Congratulations! You have found Salon Suites and are looking forward to opening your own business! It can be very emotional opening your own salon. You may feel excited, nervous, happy, overwhelmed, but never fear. We at Salon Suites are here to help. After you sign your lease we offer a few things to help you get started on the right foot. As a new salon owner Salon Suites provides you a “Product Starter Package” that enables you to stock your new salon. We will also let you know where you need to go and what you will need to do in order to make your salon business official. Some of our partners in our Concierge Services can be of further assistance setting up your business (i.e. licenses and insurance).

Start Your Salon Business Plan

Now you are stocked and all the technicalities are handled, so what’s next? Where do you go from here? All good businesses start with a business plan and while that might sound daunting it can be a fun and exciting process. Keep reading for a quick breakdown to help you create the best business plan for you!

Clientele: First thing is first, clients. Who are your existing clients and what new clients are you hoping to attract? From there you can think about what services are most popular with those clients. What services could you add? Think of sending a survey and searching social media hashtags to see what these additional services could be. Another great angle to look at your services from would be to take stock of what your suite neighbors at your Salon Suites location offer. Do you notice any gaps in services?

Money, Money, Money: Show me the money. Ok, but seriously let’s talk budget. Start with your costs. How much will your rent, product orders, CE classes, etc. cost you per month. For the larger expenses, such as CE classes and license renewals, it is wise to take an estimated amount for the year and break it down to monthly costs so you are not hit with one lump sum. Now that you have your monthly expenses look at your services and the comparable prices in the area for those services. What is your most popular service and how many of those services do you book in a week. Does that add up to your monthly expenses? Can you change your prices or hours you set to increase revenue? Most important is just don’t let the numbers overwhelm you. You can do this! This also, leads to the third set which is marketing. Don’t forget to think about what style marketing you are going to do when you are budgeting.

Marketing: Time to get creative and have fun! What is your brand? Your brand is essentially just how you want to present your salon to the world. Will you be laid back or professional? Bright or clean white? Your brand will help you decorate your salon and help you decide how to approach marketing.

Truth be told in this day and age social media is the way to go. Social media can help you pinpoint your market and give you insights into their behavior. Facebook and Instagram (or it will soon) have built in Insights to help you see how is visiting your Profile or Page. You can also create ad’s on Facebook and Instagram. For many new salon owners you will have a base of followers and clients supporting you and social media is a great way to let them know of your move to own your new salon with Salon Suites.

Don’t forget about the tried and true referral program. Husbands, girlfriends, co-workers, word of mouth is an oldy but a goody. Referral programs can be used in addition to all other marketing as part of your overall strategy and the cost benefit analysis is positive.

Be sure to invite your clients to review you. Reviews help potential clients see your talent and build their trust in your services and talents.

Oh yes and don’t forget your Salon Suites personal mini landing page. Providing a dynamic profile picture and bio helps the browser select which salon owner they will feel most comfortable with.

So off you go. Time to work on that business plan and think what fun decor you can put in your salon! One last thing, don’t forget to have fun! This is exciting process to be a business owner!