Opening Your Salon Business

Opening a salon yourself is a long term goal for many hair stylists and creating your own business can be very rewarding. This article will share some of SalonIQ’s tips and tricks for opening a fabulous salon that will last.

Opening a salon is the dream of many in the hair and beauty industry, having your own business and clients can be very satisfying. However, there are multiple factors that go into creating a new salon business that you will need to consider before opening. As a salon owner you will be in charge of a team of stylists, as well as inventory, décor, marketing and much more. Before opening your salon, taking the time to do some research into what you will need to know as a salon owner and potentially asking for some advice from someone else who has already gone through the process of opening a salon can give you a great boost in your self-confidence.

Opening a salon is a big investment. Before taking the plunge, consider the expenses involved and what you could potentially do to mitigate them. Using recycled materials and buying mirrors second hand, as well as other small savers can add up when you are setting up your business.

Most importantly – where are your clients coming from? If you have a dedicated pool of clients that come to you for treatments regularly, making sure to let them know you will be setting up on your own will be well worth it. Sending out posters on social media with your new salons name, address and number for friends and family to share can also gain you new clients.

Your staff

Making good decisions when hiring your staff will be key to the operation of your salon, whether you have worked together before or meet for the first time during the interview.  I would recommend openness about what you want to see in your staff members and how to achieve it. Having a group meeting and discussing any strengths and weaknesses they may have is a good way to get a feel for what your staff will succeed at. If they have any questions or worries about the salon protocol, it is a good idea to address them before they begin.

A recruitment process is a great way to follow certain steps to ensure you employ the right person for the role and for your salon. An initial interview followed by a trades test is often the most popular way to recruit your next employee.

When building a team, hiring staff you can trust is important. Having a team that can get things done independently is especially important when it comes to delegating duties. Asking your employees to help you to manage your salon social media presence or to manage your salons stock management system is a fantastic way to gain some more time for you to focus on other jobs.

Location

Having an accessible location for your clients to come to and a beautiful shop front are both important when it comes to making sure your customers choose your salon. However, rent can be a huge drain on your salon finances. Rent prices can skyrocket if you are looking for a particularly desirable location on the local high street.

Take a look at what a typical month’s rent for your shopfront and other expenditures are and consider whether the location is worth the extra cost. If you need to bring in walk in customers, then a high street location with plenty of foot traffic is necessary. However, if you are making most of your profit from dedicated repeat customers, then a salon that is a little more out of the way with lower rent may make more sense. 

Have a clear vision

When starting your salon, it can be overwhelming. There are so many styles and fashions that you would like to bring into your salon design and in your excitement you may end up spending money on décor and equipment you may not really need. Here is a list of things to keep in mind when you are first setting up your salon.

• Keep things simple – you may have a whole list of ideas in mind for fantastic new treatments to offer your clients. Leaving these until you are more well established can be a good idea, allowing you and your staff to get into a good rhythm before learning new techniques and treatments and bringing them in gradually.
• Create a brand – many beauty and hair salons will have a defined colour palette on all of their marketing materials, as well as a font, logo and a décor that brings these brand decisions to mind. Having a defined brand early on, will make it easier for your salon to make an impression and make designing and sending out marketing campaigns much easier.
• Set the rules of the salon – having a defined set of salon rules in place before you open is always a good idea. Simple rules, such as how to welcome customers and a list of more experienced members of the team to come to if any of the less experienced staff have any issues, can make a big difference to how smoothly your salon runs.
• Set up a staff room – when a salon is busy it can be a god send to have a private space to relax and eat lunch, or just give your make-up a touch up. Working in a salon is very focused and in order to give your clients the best possible experience you have to be on the ball.
• Set up your records – having organised and easy to access records is key to the running of your salon and having them set up before you start will be key to making sure you start of as you mean to go on. From maintaining your skin tests to recording which dye was used in a client’s cut and colour, making sure you keep records of these is essential to your salons success.
• Cleanliness is key – it won’t matter if your salon has a fantastic waiting area and coffee machine if hair clippings are left all over the floor. Having a cleaning schedule for your staff is a great way to keep things spick and span!

Décor

Making sure your salon has a nice atmosphere can come down to your staff, but it also means paying attention to your décor. When it comes to your salon décor, it is okay to take your time. If you are ever in doubt, with questions such as which shade of green paint will fit your salon the best, asking a friend or your staff is a great way to get feedback.

When decorating the salon, think about the overall feel of the salon. If your marketing materials are a specific colour, incorporating that shade into the salon décor can be a fantastic way to make your salon more cohesive. A fantastic tip is to select furniture pieces and salon decorations that will be easy to clean and maintain. A giant fish tank on the wall may sound like a fantastic idea, but could be difficult to keep clean.

Get online!

A website with an online booking function is crucial for a new salon. Now more than ever, customers are using search engines such as google to find a local salon to visit. Setting up a crisp and professional website with a treatment menu will act as a fantastic advertisement of the services you offer. Having a digital presence will help customers to find you and the information they need to book an appointment.

Having social media accounts for your clients to follow is an important way to ensure you keep in touch with your clients. Regularly posting with updates about your staff members, new treatments and information about any other changes in the salon will help keep your clients invested in your business. Other information, such as road closures, tips about busy parking days near you, can ensure your customers are able to come into the salon with a minimum amount of stress.

If you are opening a new salon and are interested in our salon software system as a tool to help you open with a bang, please contact us here. Our professional staff will be happy to answer your questions and explain what our software can do to help you. 

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