Opening Your Own Salon

Last year Mario Doria the Director of Maestro Hair Salons shared his thoughts with Style Street on opening a new salon. He had recently stumbled upon Style Street and has the following to say.

This site has some really cool stuff. Some of the articles are really good, and some are I think misleading.
For example Opening a salon for $5000, has disaster written all over it.
It’s a saturated market and only the strong thrive the rest close down.

Before opening a salon, there should be a reason of why it’s going to work, other than you being the best hairstylist in the world. Unfortunately that’s not enough to succeed in the business world.
If these articles are for helping and guiding young hairdressers about to embark on as business venture, they should include,

• Preperation, surveying the area,
• population, average income, average age group in suburb, and see if this fits the kind of salon your dreaming of opening.
• Checking out existing salons, to see if there is a place for you to create something new and fresh.
• Marketing/ advertising plan
• Salon look and feel, the kind of space you wish to create.
• Banking, Accounting, and legal Issues
• Suppliers
• Branding, Image.

If these things along with many others are not addressed in the preperation stage, you will be one of the 75% of salons that fail and eventually go broke.

What our industry doeasn’t need is more salons going broke and bastardizing it along the way, with $5 haircuts and $25 colors in $5000 salons.

We can control our industries future and build it to how it once was many moons ago. Hairdressers were one of the most highly respected trades, and were viewed as artists.
We need to get back to that place where we charge what we are worth per hour like all the other trades. And to do that we need beautiful places to work from that inspire clients and give them an experience worth paying for and returning back again and again.
Opening a $5000 salon I don’t think so. Let’s fill our young stylists minds with sound advice they can use and not false hopes that will see them as the 30th salon in a suburb doing one client a day because of a special they saw on the window.

We have a serious problem in Australia with too many bad hairdressers, in bad salons doing bad work under priced. Which means they can’t employ quality stylists and pay them what their worth, and so they pay the minimum and get the stylists that are at the bottom end who don’t care about their ability or our industry.
As Doctor Phill says “We can’t change what we don’t acknowledge”

I would love to see a governing body for our industry that could have a set standard before one could be issued with a licence to open a salon.

Other countries have stylists earning double what our stylists are earning. We need to address these issues and have new salons that open become a part of our solution not the problem. $5000 salons I don’t think so.

The Shop is Yours! What Next??

Opening a Hair Salon Part Seven The Space

Ok you’re getting there. You’ve got that key and the rent free period. You’re still working and not telling a soul at work what you’re up to. Good.

Draw a plan. Grab some graph paper, measure out the dimensions of the floor plan and make lots of copies. You’re going to need existing plans and plans of your layout which in turn gives you your list of equipment.

You now have 2-3 weeks to get open!!!!!

Put newspaper across the windows, you want people to become curious. This is one of your first marketing tools.

Need to get your electricity connected, gas, and that new business phone. Sometimes your utility provider will want security deposits this usually comes in your 1st bill.

Opening a Hair Salon Part Six The Buck$

How much cash do you need saved up to open your own hairdressing studio? Less than you’d think. I’ve opened five hairdressing shops and never once has it cost me more than $20,000.

One of my hairdressing salons only cost $5,000 to get in the door and I borrowed every single cent of that money.

• Stay working at your day job and don’t tell too many people yet that you are striking out on your own.
• Setting up shop can be stretched out a bit which is a good thing so you have time to find the money.
• Money, Money, Money. So now you have to ask family or maybe a few friends to help this dream come true. You know how much money you need. If you can find the right space, it’s fantastic if you can live at the premises as it makes life very cheap and interesting (:
• Bank loans should be considered as a last resort. An overdraft facility can be considered, but you must not think of that as your money! It is for emergencies only.
• Do not use your plastic. Credit cards charge ludicrous interest rates. You don’t want to be working for the banks!
• Get a bank account open, look at charges some banks are better than others and be careful of eftpos charges it all adds up.

To help get you in your own studio grab a copy of this Free Excel Spreadsheet for managing you initial start-up expenses and capital. Provided by Scissors for Stylists.

Also see Step One: Getting the Cash Together

Opening Your Own Hair Salon. Part Five

The boring bits

• You’ll normally pay rates/insurance and all other outgoings on a building ask the agent for a Disclosure statement with a copy of the lease.
• Roughly what you can expect to pay; Rates aprox $2000.00, Insurance aprox $1200.00, Water rates aprox $1000.00
• Get everything sorted with local authorities you must have your set up to a certain health standard ( cost $100-200.00)
• Get everything sorted with local authorities you must have your set up to a certain health standard, ring and get stuff sent out saves time.
• Get business name rego ( cost $80-$150.00). You can do this online at Business Victoria. I’ll get Dean to post all the details on how to register the business yourself. No need to pay anyone to do this it really easy.

Cheers
Jeremy

Opening a Hair Salon. Part Four

The All Important Lease Part Two

• Whatever they’re asking for rent, take 20% off, but always say you’re negotiable; this is what it’s going to cost you !!!!!!!!!!
  
• You can set a commencement date to stretch things out and pay the security deposit first then the rent when you commence your lease.
• Don’t be put off if your agent hasn’t got back to you but keep ringing. You might know someone he knows so try everything to find out who the owner is: talk to the neighbors, make them your friends so they want you there as well. You are going to make it pumping for everyone, the owner is getting a great long term tenant – be pushy!
  
• Lawyers are over rated, but well if it’s your first lease think about it. Cost aprox $500-750.00
• You only want the standard commercial lease relevant to your state/ country minimal yearly increases in rent, it’s all negotiable.
• Your rent free period is in essence what gives you the ability to build a salon with not to much else. (except your scissors which you can get for less from www.scissorsforstylists.com.au)

Cheers
Jeremy

Open a Hair Salon. Part Three

The all important lease

The lease is the cornerstone of your new business. Without a good lease you’re only building yourself another job to go to.

• Ok, you have to put a proposal to your new agent/best friend. It’s all about what you want!!!
• Propose a 3 year lease with another 3 yr option and another 3 yr option as a minimum, or 5 yr x 5 yr and more if you can.
• You only want to pay between $1200-$2000 per month rent.
• You want 3 months free rent for the fit out period, after all, you’re going to spend money improving the space so you want compensation.
• You’ll pay one month’s rent up front and another month as a security deposit. Try and have the security deposit held in an interest earning account.
• In your proposal, say you are going to spend $30,000 on the renovations and fit out but do not put a time frame on this as it could take a year or two. Time is your best friend and you can make it work for you.
• The agent will want references – really they just need boxes filled out and some people to ring so this could be virtually anyone.

The lease, to be continued…
Cheers
Jeremy

Open a Hair Salon Part Two

The key point from my last post was…

You want to build a business not only a job. All your hard work should create a business with value.

Getting Started!

• You’ve got to have the ‘want it’ attitude!!!!!
• You’re a hot stylist, colourist or beautician who wants to build a business and be your own boss.
• You’ve got a few loyal clients who will follow you!

The Space!

• Find a cheap shop: size is important! Even more important is location – does the foot traffic flows well? Is there parking nearby? If in doubt: Location Location Location!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Check the areas demographic. You can check this out online usually through the local council or government.
• Found a shop you love? Floors ok? Check. Has a hot water tank? Check. Got a sink? Check. Maybe toilets, too?
• So now you’ve met the landlord/agent. Time to make him your best friend, after all, you need to cut a good deal with your lease. This is a very important part of what you need to do to make this a profitable business not just a job. Don’t skimp on the charm!!!

Cheers
Jeremy

Open a Hair Salon With Only Your Scissors

My name is Jeremy Hoolihan I am a hairdresser. I’ve been building salons in Australia for the past 20 years. I’ve had successes and failures but I can build a salon from next to nothing so I’ve always bounced back from any setback.

Through practice I’ve found out the easy and cheap way to build a salon that is not only a job but a business.

The trick is all in the lease you sign. It can either make your salon a saleable business or it can mean a lot of hard work for nothing. Sign a lease for the long-term and negotiate a great deal. Follow your gut and don’t listen to doom and gloom. I hope the tips I provide over the coming weeks give you the ability to realise your dream.

Go for it! Wait for nothing!

The earlier two posts were written by my friend

• Introduction I thought I should also write my own.
• Getting the Cash Together That’s good advice, but you know what, I always found my salons first and worried about the money later. You decide what’s best for you.

I decided I should completely take over and will post my tips in my style.

Jeremy

Step One: Getting the Cash Together

How much cash do you need saved up to open your own hairdressing studio? Less than you’d think. I’ve opened five hairdressing shops and never once has it cost me more than $20,000.

One of my hairdressing salons only cost $5,000 to get in the door and I borrowed every single cent of that money.

Yes, I opened my own shop with no money down and you can too.

How much have you got saved now? None? Twenty grand? Come on, seriously take stock and figure out how much money you have saved or squirreled away. Now go get a kid’s exercise book and write down that amount. You can buy a book for less than a dollar; I buy mine on sale at Kmart for eight cents! It will be the best dollar you’ve ever spent. From now on I want you to write down everything about your new hairdressing studio in one book.

Go on, write down how much you have saved. “I have X dollars saved for my new shop.”

Now how much could you borrow from family and friends? Figure it out and write it down.

Finally how much can you save every week? Figure it out and write it down. Then double that amount and write that down as your weekly saving target. Did you first think of $100 a week? Then your target is $200 every week. If you really want your own shop $200 a week should be easy. Just keep thinking about the shop and reading this series and you’ll be styling hair in your own hairdressing studio before you know it. Stop letting your money go down the drain each week!

To help get you in your own studio grab a copy of this Free Excel Spreadsheet for managing you initial start-up expenses and capital.

If you start saving now and work along with this series you should be in your own shop within a year. If you already have most of the cash saved or can borrow it then you could be sorted within a few months.

to be continued…

30 Steps to Open Your Own Studio

I’m really excited. I finally manged to get Jeremy Hoolihan to share his expertise gained from opening five hairdressing studios. Jeremy is going to share his secrets on how to get into your own shop as fast and successfully as possible. He’ll tell you how to save money, how to find the best location, how to negotiate the best deals and how to avoid the common pitfalls.

Whether you’ve got no money saved or are already looking around for a shop this series will save you money and hopefully help motivate you to take control of your own destiny.

I’ll add the links here as Jeremy writes the articles, so you can bookmark this page or better yet subscribe by RSS (Click the Orange Circle to the right above)

• Step One: Getting the Cash Together
• Step Two: Location Location Location