Wanting to start a business in the Spa/Beauty industry is not an easy task, it is time consuming, capital intensive and requires having all the trade and business skills you can lay your hands on and also mentoring from those that have been successful in the industry. Here are some a few things you can add to making the transition from dream to reality.
- Write down your vision the type of spa or beauty salon you want e.g Day Spa, beauty salon, Medi- Spa, Nail Salon, etc. This will help you select the type of treatments you want to offer and the sort of equipment you are to purchase.
- Define your brand, the theme or look you are going for wether it’s a traditional, modern, eastern, western or African theme , your business logo, colour scheme for your decor, funiture, towels, uniforms etc. This will help you create an identity for your business, think of examples like coca-cola etc
- Check out your competitors, what their strengths and weaknesses are, don’t be ignorant of what your competitors are doing and offering.
- Estimate your Start up cost, not only for rent, equipment and infrastructural cost, but also for PR, marketing, running costs, miscellaneous expenses, grand opening expenses etc.
- Look for a location that will accommodate your vision and appeal to the sort of clientele you hope to attract. Example you can’t have an high end luxury Spa located in a low income area.
- Do not over staff, only employ the right amount of staff you need at a time, you can hire more as your clientele and service offerings grow.
- Have adequate skill training of the industry and also basic business training you can’t run a beauty business successfully if you do not have an idea of what is going on in the industry.
- Source your for equipments, professional and retail Spa & Beauty products. Request for samples, test products to know if they genuinely deliever results they claim to. It is best to have one but not more than two Skincare brands in your beauty salon or spa.
- Create your treatment menu a list of all services you will be offering, have a treatment manual with all the procedures of your treatments written down, this will help with training of your staff and also ensure all staff are following the same standard
- Work the out cost of each treatment on your treatment menu, to ensure all areas of the cost per treatment is covered so that you are making a profit when your business starts. There is no point having pricing that is under priced or over priced.
- Have a website and create social media presence, online exposure is very important if you are ever going to be successful. Google verification of your website is also very important.
- Organise a grand opening event when you are ready to open and be ready to show case what you have to offer to your clients both in terms of treatments & products, offer free skincare consultations and discounts on treatments and products for the day.
Here you go enjoy this tips and welcome to a world of profitability.
