Have you always dreamed of owning your own salon? Before signing that lease or ordering your business cards, ensure your success by avoiding the risks and pitfalls faced by many small businesses during the startup phase.
Here are some of the main reasons small businesses fall short right out of the gate:
Not Enough Capital
Many new salon owners launch their businesses with the misconception that the business will grow and profit despite major under-funding. Without proper funding, you will not have all of the needed resources to help your business properly launch, let alone prosper and you risk potential failure.
To acquire the required resources, capital will need to be raised from various sources. Beyond your own savings, consider financing through a bank or private funds, and even from family and friends. Do be careful not to put all of your funds into the salon, as you’ll have nothing should things go south, so to speak.
Lack of Planning
Informed planning is essential in starting your salon so begin with market demographics and cost estimates, which can be resourced from your local chamber of commerce.
Bad Location
For a salon, location is everything! Lower rent payments mean nothing if you don’t have any customers or if clients, let alone staff, have nowhere to park. Before deciding on a location, check into what major draws are around you (for walk-in traffic), how secure the area is at night, what sort of issues or even planning the city or shopping center has for any developments that may affect you and your location.
Not Knowing Your Competition
You have to be prepared to deal with competition, which can be tough when you’re the new guy on the block. It’s best to know what you’re up against, so take the time to get to know your competitors. Take note of what they’re doing right, and how you can position your business to get a piece of the same market.
Not Getting the Word Out
Even though word-of-mouth promotion is the most credible way to grow a loyal clientele, it does not pay your rent while trying to initially build. Be sure and allocate funds for advertising, promotions and social media to spread the word even faster.
Not Anticipating Growth
Although you shouldn’t count on it to happen right away, you do need to be ready with a plan in case your business grows quickly. Otherwise you could have chaos on your hands or, even worse, it could cause your business to self-destruct from the inside out. The only way to avoid this problem is to plan early on for growth so you will be prepared for it when it does come.
Do you have any other words of advice for those looking to open a salon?
How to Successfully Open a Salon
Have you always dreamed of owning your own salon? Before signing that lease or ordering your business cards, ensure your success by avoiding the risks and pitfalls faced by many small businesses during the startup phase.
Here are some of the main reasons small businesses fall short right out of the gate:
Not Enough Capital
Many new salon owners launch their businesses with the misconception that the business will grow and profit despite major under-funding. Without proper funding, you will not have all of the needed resources to help your business properly launch, let alone prosper and you risk potential failure.
To acquire the required resources, capital will need to be raised from various sources. Beyond your own savings, consider financing through a bank or private funds, and even from family and friends. Do be careful not to put all of your funds into the salon, as you’ll have nothing should things go south, so to speak.
Lack of Planning
Informed planning is essential in starting your salon so begin with market demographics and cost estimates, which can be resourced from your local chamber of commerce.
Bad Location
For a salon, location is everything! Lower rent payments mean nothing if you don’t have any customers or if clients, let alone staff, have nowhere to park. Before deciding on a location, check into what major draws are around you (for walk-in traffic), how secure the area is at night, what sort of issues or even planning the city or shopping center has for any developments that may affect you and your location.
Not Knowing Your Competition
You have to be prepared to deal with competition, which can be tough when you’re the new guy on the block. It’s best to know what you’re up against, so take the time to get to know your competitors. Take note of what they’re doing right, and how you can position your business to get a piece of the same market.
Not Getting the Word Out
Even though word-of-mouth promotion is the most credible way to grow a loyal clientele, it does not pay your rent while trying to initially build. Be sure and allocate funds for advertising, promotions and social media to spread the word even faster.
Not Anticipating Growth
Although you shouldn’t count on it to happen right away, you do need to be ready with a plan in case your business grows quickly. Otherwise you could have chaos on your hands or, even worse, it could cause your business to self-destruct from the inside out. The only way to avoid this problem is to plan early on for growth so you will be prepared for it when it does come.
Do you have any other words of advice for those looking to open a salon?