How To Set Your Hair Salon Up For Success

There are tons of successful salon businesses out there catering to large demographics. How do you then plant yourself and your new salon amongst such intense competition? This article is a must-read for any aspiring salon owner that does not only want to survive but thrive in the salon industry. Read on how I set up my own business for success and how you can easily replicate that success.

1. Niche

Your niche influences your location, pricing and branding strategy. If you want to cater to the higher class, locate yourself in an affluent neighbourhood and decorate your salon in a minimalistic and contemporary look. If you want to cater to the youth instead, portraying your business as convenient and hip may work better.
Find an opening in the market by looking at all the niches that are already tapped into and find a distinctive one for your own salon.

2. Location & Demographic [restrict]

Choosing your location inevitably determines the demographic of customers you serve as well. For example, if your salon is located in an affluent area, you are most likely to be catering to richer clients. You have to take note of this difference in demographic as you will have to cater your services to each groups choices and preferences.
I set up my salon in a mall. The facilities in the mall makes it convenient for my customers to pick up a small bite or occupy her time while waiting for her appointment. Malls also provide sufficient foot traffic if your salon caters to walk-in clients.

3. Equipment

Overspending will be the death of your salon business. Buy used equipment or rent a space that used to be a beauty salon and already has all the equipment you need. Just make sure to check the quality of the equipment beforehand so that you can provide your customer with the best service.

4. Your Staff

Trust me, your staff will be the backbone of your business so do not go easy on recruiting and training them. Make sure that they are equally as passionate about customer service as you are and that they are naturally people oriented. Remember, skill is a non-negotiable in this case.
Be sure to educate them on your staff policies and the standards that you expect out of them as well. Reward their hard work with a basic salary besides commissions. Another thing that you can do to determine the success of your salon is to constantly be on the ground. Your role is to keep up staff morale and be an example of good customer service for your staff.
It also helps to allocate a specific staff to handle the inventory so as to avoid theft.

5. Your Customers

Catering to specific demographics is insufficient. Your customer service has to be so personalised that every customers taste and preferences are considered. This method of catering has retained me a loyal pool of customers till this day! What I did was that I set up “profiles” for my individual customers through giving them cards that connect to a database of their information. This makes sure that when they don’t get their regular hairdresser, their needs are still attended to. 
Conduct promotions for your customers as well. Senior citizen or student discounts will make your business welfare-oriented and make the community feel taken care of as well.

6. Cashflow

Getting your pricing right is vital to the success of your business. Setting prices too high will inevitably move your customers to turn to your competitors while setting them too low will result in your losses.
Make sure that your profits are able to tide you over by setting your prices a few percentages up from the cost of the service both in terms of inventory and in terms of manpower spent.
It is important to be aware of the amount of chemicals used for each service. For example, how many treatments can come out of one bottle of hair dye. This will help you with dealing with costs better. This was one tip that I wish I had heard earlier because I saved so much money when I practised it actively!
Actionable Takeaway:

Wondering what type of equipment you need for your salon? Read another article I had written, Essential Equipment Every Salon Owner Must Have for a comprehensive guide to what type of used equipment you need.

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