Sean hanna's start up secrets for hair salons
Salon owner and Rage International founder Sean Hanna delivered a truly motivational seminar called Start up Secrets, which no aspiring salon owner could afford to miss, at Business Extra at Salon International.
"Fifty per cent of all salons go bankrupt within five years. Typically the reason that salons fail are for reasons that were there way before they opened," he warned the audience.
Choosing your location...
In Sean's experience the right location is all based on figures - and if they don't add up - it's essential to walk away. "Do the numbers. What's the town population and price point? Do you need parking?"
Before committing to any salon, Sean advised conducting a comprehensive town report which will give you a complete breakdown on the population of the area. You can then, he said, calculate how many clients you would need to make your salon viable.
Fitting out your salon...
"With rents costing up to £100 sq ft - every single inch counts," said Sean. Utilising every bit of space and using fixtures and fittings to reflect the brand is a must, as it is the smaller details that encourage the clients that their money is well spent.
"Making sure the brand is really strong is very important to us, but before we even think about décor it is the power and the drainage that is most important."
Getting funding...
The next step in establishing your salon is to get funding. Banks are essentially looking for how you will be repaying the loan and the security that you have against the loan.
"What banks are really looking for is if you can make this business work. It's really important that you show the banks when you think you will start making money" he said.
Recruiting a new team...
In Sean's case, he takes out full page adverts in HJ which drives people to the salon's website. Full day interviews follow, including group interviews, presentations and then a second trade testing day.
Marketing...
"For all our new salons we put recruitment adverts in the entire salon window. Not only do these help recruit staff but they also let potential clients know that we will be opening," said Sean.
In addition, he places adverts on the side of buses, in newspapers, on the side of phone boxes, at train stations and distributes 50,000 discount cards before the launch - all reinforcing the same branding message.
More advice from the Salon International Business Extra Seminars
