Owning a Hair and Beauty Salon

N

nhb74

I'm thinking of buying a Hair and Beauty salon. I have done a little bit of research and they seem like a good investment. I'll be looking for a well established salon with staff and manager as I work fulltime have 2 kids and my wife will only have about 10/hrs week to help out.

The few financial reports that I have already looked at for a few salons seem like it could get me a nice income for little work in return. Of course my wife and I would need to be involved more to actually build and grow the business but for the moment I'm just after additional cash flow.

Has anyone owned beauty salons before? It's probably a strange question in this forum but some of you must be investing in other things than property and shares? :)

Thanks for any info
Andrew
 
I looked at it once. The numbers stack up but .....

It all hinges on your manager. They make or break the business. furthermore they can easily rip you off and this is not unusual.

I found this factor was so far out of my control that I stopped looking at it.
 
Simon said:
I looked at it once. The numbers stack up but .....

It all hinges on your manager. They make or break the business. furthermore they can easily rip you off and this is not unusual.

I found this factor was so far out of my control that I stopped looking at it.
Click to expand...

I thought about that too so basically it might be a good idea to manage it ourselves
 
nhb74 said:
The few financial reports that I have already looked at for a few salons seem like it could get me a nice income for little work in return. Andrew
Click to expand...
Why are they selling in the first place?,they may take all their work with them..willair.
 
The hardest part of managing a business is managing people. Its an art that if your good at the money flows, but very difficult to be good at. You need the patience of Methuselah and the wisdom of Solomon :D
 
hairdressing

there was a post where someone told me that having managed businesses that you won but dont manage can earn you well with only about an hour a week input from you. they do things like that themselves and they did recommend hairdressing.

you would have to know how to check their figures and location makes a difference.

to get customers there are many ideas if its in a good area and you can offer good service cuts and prices.

managing staff there are lots of seminars for that.

rules, meetings, occupational health and safety etc need to be discussed regularly probably.

when you come into a new business as in any business you cant make massive changes fast. you first observe whats going on , then you decide who can shape up, who needs to go , what the dynamics are.

managing yoruself probably is always a better way to earn though as i said i was advised to do this by someone who is disabled and doesnt manage the business he owns and he recommeded hairdressing could be such a one.

rachel barnes on reno kings website takes questions and she used to own one for many years but now sold it. she is a very smart person to ask and easily accessible through their website .

managing staff, you need good nerves, i used to write down what i wish i could tell them but then reread it a few days later and only tell them what was most important.

good to chat to others who are expereinced specifically in that feild to know more. maybe ones out of the area coul dhelp you or maybe even who you are buying from could.

good luck. i'd be interested also in waht you find out.

francine.
 
Thanks for that. I have a few contacts already and some great info. I'll be doing lots of research for a few months yet so I'll probably post a new thread with my findings and experiences once I go for it :)
 
Gupta said:
what i have heard is that its a difficult to get experienced hair stylists...
Click to expand...

Hairdressers are considered one of the professions there's a shortage of in Australia. My niece & family came to Australia quicker because she's a hairdresser, although she had to do Aussie quals to be certified here. (Apparently, UK quals and 5 years experience wasn't good enough! Pffft!)

Olly
 
Olly said:
Hairdressers are considered one of the professions there's a shortage of in Australia. My niece & family came to Australia quicker because she's a hairdresser, although she had to do Aussie quals to be certified here. (Apparently, UK quals and 5 years experience wasn't good enough! Pffft!)

Olly
Click to expand...

That makes sense, English men aren't renowned for their haircuts.

Not like young Australian men like myself :)
 
hair and beauty salon

Hi everyone,

I have also been looking into buying a salon i am a hairdresser by trade but haven't worked in a salon for a couple of years. I would be interested in managing the salon and also working part time. I also have a 14 year old daughter who is very interested in the beauty industry we have talked about her working after school hours and eventually doing her apprentiship. My only
concern is whether or not owning a salon would be the right way to go in these tough times. Any opinions would be appreciated.


Thanks Tori
 
Well my friend is starting up her own salon in a partnership with another hairdresser. She has been qualified for about 8 years, did a bit of management at another salon owned by the same owners on and off the last couple of years.

Now the reality, she will be taking all her clients with her. It's a matter of fact in this business. Usually they will follow the hairdresser. The more experienced they are the more following they had.

My nail tech started her own business. Came from a really good nail only salon that does nails the old school way (no drills etc), she started her own little salon and 2 others left with her. I swear almost the whole salon left, the owner of the other salon sold up soon after and the poor sucker who bought it had no customers.

With this sort of work, experience not only in business is essential but so is experience in the trade. Especially if you are charging a customer $85 for a cut with the artistic director and you pay them little in comparison. Big reason why staff leave salons. From what my friends have told me the best salons to work for are those that are not only good managers but also great stylist. It makes sense when the manager is the artistic director and is getting paid the most.

Good luck with what ever you do. Location counts for everything, but remember your staff will take their clients when they leave.
 
I looked into this pretty seriously about 10 years ago, but became convinced it wasn't a good idea for a non-hairdresser. My research indicated that most hairdressers who own salons aren't businesspeople; they're hairdressers who want more control than they had as an employee. Consequently, the pricing of hairdressing businesses and the services they provide are such that the "profit" of a hairdressing business is usually about $40K, but that's with a full-time owner working in the business and not drawing a salary. In other words, there is no "profit"; the owner of a hairdressing business effectively buys themselves an over-worked, underpaid, manager's job.

Add to that the fact that every single person I spoke to said that staff theft was rife and very difficult to prevent*, and my conclusion was that there's very little profit to be had by being a hands-off manager. (*I found this hard to believe, but it was a constant refrain, so I must be naive and only know exceptionally trustworthy people.)

Obviously, though, Stefan and Toni&Guy can't be at every one of their salons, so in theory, it's possible to make a profit from the business.

There are naysayers for every investment, so the only thing you can do is investigate and identify the risks, and decide whether they're issues that you believe you have the skills and circumstances to accept and manage.
 
A good business to have in the current economic climate

ie. - I can't see women going to barbers to save money on haircuts

Every time I get my haircut (which is every 8 weeks) the salon is full -
BTW my hair grows quickly

Costs me $38 and the girls are gentle and good looking...hehehe

They have massage chairs while my hair is being washed and conditioned - nice!!
 
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