find financing for your business, either by borrowing or from available funds. Research is needed to calculate the amount of money needed to start a business, and keep it running, factors like rent, salary, equipment and product costs.

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Rent a place. A hair salon should be located in a convenient, bustling location with other stores nearby that are relevant to your business (e.g. fashion stores, lunch shops and other popular attractions). similar customers). Look for a location with convenient parking and a nice frontage. ^{[2] X Research Source}

Make sure the place has adequate wiring for the washbasin and other equipment, as you may have to spend extra money to renovate.
Talk to other business owners in the area about the challenges they face here, and weigh the pros and cons before renting the space.

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Buy equipment. You can either buy brand new equipment or shop around for used equipment from another salon. Make sure everything still works and looks the way you want it to. Make a list of what you need and calculate how much it will cost.

Calculate how many positions you want inside the salon. How many wash basins will you need? How many chairs and how many dressing tables?
The tools used must be of high quality. If you buy used goods, make sure they still work and allow you to create the most fashionable styles.
Decide which product to use. Using a branded variety can help you attract customers, but top-of-the-line products can be very expensive.

Design the space and hire a hair stylist

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Create a relaxing space. The atmosphere at the hair salon is extremely important to the client. Getting a haircut is a treat everyone looks forward to, so it needs to be an experience that helps clients get back on their feet and feel like a kid again. If your space looks gloomy or unattractive, customers will look for another salon. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

It is necessary to choose a dominant color and layout. Paint the walls bright and decorate with stylish art or fun items.
Invest in high-quality mirrors and lights to create a bright and clean space.

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Look for experienced hairstylists. Think about how many workers you need, then either ask around or post an ad looking for someone. Make sure the people you hire are graduates from cosmetology schools that specialize in beautification and that they have experience cutting hair. It is advisable to consult their previous work experience and try them out before officially hiring them.

Decide if you need your stylist to bring their own clients to you. If so, ask them a few questions about their patrons.
Hire someone who has the specific skills you’re looking for, such as the ability to color highlights or specialize in children’s haircuts.

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Make a list of your own services. Each salon has a slightly different service menu for customers. Design your menu to be both trendy and in line with the expertise of your staff. Besides basic hairstyles for men, women and children, you may consider providing the following services:

Hair dying
Curling and straightening hair
Special services (bridal makeup services, treatment services with cutting-edge technology, etc.)
Consider adding spa services such as manicures, skin and facials, or massages.

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Pricing. Decide how you want to charge, and whether you want to categorize service fees based on the stylist’s level of experience. For example, you may need to charge a higher service fee for a hair cut by a stylist than for a novice barber. When pricing, consider the following:

Cost of hiring labor and materials. If you want to deliver top-notch service with expensive products, you’ll have to charge more than if you just hired novice barbers and affordable products.
Consider your competitors’ prices as well. Find out how other salons charge, and try to keep your prices affordable while still ensuring you a profit.

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Choose how to manage your appointments. There are many handy computer software that help manage hair salon operations such as Neohair.com, Shortcuts, Rosy, Envision and Hair Max. Most have similar functions: customer management, human resources, finance, inventory and purchasing. A few of them, like Salongenious, support to remind customers of their appointments by SMS or save photos of their hair samples.

Operating Salon

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Decide on opening hours and customer service policies. Hairdressing services are becoming less and less active during the fixed hours of a typical working day from 9am to 5pm. Salons are becoming more and more flexible. Some are open in the evenings and others work all weekend. You must remember that in the battle for clients often require more flexible working hours, so that your clients can access your salon more easily when the need arises.

A lot of people want salons to open after office hours because this is the time of the party and when people are most in need of beauty. Think about whether you’ll offer service only by reservation for a surcharge, or you can split staff into shifts, so your salon can stay open at the times it’s normally closed. door.
The core of any business is human resources. Many hair salons offer similar products and services, but only a few are outstanding and stand out for not only meeting the needs of their customers, but actually exceeding their expectations. Therefore, training your staff on how to serve customers can help you stand out from the competition, but if you can make customers feel they are very, very good people. special and well-groomed, they will probably become your regular and loyal customers. In many cases, hiring an experienced manager who can manage the staff and salon on a daily basis is also a good idea.

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Advertise your shop. Once the salon facilities are complete and ready to go, that’s when you need to start attracting customers. Refer friends and family, hang banners and slogans around the area or consider advertising in local newspapers, magazines, or blogs. In addition, consider the following methods of advertising a hair salon that are quite effective:

Advertise on Facebook and Twitter. Set up a Facebook page that provides information about the salon’s business and regularly updates the latest news and promotions.
Offer to provide services to a famous person in the area and ask them to introduce them to everyone.
Encourage your clients to write reviews on Yelp (or thodia and the like) because a lot of new clients often read reviews there before deciding on a hair appointment.

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Let’s design a trendy website. If your salon has a slick and modern website, you’ll build more trust with your customers even if they’ve never been there. Hire a web designer to create an eye-catching, easy-to-view website, and feature its link on your Facebook page and in your ads.

Don’t forget to include the service catalog with information about each.
High quality color photos are available.

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Equipment should be kept clean and fresh. Make sure your facility always meets hygiene requirements and complies with regulatory standards. In addition to disinfecting the tools used, you need to have people sweep the floor, clean the glass and wash basin regularly. From time to time, paint and renovate the furniture to keep your salon looking luxurious and classy.

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Need to find a way to retain customers. Offering the latest products is a great way to get new customers, but to keep them coming back, you’ll need to style your hair to look great every time. There is nothing worse for your salon than having a bad haircut or lousy hair dye for a client, so they’re bound to write a disparaging post and share it with their friends.

Complaints should be responded to promptly as soon as they arise. Even if you’ve done it perfectly, the customer isn’t always satisfied. It’s best to redo them for free or give them a refund instead of kicking them out the door.
Adjust your business to stay profitable. As you gain more experience, increase the price and hire a more skilled stylist.

Steps

Starting a business

Design the space and hire a hair stylist

Operating Salon

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