For many creative vendors and beauty professionals, starting a home salon is an attractive way to launch your own business with lower overheads and more flexibility.
However, turning a portion of your home into a professional, client-ready salon involves careful planning, legal compliance, smart investments, and savvy marketing.
Investing in a home-based salon offers low overheads cost and flexibility, focusing on services like hair, nails, or makeup.
This requires investment in quality tools, products, marketing, and potential loyal customers that leverage convenience but demands strong and ethical commitment to great service delivery by home service vendors.
The success hinges on low startup costs (compared to brick-and-mortar stores), but demands strong business planning, marketing, and managing finances effectively.
Speaking on this, a salon expert and creative vendor in Ogba, Mr. Kenneth Ogbaru said, for you to start this business at the comfort of your home, you need to Investigate the Legal Side of Things.
According to him, “before you start raiding the beauty supply store and distributing flyers, you need to make sure you can start your business without legal problems and hurdles by homeowners who don’t want their property to be converted for business purpose.”
Kenneth Ogbaru said, “are you permitted to run a business in your home? Do you have a home owner’s association that places restrictions on home businesses? Are there zoning issues or permit issues you need to consider?”
He said, ‘every area is unique. It’s important to consult with your homeowners about how to keep your salon above-board. It may be smart to operate as an independent contractor providing services rather than running as an actual business until you’re ready to expand with more stylists.”
“If you truly want to build a client base and a successful salon, you can’t just pull a salon chair into your living room and call it a day. Set up a designated salon space in your home. Perhaps you have a den or a guest bedroom that you can repurpose.
”This allows you to give your clients more of that “salon feel.” You’ll have a place for all of your equipment so it stays organized and available.
”As an added bonus, you can decorate the salon in any way you want as a way to start developing your brand, “ Ogbaru said.
Ogbaru stressed that, the first rule of running a small business is to keep your overhead low, advising that, “Don’t plop down your clients in a chair from your dining room table. You’re trying to create a comfortable salon experience, and for that, you need a real salon chair.
”The same goes for your wet station. You don’t have to buy the most expensive salon equipment on the market, but you can’t use a standard bathroom sink either.”
To him, “it may not be the most exciting thing in the world but record-keeping can make or break a business, for multiple reasons.
”First, it helps you keep your taxes low. Save records for everything you purchase for the salon, from equipment to tissues. All of this can reduce your tax burden and give you a better profit margin. The other reason to keep records is that it creates a better experience for your clients.
”Let’s say you do a customized color on a client’s hair. They love it, and a few months later they come back in for a touch-up.
”How do you know what dyes you used so you can match them for the touch-up? You don’t unless you’ve kept records of each client’s history.”
Speaking further, he said: “When a client pays for services at a salon, they aren’t just paying for the results. They’re paying for the entire experience, from the environment to the conversation.
”You need to be realistic in your prices that you’re giving clients a different experience than they’d get in a high-end salon. Even if you’re a stylist with extensive experience, you need to consider the whole kit and caboodle in your pricing.”
Many salons charge low prices in their earlier days and work their way up as they build a reputation and remember that your prices are temporary; you’re trying to build loyalty first, and then you can elevate your profits, he urged.
