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How to Write a Profit-Making Salon Business Plan
Writing a salon business plan is different to writing a plan for another kind of business. If you’re starting a salon, you’ll need to consider different things to a retailer or restauranteur.
This guide is for people who are about to open their first shop, as well as those who are already trading without a firm business plan. If you’re at the beginning of your beauty business journey, planning an expansion, need to attract investment or just want to get your venture into better shape, you’ll see the benefits.
What is a beauty salon business plan?
A salon business plan is a document where you outline exactly what you’re going to do with your business. It’s useful for planning ahead and is usually a requirement to secure investment or a business loan.
Your business plan gives all the detail of your salon proposal, such as:
- Where will it be?
- How big will it be?
- What services will you offer: hairdressing, nails, massage?
- Who will be involved in the management and ownership of the salon and what staff will you have?
- Who do you expect your customers to be?
- What are your turnover and profit expectations?
- How much will you charge for services?
- What costs will you have?
Usually, your business plan will be something you create before you start your salon. Once you’re running, you’ll go back to it and tweak it regularly. The plan will change and develop over time.
Following a standard format can help you ensure it is useful to you, investors and lenders.
It doesn’t just set the course for success, it’s a resource for potential investors, co-founders and partners and a reminder of why you’re doing what you’re doing. Your business plan should be updated regularly to reflect new trends, challenges and competitors.
Elements it should include are:
Executive summary
An executive summary acts as an overview to kick off the business plan. It’s a clear, concise preview of what’s to come, painting a picture of the next five years and drawing your reader deeper into the document. The one thing every executive summary should include is your mission statement.
Your executive summary should give a good overall description of what your beauty salon will be like and the core offer, whether that’s facials, nails, hair design or spa treatments.
Are you going to be a sleek, modern hairdressing salon with a team of stylists offering the latest in colour and cuts? Perhaps you will be an out-of-town beauty salon where high earners can spend a few hours being pampered, with spa treatments and nail design? Equally, you could be creating a neighbourhood-based salon for older people in the local community for haircuts and perms.
As a summary of every other section within your plan, it’s only normal that you keep coming back to this part to make changes and add things.
Company description
Your company description describes the “who, what, when, where and why” of your new salon business. Readers of your business plan should be able to get a sense of how your beauty salon will take shape and what unique selling propositions it has. It should detail:
- Your services (nails, hair, spa for example) and products
- The location and physical space
- The management team
- The employees
- How your salon will distinguish itself from others
- Your mission and how you plan to achieve it
Salon Services
You listed all your services in the previous section, but here’s where to include the specific details. Each service should be described in terms of the process, the equipment required, the products needed and the source of those products.
This section is perfectly suited to outline how you’ll run your stock management. As an element of supply chain management, this includes aspects such as controlling, overseeing and ordering inventory/stock, storing it and tracking the amount of products for sale. Finding the balance between thrift and sufficiency will be one of your main focuses as a small business, and inventory management will help you out.
As well as the stock you’ll need to deliver services such as nail care and colouring, you might be planning on selling products. Many salons can increase turnover with a small retail display space near the door or till.
Market Analysis
It’s important to show that you know your stuff, especially when speaking to potential investors and partners. The market analysis details insights into the competition, your forecasted (and historical) growth and trends in the beauty industry. It looks at the size of the market both in terms of volume and value, as well as the economic environment in terms of barriers to entry and regulation.
A competitor analysis of your market and location will explore who has the biggest market share, how close competitors’ salons are to yours and what advantages you have over them. Investors need to see that there is untapped demand for a nail bar, hair salon or spa where you plan to set up — and you’ll want to be sure too.
A sensible conclusion to this section of your business plan is a SWOT analysis. This will help you explain your salon’s position in the market by looking at:
- Strengths
What do you do well? What is your competitive advantage? What have you got that nobody else does? - Weaknesses
What might limit your ability to gain competitive advantage? Where can you improve? What could limit sales? - Opportunities
Are there changes in the market that will benefit you? What upcoming trends can you use to your advantage? - Threats
What obstacles do you face, such as wholesale price increases, new competitors in the area, people spending less and so on?
Marketing Plan
A salon marketing plan is designed to help you increase brand visibility when you first open, as well as acquire new customers and retain existing ones. Here’s what it should include:
Positioning statement
Start with a positioning statement that explains how you want customers to perceive your brand. It should include:
- How your salon business stands out from others
- How you specifically benefit your customers in contrast with competitors
- The specific segment or category in which your company competes
- Compelling evidence that validate any claims of differentiation
Target market
Your target market is the group of people most suited to your beauty salon. They’re the ones you model your services and approach around. It’s essential to understand them properly by creating
customer personas and drilling into their needs.
Pricing
Here’s where to lay out your pricing strategy, considering both your business goals and trends in pricing across the market. By evaluating prices right across the spectrum — from budget salons to high end parlours — you’ll uncover the sweet spot where your business fits in.
Promotions
Promotions give new customers an incentive to try you out, whilst encouraging existing customers to come back for more. You can offer discounted services through deal and discount websites like VoucherCodes, Groupon and hotukdeals, but social media is your friend here too. Instagram, Facebook and Twitter are all low-cost channels that can be used to advertise irresistible discounts, freebies and deals. Rewards and loyalty programs also work well for salons.
The only limits to the marketing plan section are your imagination and your budget. There’s no right or wrong way to go about marketing to your customers, so long as you keep their requirements and tastes front of mind — make it about them.
Organisation and Management
This section should explain your company’s legal structure, or “business entity”, to determine the tax you’ll have to pay and the impact of that tax on your bottom line. Types of entities include sole trader, general partnership, limited partnership and limited liability company.
It should also specify your business’s organisational structure, and the number of staff you plan to start out with. Include an introduction to the management team that focuses on each individual’s unique experience.
You should also include technology needs. Scheduling and managing your appointments is a critical component to the success of your business. When assessing scheduling software, consider the following:
- What hours you’ll operate, and who will manage open and close and handle money
- The point-of-sale system (POS) you’ll use to accept all types of payment
- How you plan to store and manage inventory/stock
- What systems and software you’ll use to manage employees
- Whether you’ll solely accept payments in person or process online and over the phone transactions too.
Offering a convenient and efficient booking platform for your customers could be a unique selling point. Clients may enjoy being able to see availability and book online. If they can only book by phone with a competitor, you could gain an advantage.
An effective appointments management system will also help you to ensure you book every available slot and don’t have gaps that cost you money. With the right beauty salon POS you can ensure customers get automated reminders of appointment times to avoid accidental no-shows.
Financial plan
The goal of your financial plan is to work out how your salon can afford to achieve its strategic goals and objectives. It may also serve to apply for funding from banks and investors.
Discuss start-up costs, funding options, a break-even analysis, projected profit and loss and cash flow management.
Finance isn’t everyone’s strong point, and because the details of this section are so important to get right, never hesitate to use a financial professional. Getting a second pair of eyes will give you peace of mind. In fact, once you’ve completed your salon business plan, you might share it with trusted friends and business associates who can give you another opinion.
This post is for guidance only and is not intended as legal advice. For financial or legal advice related to your specific business, be sure to consult an independent financial or legal professional.
