How to open a hairdressing salon from scratch (ready-made sample business plan)

Types of hairdressing salons

Depending on the work performed, beauty salons are usually divided into several types:

• children's - specialize in children's and teenage haircuts. They perform blow-drying, weaving various types of braids, etc. The interior of the room should correspond to the taste of small clients;
• women's - provide a wide range of hairdressing services for women. May have manicure, pedicure and beauty salons;
• men's (barbershops) - these are salons for men, where you can not only get a haircut, get a stylish hairstyle, adjust your beard and mustache, and also drink a cup of delicious coffee;
• mixed establishments – available to the entire population. Typically, such hairdressers are visited by people with average income.

There are also 3 types of hairdressing salons: luxury salons; business class and economy class hairdressing salons.

Hairdresser or beauty salon

What is the difference between a hairdresser and a beauty salon? There are no official requirements for beauty salons, but it is generally accepted that they should provide a wider range of services. This includes not only haircuts and coloring, but also nail services, cosmetic procedures, body care, and stylist services. Ordinary hairdressing salons are limited only to creating hairstyles: haircuts, curls, styling, hair coloring. Sometimes they also employ manicurists and pedicurists, if the area allows for a separate room for nail services.

However, a hairdressing salon can also bring in high incomes; in addition, it will pay for itself faster because it does not require the same costs as a salon. A license is not needed for hair and nail procedures, so you can start such a business quite quickly. As for the categories of hairdressing salons, like beauty salons, they are conventionally divided as follows:

1. Economy class . They are often located in the semi-basement or on the first floor of high-rise buildings in residential areas, do not spend a lot of money on repairs and advertising, and at the same time have the highest workload - 60-65% of working time. The cost of a regular haircut rarely exceeds 500 rubles.
2. Business Class. They open in the city center or large shopping centers. The masters are qualified not just as a hairdresser, but as a hairdresser-stylist, and can provide individual advice on style and fashion trends. The cost of a haircut reaches 2000 rubles. Workload is about 50% of working time.
3. Premium class . Such establishments are not opened in every city, because... they are focused on exclusive service. Most often, these are copyright salons, run by renowned masters, winners of international competitions and championships. The workload here is the lowest - no more than 30% of working time, but the clients are loyal and regular. Prices are not always published openly; in large cities, the price for a haircut starts from 3,000 rubles.

Of course, the higher the category of a beauty enterprise, the more funds must be invested in it at the initial stages. If we talk about the mandatory requirements for organizing a hairdressing salon, they do not depend on the class and are established for all establishments in this service sector.

Summary of a hair salon business plan

A short but necessary section of the document. The main purpose of writing a resume is to attract investors, so this section should be clear and concise. Emphasis should be placed on the beneficial aspects of the project, its uniqueness, and competitive advantages (for example, the affordable cost of the services offered). It is necessary to predict the payback period of a commercial idea and the expected average annual profit, as well as assess possible risks.

Good to know! The business project summary includes information that will be used during presentation activities.

Sample resume content:

• the name of the project and its organizational and legal form are indicated;
• the location and operating hours of the salon are given;
• the competitive advantages of the enterprise are noted;
• Buy a hair salon business plan
  indicates the main target audience;
• describes the interior of the cabin, its compliance with SES and fire service standards;
• the types of hairdressing services provided are listed;
• information about personnel is provided;
• the necessary equipment, etc. is listed;
• promotional activities are indicated;
• the amount of initial investment, monthly costs, and expected revenue are indicated.

The resume contains the address, telephone number, bank details of the enterprise, as well as information about the project manager.

Project Description

A business plan for a hairdressing salon with calculations is an important financial and organizational document. The introduction, consisting of 5–6 sentences, describes the essence of the project. It should intrigue the potential client.

Next, a calendar plan with step-by-step actions is approved:

1. Registration of an enterprise.
2. Advertising campaign.
3. Finding premises for a salon and concluding a rental agreement.
4. Room renovation.
5. Obtaining the necessary permits.
6. Purchase of equipment, tools, consumables.
7. Installation of equipment and arrangement of workplaces.
8. Recruitment of staff.
9. Start of activity.

In the description of the business plan, it is necessary to indicate what level the hairdressing salon corresponds to: economy class, medium, high. The types of services provided and their costs are listed. The company's competitive advantages are assessed.

Problem statement or summary

Any type of planning begins with setting goals and objectives. Therefore, before you open a hairdressing salon from scratch, first of all, you should draw up a description of your future activities, where you should indicate:

• Salon price category (elite, medium, economy) . This will determine your target audience, the initial investment for preparing the premises and the potential level of income.
• Number of chairs (depending on the area of ​​the room) . It will allow you to calculate investments in technical equipment and wages for craftsmen, and will also determine the potential flow of clients.
• Service list.
• Location of the hairdresser (address, surrounding infrastructure).
• Type of premises (area, condition) and form of ownership (rent, own area, planned purchase).
• Registration and taxation form.
• Schedule.

Example:

• Economy class hairdresser, with three chairs.
• Services: men's haircut, women's haircut, children's haircut, styling, perm, standard coloring, artistic coloring.
• It is located in a rented premises of 40 square meters without renovation (commercial real estate stock), located in a residential area of ​​a city with a population of 3 million inhabitants. The number of potential clients is 50 thousand people.
• IP on UTII.
• Working hours: 7 days a week from 10:00 to 20:00.

List of services provided

When compiling a list of services in a business plan, it is necessary to be based on high-quality service, an individual approach to each client and the average bill for a hairdressing salon (000 rubles), which should be comparable to data from similar enterprises. Additional services (hair extensions, nails) will attract a larger audience. It is advisable to add planned economic goals (business expansion) for the coming year.

It must be remembered that each type of hairdresser has its own list of services provided. For example, a commercial project to open a barbershop occupies a high price segment and is available to clients with high incomes. Therefore, it is advisable to attract craftsmen who have undergone special professional training to the business.

Analysis of the hairdressing market in your area

Based on the description of your business, you can create a portrait of your potential client by establishing:

• Gender and age category . For elite-class salons, the target audience is mainly women from 27 to 50 years old, for middle-class hairdressing salons, women from 25 to 45 years old and men from 30 to 40 years old, for economy class, men and women from 18 to 60 years old.
• Income level . Your target audience will be the client for whom the cost of your services does not exceed 5% of his average monthly income.

For the example above, the target audience will be men and women from 18 to 60 years old with an income of $100 to $300 per month.

When studying the market, special attention must be paid to competition. Not a single ready-made business plan for a hairdressing salon can give you an idea of ​​the real state of the market, and therefore you need to independently determine:

• How many hairdressers and salons operate in your area (for luxury salons, you should evaluate all competitors in the city, since their clients are ready to travel for quality services), a list of their services and pricing policy . The greatest threat to business is the hairdressers that are closest and operating in your price category. Information about them can be collected in the field (by walking around the entire area on your own) or using online catalogues.
• Private masters of your business zone . The easiest way to find information about them is on social networks through regional communities or by searching, using simple hashtags and combinations “hairdresser + city” (neighborhood), as well as asking under the guise of a potential client in regional social network communities.
• How many hairdressers are planning to open nearby in the near future ? New potential competitors can greatly impact your business because you cannot evaluate their strengths and weaknesses.

For each competitor, data on services and prices, as well as strengths and weaknesses are provided in table form.

Example : Competition is represented by two hairdressers located at a distance of 0.7-1 km, as well as one private hairdresser working at home.

Sample competitor analysis table

Based on this set of information, you need to determine what services your competitors do not provide, but may be of interest to your target audience. How do you stand out in your field of activity? Can you reduce the cost to attract an audience?

This information is provided in the business plan in the following form:

A competitive market study showed a lack of high-quality and affordable hair straightening and coloring services, which will be provided in the new hairdressing salon at a price 20% lower than in competing salons. Cost reduction will be achieved through wholesale purchases of consumables from a lesser-known but high-quality brand.

Required room area

The finished business plan for a hairdressing salon with calculations indicates the location of the beauty salon and its area (in sq. m). The premises must comply with fire safety rules and sanitary and epidemiological standards. Salon establishments must have a separate exit from the residential area.

The groups of hairdressing salon premises are described:

• lobby with wardrobe - for clients;
• work room - for serving visitors (one or more);
• administrative and utility rooms - for the administrator (with a staff of more than 10 people);
• dressing room, shower room - for staff.

Entering into a lease agreement will reduce the risk and costs of your business idea.

Necessary equipment for a hairdressing salon

For high-quality and full-fledged operation of a beauty salon, you will need professional equipment. Its choice directly depends on the type of establishment (economy or VIP class), as well as on the target audience. Beginning entrepreneurs prefer economy class salons with subsequent expansion.

In the hall (for the convenience of visitors) you can set up a waiting area. Soft chairs or a sofa, a TV and a coffee table with the latest issues of hairdressing magazines are suitable for this.

Financial plan

This section of the hairdressing salon business plan is of great importance for any establishment. It includes the costs of opening an enterprise and further maintaining the business: expenses associated with registering an enterprise, an advertising campaign, purchasing equipment, etc. This section is usually supplemented with tables with calculations. In the financial block, you should also calculate the planned financial indicators: revenue and profit.

The section should contain a cash flow plan for 3-5 years. Based on this information, you need to calculate the return on investment of the project. As a result, a calculation is made: what should be the amount of investment to open a small hairdressing salon. These indicators are important when receiving a loan or financial assistance from investors.

The stumbling block for many startups is finding an investment fund. Therefore, a novice entrepreneur should competently present his business idea to a potential investor. It is necessary to adequately assess the prospects of the project. Remember that an investor thinks in terms of numbers.

It is desirable that a hairdressing salon business plan with accurate calculations contains 3 possible scenarios for the financial model:

• base;
• The cost of a hair salon business plan
  is pessimistic;
• optimistic.

Be sure to indicate the return period for the investment deposit. This approach will inspire confidence from investors.

Marketing plan

Due to the economic sanctions imposed against our country and the ongoing crisis, the well-being of citizens began to gradually decline, thereby forcing them to resort to cheaper services, including hairdressing salons. During the first two quarters of 2020, about 25% of existing beauty salons closed, 20% of the remaining number were retrained as classic hairdressers with a slightly expanded range of services in the form of manicure and pedicure, solarium, and some cosmetic procedures.

However, due to lack of money, people did not get their hair cut less often, and therefore the number of visitors to hairdressing salons remained at the same level, even increased slightly due to the increase in the birth rate over the past 5-6 years.

The main problems of new hairdressing salons are unreasonable inflated prices, lack of a clear portrait of their client, and separation of client categories. The closure of many establishments also leads to:

• low level of training of craftsmen and lack of experience of young specialists
• lack of high-quality professional equipment
• incompetence in matters of new technologies and fashion trends

These problems can be partly solved by timely retraining of personnel, subscription to specialized printed publications - HAIR'S HOW, YOU Professional, "Hairdresser Stylist Makeup Artist", Season of beauty, "Beautiful Business", etc. Simultaneously with the elimination of these problems, the competitiveness of the Hairdresser will increase.

Graph No. 1 shows the volume of the hairdressing services market over several years:

It is precisely the unstable situation in the market for the provision of hairdressing services that can help a start-up enterprise gain the trust of clients, provided that the service is of high quality and the formation of a bright positive image of the Hairdresser. The following activities can help with this:

• advertising on colorful posters on nearby residential buildings
• sending out flyers and mini-brochures by mail
• advertising in local media
• holding various promotions, organizing discounts and distributing coupons entitling them to discounts
• creating your own Internet resource that regularly notifies your subscribers about upcoming events and talks about the services provided

Once again, it must be repeated that the success of a Hairdresser, including in competition, depends on the competent marketing policy of the establishment, the formed image, and on the organizational approach. The business plan of the hairdressing salon, or rather its availability, also plays a huge role. If you cannot draw up a hairdressing salon business plan yourself, or find an example of a hairdressing salon business plan on the Internet, use this description.

Hair salon advertising campaign

Necessary promotional activities include:

• outdoor advertising - stands with the name of the salon, signs and banners with fashionable styling;
• printed advertising - business cards, flyers, booklets with a list of services, contacts, photos of haircuts;
• distribution of print advertising;
• system of discounts for clients.

The block with advertising information indicates the operating mode.

Use social networks to attract a large number of new customers. Reach out to your family and friends for help. Let them recommend your hair salon to their friends.

Description of possible risks

Before opening a hair salon from scratch, it is necessary to analyze the risk factors. Competitive rivalry, weak advertising campaign, lack of marketing planning, costs exceeding expected profits are the main reasons for emerging risks.

The right marketing tasks can lead to success of business ideas:

• assessment of the competitive environment (and associated risks);
• identifying and eliminating the company’s weaknesses;
• working on the formation of a permanent client base;
• expanding the range of services provided;
• an accurate assessment of the expected level of income and the estimated payback period for the entire commercial idea;
• development of the correct advertising and marketing strategy.

The traditional 1% allocated by an enterprise for advertising is not enough for successful business development.

Example of a hair salon business plan

When making calculations for your beauty salon, it is recommended to use the business plan of another hairdresser as an example. A ready-made sample greatly simplifies the development of your project. By clicking on the link below the text you can download an excellent business plan for opening a hairdressing salon.

Risk analysis

Of course, it is important to understand that any business involves risks. It is recommended to study them in advance in order to know in advance possible solutions - if, of course, you encounter the problem indicated above. For a more accurate analysis of the risks when opening a hairdresser, we will divide them into four main groups:

1. Economic. This group includes any economic movements that affect your establishment directly or indirectly. These are the crises that have already been mentioned, increases in prices for rent or cosmetics, inflation, and so on. All this will lead to a decrease in business income. In order to avoid problems as much as possible in any of the above events, you need to take care of the high quality of service and services - then the flow of your customers will be stable. It is recommended to carry out promotions.
2. Production. These risks involve breakdown of equipment or engineering systems. This can significantly stop the operation of the establishment or create obstacles. To quickly solve the problem, it is recommended to always have a reserve fund that will be used to repair equipment. To ensure that your equipment does not break down, carry out regular diagnostics.
3. Risks associated with personnel. Make sure that the quality of services is at the highest level - this is achieved by constant work with staff. To ensure that technologies and proposals do not become outdated, it is recommended to send employees to advanced training courses and trainings.
4. Risks of property damage. It is possible that you may be flooded by your neighbors or that intruders will decide to rob you. This problem is solved by business insurance.

I would like to add a few more words about possible risks. If you analyze the business purchase and sale segment, you will notice that some of the best-selling establishments are hairdressing and beauty salons. Even if you open an advertisement site in your city right now, you will definitely find several relevant advertisements. And this cannot but be alarming. Why do owners sell a business that does not require large investments and quickly pays off?

The answer lies in the question itself. A large percentage of hairdressers and salons are opened by women who expect quick results and want to have a business in the beauty industry. This is not enough. You must study all the nuances and pitfalls that you will encounter - this is the only way you will quickly gain a large customer base and a good stream of profit. You need to do business - this is the simplest advice, which, nevertheless, works. Below are some more tips for those who want to open a hairdresser.

Example of a hair salon business plan presentation

Its further growth depends on the successful presentation of the business. To do this, you need to make a promising presentation on the topic of opening a beauty salon, which will become the face of the project. There is no need to do everything yourself. You can click on the link below the text and download a brilliant presentation on opening a beauty salon.

Example of a barbershop business plan

Barbershop is a salon for men. A new direction in the hairdressing sector is in high demand. Immediately below the text there is a link to a chic business plan for a barbershop with calculations that will help in developing your project.

Thus, after studying ready-made samples of hair salon business projects, you can easily draw up your own finished document.
A business plan will be required when receiving financial assistance from investors, and will also help plan the development of the enterprise. Barbershop business plan.

Opening a children's hairdresser franchise

In Russia there are networks of children's hairdressing salons. Most of them are located in Moscow and St. Petersburg. They strive to expand and try to open new offices.

This allows an entrepreneur to open a franchise business.

A franchise is the right to use someone else’s brand and business model for a fee.

Advantages of franchising:

• does not require the creation of a business plan - everything is provided;
• a well-known brand is used - this guarantees demand for the service;
• minimal start-up costs;
• continuous improvement of employee qualifications;
• support from the franchisor.

Minuses:

• limited – all actions must be coordinated with the franchisor;
• an entrepreneur develops someone else’s brand;
• part of the profit is given to the franchisor;
• other franchisees are treated as partners, although in fact they are competitors.

Hairdressing salons that can be opened as a franchise:

1. “Imagining.”
2. "Fun comb"
3. "Chub-Chick."
4. "Curly."
5. “Kesha is good!”

Children's hairdressing salon is a promising area for business development. Despite their recent appearance, they have already become popular and created demand in the market. However, competition in this niche is low. There are children's barbers only in the largest cities. This creates favorable conditions for building and developing a business that will quickly pay for itself and bring a stable income to the entrepreneur.