Opening a beauty salon: what is important

Is it possible for a salon to provide the highest quality service with a modest check? Lara Ryzhkova , a top stylist, trichologist, independent trainer, member of the initiative group of the Elite Hairdressers Club organization, author of the training program “Commercial Image. Fast and economical”, owner of the author’s studio in Odessa “Lara’s Barber”.

The long-awaited moment is the opening of your own salon. You inhale the aroma of freshly painted walls, enjoy luxurious new furniture, carefully arrange cosmetics on the shelves, critically examine the decor on the walls. Tired, but happy and inspired, you burst into the world of your own business. And, like every newbie in business, you encounter not only joys, but also difficulties. I will share my story with you.

I worked a lot and had fun. I had experience working in economy class, business class, and premium salons, working from home, and even being a director in one of the stores of a cosmetics and perfume chain. It's an amazing experience. I dreamed boldly. The client base was growing. Everything worked out, the premises were found. The way is open.

And I divided this into three components: creative, economic and psychological.

Creative component – idea, concept, style

I chose middle-income clients. These women work a lot, raise children, they have absolutely little time, but they manage to do everything. How do we cope in this regime? I wanted to create a space where a woman could stop and take a breath, speak out about painful issues, not be afraid to be funny and stupid, laugh from the heart, be real! These ladies deserve to be well-groomed, and sometimes they need help to believe in themselves. I created a place where craft skills are secondary, and emotional spirit comes first. By my example I want to show that in a salon with a modest average bill you can get a quality service, you can earn money and develop. This is how the author’s studio “The Barber at Lara’s” appeared - a small house with homespun rugs and a miniature courtyard with a bench and geraniums.

Economic component

This is probably every business owner's least favorite section. Costs of maintaining the salon, pricing policy, salaries, taxes, etc. I made a mistake in this component. A creative person must understand that emotions, ideas, experiences and concepts are of course important, but this is a business and if you want to build it correctly, you need to have economic knowledge. I made calculations based on my experience in other salons; prices were calculated based on cost and competition, but my own costs were incorrectly taken into account. I worked almost around the clock, I earned money, but something was wrong: either there was no time to spend it, or after rest it disappeared. The profit is small, which means you won’t be able to develop, learn, expand and enjoy yourself, creativity fades into the background, thoughts about “daily bread” remain. As soon as I completed the training for beauty salon directors, everything fell into place, new opportunities and prospects opened up.

Psychological component

A healthy creative atmosphere is only possible if there is a close-knit team of like-minded people. Building a team takes a lot of work, knowledge and time. After all the calculations, taking into account the new knowledge gained and the peculiarities of working with a client on a certain psychological contact, I decided for myself that I would work with a small team. We are a party of four. For certain works, filming, projects, I invite interested masters in one field or another. This system reduces costs and always gives interesting results. The circle of contacts expands, creative ideas transform and progress. Teamwork is the key to success.

Now I am no longer afraid of anything and I know that I can do anything. I wish you, colleagues, success and faith in your strengths! Be individual, study, take part in competitions, dare, raise the bar of desires higher and higher, improve your quality of life. And always rejoice in the successes of your colleagues and your clients.

The material was first published in a professional publication for hairdressers - Your Hair magazine.