What to know before opening a hair salon – 10 top tips

Being a salon owner is a dream for many in our industry but it can quickly become a nightmare if you don’t  follow advice from others who have walked in your shoes. Here, Brian Leo McCallum, owner of Roar Hair and Beauty shares his top tips on things he wants you to know before opening a hair salon. 1. Have a solid business plan! But don’t just use it to gain the initial funding and then forget about it. Update it regularly as your salon business grows. Revisit it all the time to remind you of your business path and goals. 2. You can’t do anything on your own One of the most important things to remember when running a business and opening a salon. In fact, when it comes to opening a salon our hairdressing skills are a bit useless so find the right people for the right jobs. 3. Start small and grow organically In my opinion, it’s less of a risk it also helps you create your culture for your salon. 4. Know that things do and WILL go wrong The beautiful thing about plans is that they never go to plan. I thought my third salon would be a piece of cake… not the case. What should have taken two months to open took six! Be as ready as you can be for unexpected hurdles. “If you can’t control it, don’t worry about it” helps a lot in these situations. 5. Role play guest visit It will give you an idea of your salon space and the flow of a guest who is in the salon. This sounds silly but if I hadn’t done this for two of my salons, we would have plumbed the backwash’s into the totally wrong area! 6. Your accountant and/or financial advisor is indispensable These experts know the numbers! As much as I would advise owners to make time to understand their own finances, a great accountant and/or financial advisor will really help you make good business decisions. 7. Insurance is boring but it’s SO needed! We know we need public liability and contents insurance, that’s a no brainer. I needed this when my second salon was broken into and cleared of all the stock! But what happens if you are opening your brand new studio salon next week and you break your hand?! Make sure you have some personal insurance in place for the worst case scenario, too. 8. A website is so important Set this up at the same time as you are setting up your space. Potential guests will walk past your new salon, see some signage or furniture and know it’s a salon but if they cannot find you online, they will quickly forget about it. 9. The process of opening your salon is so exciting... But, it will take over your life in the best way, because your heart and soul go into it. Be prepared that a “work life balance” may not be achievable for quite some time … in fact, if ever. But it’s so worth it. 10. Remember to have fun! This is something you’ve always dreamed of and you deserve to enjoy every minute of it.   We've also got a step-by-step guide to opening your own hair salon, courtesy of Jack Kilpatrick, owner and director of JKP HairSpa in Whitstable.