Salon business: what you need to know?

Elena Zavalishina , a young professional hairdresser, owner and current master of the color studio ZB style studio, shared her experience. Despite the fact that Elena is taking her first steps as the owner of a beauty business, she has something to talk about, because the opening and launch stage has been passed.

This is her story

I was born a hairdresser. I got my first haircut at the age of 10, using trimming scissors to cut my neighbor's hair. I cut all my grandparents' hair, even the backyard cats and dogs.

That’s how I realized that this was my profession, even though I was walking and didn’t realize where I could learn everything. I learned, but after graduating from the Academy of Hairdressing, it didn’t work out - I never managed to gain the necessary practice. The reasons for this were my two pregnancies. I was “swallowed up” by the story of the maternity leave. The maternity leave was a sign that I am a very active person. This was a period of opening new areas of activity: business, sales in different companies. Everything was enough for me literally for a month. I concluded: before taking on anything, you need to know the algorithm of actions. When I just had the idea of opening a beauty salon, experienced beauty specialists told me:

To open a beauty salon, you need

1) good starting capital;

2) a very strong team.

3) either a reliable investor, otherwise you will go broke

My life fuck-up is working from home. If I work at home, I don't work at all. Besides, I’m not developing, I’m not striving for anything. There is a lack of healthy competition and motivation.

Then the right idea came to my mind: go work for a company that sells professional hair cosmetics . For what? To be inside the business. As a sales representative, I now have useful opportunities: to communicate directly with representatives of premium salons and training academies. The most important thing in this matter is to make personal acquaintances with the best masters in our country. Then I will be able to understand where and how to move forward, and who is best to learn from. I went to get a job. During the interview, the employer asked me: Why our company? I answered sincerely: I came here for a selfish purpose - I want to open my own beauty salon and develop in it. It is important for me to get to know the kitchen from the inside. After six months of working there, I realized what to do next and where to go to study. So I ended up in a beauty salon that had just opened. I was interested in everything: what should and should not be done at the very start, how to select the right team, what financial investments are needed to start a business. I didn’t have sponsors or start-up capital, but I had hands, an idea, experience and love for people.

After analyzing all the pros and cons of the salon where I worked, I decided for myself:

- open a salon not on a large scale, but start with a small closed-type color studio; - constantly study the market and read as much as possible about it BEFORE starting a business; - always consult with a professional; It is important to build an action plan and development strategy. Learn, not from your competitors (I wouldn’t like to call them that), but from your inspirers and idols. For answers to other questions, see the Stand-up story in Hair Fashion style from Elena Zavalishina on the ZM channel.