Opening a business

[donna_whitworth]

Hi, me and a friend of mine are planning on opening a Hair&Beauty Salon this year? Does anybody have any tips and how much do people reckon it would cost to start it of from scratch from people's experience?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Donna

 

[Noodle]

Hello Donna and welcome to the site.

Please note that this thread has been moved to Biz Geek, which will hopefully attract some responses for you.

 

[donna_whitworth]

Thank you ☺️

 

[squidgernetball]

They are big questions with a million different answers.

Whereabouts in the country are you? Do you have a client base? Are you both beauty and hair or is one hair and one beauty? Are you planning to rent or buy? Are you going to take over an existing salon premises?
Do you have a big pot of money for those days when there are no clients?

Everything is relative. So fittings could cost you several thousand up to silly money. Do you have skin care ranges and all your beauty/ hair equipment or is that additional?

Just a few questions!

Vic x



Sent from my GT-I9505 using SalonGeek mobile app

 

[donna_whitworth]

Ok well this will be the first salon we have ever ran. We are from Manchester. I am Beauty and my friend is Hair. We will want another stylist and another beautician to join us. We don't know weather do this on an employed or self employed basis. We will be renting. And will not be going ahead with an existing business.
Skin care ranges and things like that hasn't even been discussed.
There is money there to be used when the salon is quiet but obviously we want to give it the best possible start.
Thanks
Donna

 

[donna_whitworth]

All the the beauty and hair equipment will also have to be purchased yes.
Thanks x

 

[beautyxperts]

I think you both need to sit down and formulate a business plan together, if you are going into business together 50/50 equal shares then you will need contracts drawing up for you both to sign.
Have you looked at premises & secured yet?
You need to research what products you want to stock in your salon - are you aiming for a high end range or lower price range?
Equipment prices vary - so again it will depend on what your budget is & can range from a few thousand to tens of thousand £'s.

 

[donna_whitworth]

Yeah I see what you mean.. Well I'm thinking of using Decleor as not many Beauticians in our area use it.. No premises has been secured yet we are just looking around at the moment.
Depending on the way the premises is set up depends on the budget we are sticking to if that makes sense. Such as if it needs separate rooms going in to it and the set up of each room like the plumbing etc.
If a ex salon was purchased that would already be in place but then you risk the danger because that salon may not have worked originally.x

 

[squidgernetball]

Can I just clarify.

Are you currently working as a beauty therapist and is your friend working as a hair dresser?

Vic x

Sent from my GT-I9505 using SalonGeek mobile app

 

[AcidPerm]

How well do you know your friend?
Have you worked together before?
Is her work ethic the same as yours?

You definitely need to speak to a solicitor and get contracts drawn up. For instance, what if one of you wants to leave, will the other one be able to afford to continue alone?

If you've not run a business before, see if you can find some basic business courses to help you get organised. Some local authorities run free short courses covering basic stuff about insurance, tax, marketing etc. Look on the council website.

Starting a new business - free advice, tools and resources | Start Up Donut

 

[beautygeek20]

We opened our tanning & beauty salon last year and we spent almost double what we thought we would spend. More than 30k put it that way but the shop needed fully refurbishing. We found there to be so many hidden costs of things that you don't even think about so it would definitely be worth speaking to a business advisor. Whatever you think you will spend, add on at least another 5k just in case as you are guaranteed to spend more & make sure you have enough funds to cover your living whilst the business gets its feet off the ground. good luck with it all

 

[weezie]

Hey Donna, I have written a beauty business course that has just come on special offer on Wowcher again. You may find it of use as it answers many of your questions. Here's the link http://mol.wowcher.co.uk/deals/lond...ad-238-skillsology-23-module-beauty/deal.html Good luck

 

[cardell]

Hi. I not read other replies so sorry if I repeat.

I opened a salon with a friend, same kind of situation. After a year I brought them out and never spoken since. We tried to get on and it didn't work. Business and pleasure just doesn't mix. We were best of friends and now enemies. I'm doing well and they hate it so actually try to slag off my salon in my town. Not saying it'll happen but be prepared to fall out and lose your friend.

In terms of costs it varies a lot. We spent wayyy more than expected.

 

[daydreams01]

As other replys have said, whatever your budget double it! All the additional costs add up like music licences, card machine costs etc. As a new salon owner 18 months in and not yet taking a wage, be prepared to put everything into it. It takes time to grow a new business so expect to make a loss in yr 1.

My main advice would me not to take on extra staff until you are both busy enough yourselves as there won't be enough clients to go round at first. I over recruited in the beginning and then had to pay people to do nothing while I was working and getting nothing! There are times I need an extra pair of hands but I have people now that are happy to help out in busy times and I am considering renting a chair but only if the stylist already has an established clientele as I couldn't guarantee how busy they would be otherwise. Good luck with your venture!

 

[RED STAR]

Echo all that's been said, and not wanting to p*** on any one's parade, but as exciting and wonderful as these ventures might seem.... always look at the worst scenario....it might not happen, but if it does, how will you deal with it...
Best to be prepared for all eventuality....
Would definitely advise NOT to employ any staff until you know what demand is like....it's not as easy as you might think to draw in the custom...I think to start with, you and your friend working would be enough.

 

[surf girl]

I agree, do a business plan with best case scenario then re do it at worst case scenario, being no customers some days at all, make sure you have a legal agreement between you even tho your friends now it may not be the case in a years time, how will one of you feel if 1's busy and the others not but you equally share her profits?

 

[Debbsxo]

I echo the sentiments of most of the previous posters! Having opened a new salon last year I'm very lucky that we are covering all our costs but I don't take a wage yet.

We did a business plan with worst case/expected/better than expected scenarios just to get an idea of what might happen - this is critical for any new business.

I also rented a nail desk out but this didn't work as I couldn't cope with not having full control over that person/work etc so gave notice.

As for costs - how long is a piece of string?

Good luck & make sure you research everything well & get all your costings down with at least a £10K contingency!

xx

 

[donna_whitworth]

Thank you for all your comments has given me a lot to think about and act upon 😊

 

[Katie123]

Starting with 2 beauticians and 2 Hairdressers may be good! A hair salon, beauty salon or barber shop is a good business to get into if we want to work closely with our clients and become a trusted service provider. Many people enjoy the personalized service they get at their favorite hair salon. There are several tips you can follow as you prepare to open the doors and build your new salon business.

Choose a location that allows your customers as much access to your shop as possible but limits the entrance to only one door.

When you are starting out, you will need to establish what kinds of services your salon will be offering so you know what kind of equipment you need.

When you hire beauticians, be sure you hire only those who are properly licensed and certified to work in your state

If your location has extra space, work to create additional streams of revenue for your hair salon. Services such as massage therapy, acupuncture, manicures, pedicures and facials can generate additional income and do not require a significant amount of space.