To save some money while starting a business, especially a salon, you should rent some items. This will cost less and be within your budget, but renting has many variables. You have to know a proper place, a friend, or some trustworthy company. Not only that, you have to take extra care of the things you rent since they are not entirely yours. To know all about renting stuff, keep on reading this article!
Before you read on, make sure to check out our cape elastic neck and long apron.
Hair Salon Rent A Chair Contract
When you don’t have enough money or resources after completing your degree, you might consider this option of a salon as well. So what exactly is the rent-a-chair contract?
A rent-a-chair contract is when you act as your own independent contractor but don’t have your own salon. You basically have to pay rent for a chair that you manage on your own. The salon owner doesn’t control your clients. You can run your own salon business but under a salon that is owned by someone else. A lot of stylists choose this option as it doesn’t cost as much. You can still feel it like your own business. However, you need to vary of some things before you jump into this option:
Know the exact money you need to pay: If you don’t want confusion, later on, you need to have a written agreement of the rent you need to pay and whether it includes insurance, electricity, phone, and internet bills. You also need to know if you will be paying fixed rent or if the owner will take percentages of what you earn!
Length of contract: This needs to be discussed beforehand as well. You need to know if the contract lasts 1,2, or 3 years.
The situation with the walk-ins: Since you will have your own client base, the salon could take the walk-ins. So you need to discuss beforehand if you’re allowed to service walk-ins or not. Furthermore, you should know if your client base is only yours or if the stylist has access to your database.
Working hours: Some rent-a-chair workers need to work the same way as all the stylists instead of having their own routine. This should be made clear as well.
Products used: Some salons have products that they use, and you might need to use those products as well instead of your own. For that, you’ll have to pay as well, make sure you know if you’re allowed to use your own products. Moreover, whether you can use the salon equipment or not should also be discussed.
Holidays: Usually you will be able to take holidays when required, but you will not be paid for them at all. You also need to make sure if you need to pay for your days off as well and make sure to have some savings for this problem.
The Most Important Thing For Starting a Salon
Starting your own salon is no easy job, along with a lot of expenses. You also need to make sure that you have a successful start. So you need to know in what direction you should put the most effort in.
The most important part of starting any business is the location! This determines the amount and types of clients you will get, the expenses, the cost of the services, and basically the popularity or success of your salon. But to determine the successful location, you should keep some factors in mind, such as the ones listed below:
Population: This is an important part since your customers will be from the population you choose. You should ask around the area and do your own research to know the cost of starting a business there, any unexpected costs, and how good the city is for repairing damages. The best people to ask are small business owners like café owners and restaurant owners.
Accessibility: Another important factor is how accessible is the location that you chose? People should be able to come and go without having to cross a long distance. The place you choose also needs to have visibility as the more people know about it, the more free advertisement you get. A mall or a busy street will have more traffic so will get more clients than a lonely road.
Legal requirements: Before you buy a place, you need to know all the rules and regulations you need to follow and their potential costs. You also need to know if you will be allowed to open a salon in your chosen location. Make sure to know everything about signage, zoning, and insurance.
Competition: Chances are if better salons surround you, then you will not get as many clients since you are new and people already have their favorites. However, you still need to be close to big shops like retailers, large stores, schools, hospitals, busy coffee shops, or designer stores is a good idea. Make sure the place isn’t so crowded that they take up all your parking spots as that can be bad for your business.
Personal factors: These are just as important; if the salon you have is too far away, it can cost a lot just to travel. Not to mention, you will be exhausted due to everyday traveling. Try to make sure it is close by, most preferably within walking distance. You also need to know how far away the bank, school, or preferred café is, so every day doesn’t feel like a chore.
Location cost: A location can be perfect for you, but if it costs too much, it just won’t be worth it. Check out the area’s expenses, taxes, maintenance cost, insurance cost, and other such everyday costs as well.
How To Win The Competition In A Hair Salon
Salons are an everyday thing nowadays as almost everyone needs to go to a salon once in a while. It means that they are popping up everywhere! This means that the competition for your salon will also increase. To make sure this competition doesn’t harm you, you need to have a strategy by following the following tips.
Having something unique that no other salon has, maybe your salon has a coffee bar? Wine? Special promotions for VIPs? Games to kill time? Or some other thing.
Have a theme, an aesthetic that you follow for the employees’ décor, website, and uniforms. This will make your salon more professional and legit.
Have services that you specialize in, be the best at it. Maybe the hairdressers at your salon are the best in town or some other such talent that can only be found at your salon.
To attract customers, you need to have reasonable prices! Yes, if your salon is very successful, you can increase them later on.
Having social media is very important as it is a form of advertisement. Most people will want to come to your salon if you have a lot of followers.
Giving free stuff for starting a loyalty program for them is one great way to increase the chances of a client coming back over and over again.
In conclusion, if your salon is authentic and has an easy way to schedule appointments, you will get a loyal client base. Make sure to start a salon in the perfect location as well!
In the end, check out our unisex jacket and the Mane Caper shop.