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Money, Honestly is a content series where business owners peel back the curtain to their finances. Entrepreneurs break down their investments, costs, and how those decisions affect revenue. In this edition of Money, Honestly, stylist (and first-time business owner) Audrey Darling shares how she invested $72,000 to open Ceremony Salon — and how she’s navigating unexpected costs like tariffs and product price increases in her first six months of business.
- Business: Ceremony Salon
- Description: Hair salon specializing in cuts and color
- Owner: Audrey Darling
- Time in business: 1 year
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Annual revenue: $120,000
After nearly two decades of working in salons, San Francisco-based stylist Audrey Darling opened her own business, Ceremony Salon in March 2025.
“I’ve been working for other people my entire career,” said Darling. “It was time to do my own thing. I wanted to create a space that reflected me and to have more control over my days.”
The timing was perfect. “The commercial space market in San Francisco was flooded with availability. A lot had been sitting empty since the pandemic,” recalled Darling. Many owners were motivated to rent, even if it meant at a lower rate than usual, so Darling got a good deal.
Darling also took advantage of SF Shines, a small-business improvement grant program where eligible businesses can apply to be reimbursed by the city for property improvements.
In this conversation from September 2025, she candidly reveals how she made the salon fully functional in just 40 days, and the financial investments that went into her first six months of business.
Q&A with Ceremony Salon owner Audrey Darling
Square: You signed the lease in February and opened in March, right?
AD: I put the freaking pedal to the metal. I got the keys on the 13th of February and then my first client was on March 18th. [The space] wasn’t in the state it is now, I’ve taken on more projects since I opened, but everything was fully functional within 40 days.
Square: What was your initial investment in Ceremony Salon?
AD: My total expenses from February to now are a little over $72,000.
A lot of factors go into that:
- Lease agreement, rent, and deposit: $7,500
- Exterior improvements (pressure washed, scraped, and painted the building): $2,500
- Plumbing projects (installed two shampoo bowls and a sink): $5,000
- Electrical work (added outlets and put up pendant lighting): $2,500
- Fixed a window: $1,000
All the furnishings and supplies, like salon shampoo chairs and bowls, mirrors, stations, hair dryers, furniture, back-bar and retail product, iPad, monthly subscriptions — all of that equipment in the salon is around $25,000 to $30,000.
Square: How did you fund these costs?
AD: The city reimbursed me $8,000 [through the SF Shines grant]. I do have to pay taxes on that.
I used my savings, and I love getting points on my [credit card]. That’s how I’ve been making my purchases so I can get a ton of points and then pay it off as quickly as possible.
I’m doing it all kind of on my own. I didn’t really want to take out loans or anything like that.
Square: Is that credit card a personal or business card?
AD: It started off being my personal card and then everybody was like, “You need to get a business card to do all of this.”
Square: How long did it take you to build up your savings?
AD: Shamefully, I really started focusing on saving in my 30s. In my 20s, I was just blowing all of my money. I didn’t even think about saving.
In the last five years, I got pretty serious about saving. I didn’t necessarily know I was saving to open a salon, but I knew I was saving to do something. Once I started pondering on the idea of opening a salon, I was like, “I could invest it in my future.”
Square: Were there any surprising costs with opening the salon?
AD: How much plumbing and electrical work is. Obviously, there’s so much that goes into it, it’s so important. A day of labor would cost me $2,500, which felt crazy.
The construction costs, even painting the outside [of the building], quotes were so high. That gave me insight into the type of costs my other salon owners had before.
Square: In general, costs have been on the rise. Have you felt the squeeze with other expenses— or because of tariffs?
AD: The cost of shipping. On some of my orders I’m spending $30 or $40 to get it shipped. Shipping prices have at least doubled. One of the [hair product] lines I use had a 40% increase in price. I order from Australia — a lot of the products we buy aren’t from the United States.
All of this has happened since I opened. Shipping costs and tariffs weren’t crazy prior to February. These are things I’ve had to take on the chin. This is such an uncertain time to be opening a business.
[Editor’s note: At the time of this interview, tariffs had increased prices on imported goods to the U.S.]
Square: How are you managing these additional costs?
AD: I’m taking it one day at a time. I’m accepting that it’s going to take me a little longer to pay myself back than I originally estimated. Thankfully, I have a partner who helps out at home, so I have more flexibility than most when it comes to that. I’m very grateful for that.
Square: You mentioned the uneasy economic climate. How are you feeling about that now?
AD: Most days I feel pretty good, [the business is] working. Having my [staff] is huge, because I’m renting chairs. Their monthly investment into the salon takes the rent off my plate. If I didn’t have them, I would be in a more stressful situation.
Square: How does renting out salon chairs work?
AD: Salon chair rent in [San Francisco] is not cheap. Part-time is about $900 a month for two days a week. My full-time rent, for three days a week and up, is $1,500 a month. That’s about standard [in SF].
Square: Your clients may be experiencing their own economic uncertainty. Have you seen uneven bookings recently?
AD: Since the pandemic, booking has changed. People are more last-minute bookers than they used to be, so that’s affected my books. Also, things are tight. My clients who’ve been laid off, they’re not coming in as often. Men normally come in every three to four weeks — they’re going to stretch that appointment every six to eight weeks now, which I totally understand.
I’ll make exceptions for people. If they tell me they’re in a hard way, I’ll squeeze them into a short [appointment] to make it work. I don’t want to overcharge anybody, so if I take less time on someone, I’ll factor that in.
Square: What is the biggest challenge for you in your business right now?
AD: Getting through my first year of expenses. My original estimation feels imaginary now. There’s so many miscellaneous costs that come up that you have to just figure out a way to afford. That’s probably the biggest stress so far — making sure that everything is paid for, that everything is good.
I’m doing it, but it’s definitely not as comfortable as I would hope it would be by now. I’ve talked to so many people who say you’re not going to make any money — your first year is you just paying yourself back for everything you’ve put in. I would definitely say that that is my case.
Square: What’s the best thing you’ve spent money on recently?
AD: So far, it’s getting into my lease — just starting. That investment is what sparked this whole thing. It freed me from feeling like an employee. Despite how insanely expensive everything is, it’s been so fun to have this project and prove to myself that I’m capable of doing something like this.
Square: What’s next for Ceremony Salon?
AD: I want to continue elevating the space. I want to put a washer and dryer in. I’m taking all the laundry home every day, which is a lot to do.
I’d like to update the stations. I’ve found design inspirations on Pinterest that I’m interested in. I put [the space] together so quickly that the design wasn’t a huge thing.
Next year, I’d like to take [my staff] on an appreciation trip to a hair convention — I’m thinking Vegas — and treat them because I’m so appreciative of them coming with me and supporting me when I’m figuring out how all of this works. They bring me so much reassurance and confidence.
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For Darling, the $72,000 investment in Ceremony Salon wasn’t just about opening a business — it was about investing in herself and her future. While the financial reality of her first year has been challenging, with rising costs and slower-than-expected payback, she has no regrets. Her journey is a reminder that building a business takes grit, adaptability, and a willingness to take things one day at a time. But for those ready to take the leap, the rewards go far beyond the bottom line.
Costs in the first six months
- Lease agreement, rent, and deposit: $7,500
- Exterior building improvements: $2,500
- Plumbing projects: $5,000
- Electrical work: $2,500
- Window repair: $1,000
- Furnishings, supplies, equipment: $25,000 to $30,000
- Grant reimbursement: $8,000
- Primary funding sources: Savings, grant, credit card
