The benefits of being a salon group franchisee

There comes a time in many hairdressers' careers when they decide that they'd like to try their hand at managing their own salon.

But going it alone isn't right for everyone. Therefore becoming a franchisee might be seen as a less risky alternative.

Steve Lowe, managing director of the Bournemouth-based Scissors group of salons, gives six good reasons to become a franchisee.

Business Support

A good franchise company will support its franchisees by doing vital, but sometimes daunting tasks, like developing and working with meaningful business plans. They will supply the franchisee with regular and accurate management accounts for their salon business and help to manage profit and loss accounts.

Marketing and Promotional Support

Working a busy column can leave little time for developing the appropriate marketing strategy for your business. Most established franchise companies have their own marketing department with responsibility for marketing and promoting the salon name within your local area, and supporting the franchisee in developing the right promotional calendar for its business, tailored to address the individual salon's strengths and weaknesses.

Staff Training

Being part of a large franchise group can bring real benefits in terms of the availability of training programmes to support the franchisee's team at every level, including the franchisees themselves. And it's not just practical hairdressing skills or product and technical training that are available, there's also training covering topics like customer care, receptionists and management training.

Networking Opportunities

Being the boss of a salon can be a lonely experience. Where do you get your ideas? Who can you talk to that understands your problems? Apart from the support offered by the franchisor, being part of a larger group of franchisees offers great support with the chance to talk to and network with other franchisees. Many of the larger franchise companies hold their own awards events, in-house competitions, shows and other events, that can be highly motivational for you and your team.

Buying Power

Independent salon owners can sometimes find it difficult to have any type of meaningful relationship with their main suppliers. By being part of a much larger franchise group with much larger buying power, the level of support available can be considerably bigger.

Legal Advice

Personnel issues, dealing with landlords and various day-to-day issues can be a real burden for independent salon owners. Invariably many of the larger franchise companies have their own in-house team to help deal with them. Alternatively, they will have an established network of expert contacts to help deal with the more complex or difficult issues.

Running a business needn't be difficult with the right support and being part of a successful franchise can provide the progressive independent salon owner with the ideal platform to run a successful and profitable enterprise.

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