Advice on opening a salon

[Peaches07]

Hi,
I’m just wondering what your thoughts/ experiences are with opening a salon?
I currently work for a salon full time in my hometown but have only been there for about 6 months,
I have inherited a little bit of money and want to use it as an investment, I wouldn’t have a client base as my contract stops me from setting up anywhere near my current salon so I would be looking to rent a store in a different town, I’m a bit concerned of how I would build a new client base, and if I have enough experience?
I understand it would be ALOT of hard work, which I’m willing to put in I’m just terrified it won’t work and I will have lost all my money (and my job)
Any thoughts welcome, I’m really just brainstorming at this point tia xx

 

[Taraki]

They cant stop you setting up, I don’t think it’s actually enforceable? (AcidPerm or one of others will have to second that)
but unethical to take clients with you, if clients follow/ find you that’s personal choice,
I started my own buisiness renting a room in hair salon, wasn’t from area at all, takes a while but with right shop frontage ( I had none whatsoever, just in a back room and a poster in window) and advertising plus most importantly word of mouth if you are good, it will happen, every salon got to start somewhere , right....

 

[Taraki]

I also used treatwell, they take a big cut, but because of my ratings have brought clients from other areas, just tell them to book with you direct once they’ve been, ( plus now I’ve added an incentive, on treatwell I’ve put my prices £3-10 higher than booking direct with me, more likely to book direct, and if they don’t it softens the 25%! Treatwell take, I find their commission terrible but worth it to bring in new, just not returning)

 

[jamiereid92]

Hi,
I’m just wondering what your thoughts/ experiences are with opening a salon?
I currently work for a salon full time in my hometown but have only been there for about 6 months,
I have inherited a little bit of money and want to use it as an investment, I wouldn’t have a client base as my contract stops me from setting up anywhere near my current salon so I would be looking to rent a store in a different town, I’m a bit concerned of how I would build a new client base, and if I have enough experience?
I understand it would be ALOT of hard work, which I’m willing to put in I’m just terrified it won’t work and I will have lost all my money (and my job)
Any thoughts welcome, I’m really just brainstorming at this point tia xx

Try looking for salons up for sale, if the owner is leaving, and retiring from hairdressing, you will inherit Most of their clients.

Some will be in a hurry to sell so you can start up without forking out a fortune [emoji4]

 

[Manuela_G]

Hi,
I’m just wondering what your thoughts/ experiences are with opening a salon?
I currently work for a salon full time in my hometown but have only been there for about 6 months,
I have inherited a little bit of money and want to use it as an investment, I wouldn’t have a client base as my contract stops me from setting up anywhere near my current salon so I would be looking to rent a store in a different town, I’m a bit concerned of how I would build a new client base, and if I have enough experience?
I understand it would be ALOT of hard work, which I’m willing to put in I’m just terrified it won’t work and I will have lost all my money (and my job)
Any thoughts welcome, I’m really just brainstorming at this point tia xx

Get in the game of social media advertising in order to get more exposure in the new town. Facebook provides many customized ad targeting options - targeting potential clients based on their location, age, sex, interest, job title, etc.

You can also take part in relevant local Facebook groups with your personal FB account, for example local moms' groups or brides to be (if you specialize in bridal hair and makeup), where you can offer your services when someone asks for suggestions and post pictures of your work...

 

[UK Beauty]

I run a company offering social media services for salons. It can be a very effective way of putting yourself in front of potential clients every single dayfeel free to PM me if you want to know more.

 

[kesie]

I run a company offering social media services for salons. It can be a very effective way of putting yourself in front of potential clients every single dayfeel free to PM me if you want to know more.

I will.

 

[MadeleineR]

I also used treatwell, they take a big cut, but because of my ratings have brought clients from other areas, just tell them to book with you direct once they’ve been, ( plus now I’ve added an incentive, on treatwell I’ve put my prices £3-10 higher than booking direct with me, more likely to book direct, and if they don’t it softens the 25%! Treatwell take, I find their commission terrible but worth it to bring in new, just not returning)

Hi @Taraki - great to hear you've been using Treatwell and have been getting lovely reviews helping you find new clients. We have recently changed our pricing model so we no long take commission on returning clients, as we agree that we should only be applying commission when we send you a new client into the salon. We've also got lots of great tools to help make sure those clients re-book with you so you enjoy lots of lifetime value from them. Please feel free to PM me for more info.

 

[Taraki]

Hi @Taraki - great to hear you've been using Treatwell and have been getting lovely reviews helping you find new clients. We have recently changed our pricing model so we no long taker take commission on returning clients, as we agree that we should only be applying commission when we send you a new client into the salon. We've also got lots of great tools to help make sure those clients re-book with you so you enjoy lots of lifetime value from them. Please feel free to PM me for more info.

But you take 35% now for first time and charge a monthly fee on top don’t you?

 

[MadeleineR]

Hi @Taraki yes you're quite right. We charge a monthly fee of £15, which covers your dedicated landing page on Treatwell (your online shopfront keeping you open for business 24/7), the salon software and much more. The 35% applies only when we introduce a new client to you (so it's a one off acquisition cost) then not again, as we scrapped repeat commission, and only apply a nominal processing fee. In reality that means that by a client's second visit the salon takes more money home than on the previous model with commission being applied to every booking, and that lifetime value grows the more the client books. But, we didn't just change the terms, we also really upped our support to help ensure clients do return as we know that the acquisition cost is only good value when the client becomes a loyal regular. As well as the CRM tools in Connect letting you segment and communicate with clients, we introduced free 'Invites to Rebook' too, which means we automatically remind a client after the right amount of time to to rebook with you. There's a lot of support and insights available, so please do feel free to PM me and I can put you in touch with one of our Consultants if you'd like us to have a full review of your account, and or both sides to suggest opportunities for us to improve the partnership etc? We'd be happy to help.