Know Your Ideal Customers & Market - it is critical to know who your ideal customer is, and what their buying habits are for their salon visits. Salon customers often have buying habits that are pretty consistent within geographic neighborhoods, and within their relative age group.
Know Your Competition and Know What is Changing in the Salon Industry - taking the time to do thorough research on your competition can seem like a less than ideal way to spend your time, but what you learn through the process will prove it to be one of the most important ways to spend your time before you move forward with your Start Up plans. Same goes for research on upcoming trends and changes in the industry, you need to factor this information into your plan.
Price Yourself Correctly - we are not advocating being the least expensive nor are we suggesting you be the most expensive. Once you know the details of your ideal customers and your market you need to complete a pricing analysis. All of this info combined will help you create a realistic pricing structure that is suitable for your salon and your customers.
Learn to Delegate - you can not do everything yourself. The SBA says that one of the biggest challenges entrepreneurs face is overcoming their need to keep a tight control of absolutely everything themselves. If you find you cannot delegate one place to start is to consider if you are making the right hiring choices. You need to choose team members who you will be comfortable delegating to.
Cash Reserves - be sure you have enough! How much is enough, the common business start up rule of thumb is a 6 month cushion but often people only figure that 6 months of their current personal expenses. You need to include the costs to start and keep the Salon running for that 6 months also.
Know Your Cash Flow - when you plan out the first year of operations a part of the plan will be budgets and cash flow projections. You need to know what your major suppliers expect for payment terms. If you assume you can pay your suppliers 60 days after delivery and get your Salon opened and running and then find out your suppliers require 21 or 30 day payment terms your cash flow has just become a serious issue.
A new Salon Start Up is a major undertaking. All of our coaches are prior Salon owners. We made our share of mistakes and we know what it takes. Take advantage of our Free Consultation to review your plans. It is our passion to help you Start Up and Succeed. Give us a call today.