From trendy hair salons to corner barber shops, this comprehensive guide will show you how to start the salon or day spa you've always dreamed of.

Go to: Part 1>>How to Open a Salon or Day Spa – Comprehensive Guide

This article was excerpted from Salon or Day Spa start-up guide, available from SmallBizBooks.com.

A Day in the Life

Even though no two days tend to be alike for salon owners because the needs of their clients (not to mention their employees) vary so widely, there are certain tasks you can expect to perform on a regular basis. To begin with, you'll probably spend a lot of time on the telephone every day, helping to book appointments, ordering supplies, talking to salespeople, arranging for in-shop or offsite training, and so on. You'll also have to make up work schedules (then juggle them to accommodate employees' scheduled time off and personal needs), track receivables, monitor costs, dream up new advertising and marketing strategies, and possibly create daily or weekly specials that can be emailed to your regular customers to lure them in for additional services. On the personnel side, you'll hire new employees, visit beauty schools to troll for hot prospects, conduct performance reviews, mentor young stylists and/or aesthetics technicians with minimal experience, consult with stylists or colorists whose efforts go awry, and mediate when tempers flare between staff members. And of course, if you're also a licensed practicing cosmetologist, you'll be styling hair, applying color and rolling perms.

Sounds like a lot for one person to do, doesn't it? Well, it is--and that's why many salon owners (even those whose salons are quite small) often hire a salon manager to take over some of the administrative duties. This is a particularly good idea if you intend to continue to work behind the chair, since hairstyling chores alone can take up a lot of your time every day. And while it's possible to slip in some administrative work while you're waiting for someone's perm to process or a late client to arrive, it can be difficult to switch gears and give administrative tasks like balancing the books the full concentration they need.

The main thing that will influence business in your salon will be economics. After all, when the economy is riding high, people are willing and able to spend money on more expensive salon services, services that can easily be done at home, and luxury spa services like full-body massage and body wraps. But when the economy is slumping, those services may be considered a luxury rather than a necessity. As a result, customers may cut back on the frequency of their salon visits, or they may opt only for the basic services provided by one of the budget-conscious national chains.

One way to avoid being caught up a creek without a paddle is to research your target market's economic base carefully. If you've done your market research well so far, you already have some idea of the average income levels in your neighborhood. Now you need to look at data like the percentage of people who are employed full time and the types of jobs they hold. If the local market is driven by a lot of blue-collar, heavy industry jobs, a downturn in the economy could make cash tight and affect your ability to keep customers. Luckily, most people still use salon services, even if it's just for a basic cut, when times are tough, but they may go longer between services. So make a phone call to your city's economic development office now to get a handle on the health of local industry.

Your Salon's Website

Just as you'll access other companies' websites for information about their products and services, you'll want both prospective and repeat clients to be able to find you in cyberspace. Your website will be crucial to your marketing efforts and can be used for everything from posting your hours and driving directions to selling salon services.

Spas come off particularly well in a cyber tour. Well-decorated private treatment rooms can communicate a feeling of soothing relaxation even on screen, while suggesting that a resort-style oasis of serene tranquility is no more than a phone call away.

Because your Website is virtual advertising that's available on demand 24 hours a day, it's important to spend a fair amount of time considering what it should say. (We're assuming that your site will be an "online brochure" with multiple pages rather than an electronic business card.) The best way to determine content is by thinking like a customer and answering the questions you think he or she would have when searching for a new salon or spa. Here are examples of the kinds of questions a prospective salon/spa customer might have:

Salon

• Do you provide initial consultations? Is there a charge?
• Can you give me the same hairstyle as (name of celebrity)?
• What's the latest look?
• Are your stylists experienced? Where did they study/train?
• What do your services cost?
• Do you sell gift certificates?
• What hair-care product lines do you carry?
• Which credit/debit cards do you accept?
• Where are you located?
• What are your hours?
• How can I reach you?

Spa

• Are your spa employees licensed?
• Are your masseuses male or female?
• Are hyrdo treatments better than massage?
• How do you sanitize your equipment?
• How long will my treatment take?
• What do you charge?
• May I take a tour of your facility?

Choosing a location for your salon is one of the most important decisions you'll make in the early stages of establishing your new business. Obviously, you'll want to locate it in an area that's easily accessible by highway or byway, with plenty of traffic (both foot and the four-wheeled variety) and parking. The surrounding area should be attractive, well-lighted and safe. There should also be other retail businesses nearby (as opposed to commercial areas like industrial parks or a regional airport) because they can generate business for you even as they attract customers through their own doors.

Typically, salons operate out of three types of establishments: Free-standing buildings, storefront properties and shopping centers like strip malls. Occasionally, salons are located in malls, but it's actually more common for them to operate out of a free-standing building located on the perimeter or an "outlot" of the mall property because the rent is so high inside the mall. They're also sometimes found on the ground floor of office buildings in large metropolitan areas where there is a significant amount of foot traffic during the business day. However, such locations may not be optimal if they're in an urban area that doesn't have much traffic in the evenings or on weekends.

There's one other type of property that deserves serious consideration when you're looking for a place to set up shop. A facility that once served as a beauty salon may be a good choice for your new location. The good news is, a lot of the infrastructure you'll need, including extra plumbing, special electrical outlets, and maybe even fixtures like salon stations and the reception desk, may already be onsite and available for purchase with the building. The bad news is, there might be a really good reason why the salon closed, like there's too much competition in the area, the location is crummy, or the previous owner had a poor reputation among clients and in the community. The same goes for a salon that's currently in business but is up for sale.

Size of Your Shop

Salons usually range from 1,200 to 2,000 square feet, although small spaces can be considerably smaller (fewer than 1,000 square feet). You'll need four separate areas in your hair salon: Reception and retail, shampoo, cutting/service, and storage. The largest of these, of course, should be your salon services area, which should take up about 50 percent of the floor space. About 20 percent of the space should be allotted for retail/reception, 10 percent for the shampoo area, and the remaining 20 percent for storage and an employee break/lunch room area. The employee/client restroom and your office also should be located in this area. If space permits, you may wish to provide a one-person changing room for customers who are having treatments like color or perms. Otherwise, the restroom can serve as a changing room. Be sure to put a large hamper in the changing room/bathroom for collecting soiled smocks. Any retail products you sell should be displayed in the reception area and placed near the cash register for easy access.

The shampoo area is usually located toward the back of the salon and is equipped with shampoo sinks (either free-standing or affixed to the wall) and chairs. Each station should also have a "back bar," or cabinet, for storing products used in the salon, like shampoos, conditioners and deep-conditioning treatments. Naturally, these should be the same products you sell in the retail area, and your stylists should be trained to discuss each product used with the client as a way to spur sales.

Layout

If you decide to include spa services as part of your salon, then the overall layout of your salon should be created by a professional designer or an architect. That's because unlike a hair salon, which tends to be a large open area with few partitions or walls, a spa needs to be somewhat compartmentalized. However, if you've worked in or visited enough spas in the course of your career, or you have good visualization skills, you may already have a good idea of how you want your spa to look. In that case, it may be possible to work with a draftsperson to draw up plans for the spa, and then hire someone to build the space for you.

Spas are usually divided into a series of rooms that are used as changing and showering facilities, treatment rooms, consultation rooms (for discussing treatment options and post-treatment care), and so on. The consultation room may also be used as an office when not in use by an aesthetician and a client, although we'll assume you will have your main office in the salon area. There also should be a retail area that's separate from the hair salon's retail area (so customers aren't confused or distracted by products that don't relate to spa items). The spa and the salon can share a reception area, however, as long as it's centrally located and easily accessible to both sides of the business. Ideally, the reception area will be in the center, with the salon and the spa radiating out to either side. If possible, incorporate a supply room into your spa area. If that's not possible, spa products can share storage space with salon products, but strive to keep them separate and organized for easy accessibility.

Separate treatment rooms are needed for wet and dry services. While good overhead lighting is needed in treatment rooms both before and after services are rendered, it should be softly diffused. During procedures like massage and hydrotherapy, the overhead lights should be turned off and an alternate, softer light source should be turned on to create an atmosphere of relaxation and peace. Adequate ventilation is also a must, as is hot and cold running water so aestheticians can mix dry products or dampen towels during treatment without leaving the room. Finally, the treatment room should have its own sound system, on which relaxing music or nature's sounds should be played. No rap or heavy metal!

One of the more challenging aspects of being a salon owner will be hiring and retaining good employees. This can seem like a daunting task, not just because both of these responsibilities can be very time-consuming, but also because there's so much riding on employees' skills. After all, your employees will be the front-line representatives of the business you have lovingly and painstakingly cobbled out of little more than some loans, some ingenuity and a lot of "shear" determination. Their ability and talent, as well as their attitudes and work ethic, will influence every aspect of the business, from client retention rate to the bottom line.

Editor's note: This article was excerpted from Salon or Day Spa start-up guide, available from SmallBizBooks.com.

Go to Part 3 - How to Open a Salon or Day Spa – Staff and Resources