Some of the biggest expenses in starting a new salon, nail salon, or day spay are supplies. Making a comprehensive list of what equipment you need to start a salon will be a big first step in securing financing for your salon, or in setting up your cash flow chart. Here is a list of salon equipment you will need. Salon Stations, Chairs, Mirrors Stations are the most important place to start when designing your salon and creating your salon’s budget. Think about the equipment you’ve worked on, or interview stylists you trust to determine what chairs and mirrors work best. You may want to consider buying gently used salon chairs, stations, or mirrors from a closing or closed salon. You will need about one shampoo bowl for every three stylists. Make sure the bowls and chairs you purchase work well together and can be easily adapted for different clients. Many salon equipment suppliers sell rubber lips that can be fitted over shampoo bowls to help reduce the dreaded neck cramp!
Although hood dryers may seem old fashioned, they can be a huge help. A busy stylist can put one client under the dryer while he or she starts the next. Hood dryers are also great for updos and other styles that require setting, as well as for color jobs. Nails are one of the easiest services for a salon to add on, especially if your hair salon does a lot of color work. Pedicure chairs with built in foot baths make a nail salon look more professional and relaxing. Kind of obvious, if you’re going to do nails, you need a place to do them. An attractive display of nail polish colors is a great way to tempt someone in to a manicure. There are various solutions for keeping your nail equipment appropriately sanitized. You will want to choose something that keeps the equipment in view of the client. Clients actually prefer to see nail equipment being sanitized. Having appropriate space to allow your clients to let their nails dry will prevent frequent free redos for smudged nails.
The drying area will also help create a relaxing environment. Before purchasing salon equipment you may also want to consider how environmentally friendly you want your salon or spa to be.A nail salon is a retail services business that has a store-front, inventory and nail artists. In general you will need a space with chairs and sinks, sterilization equipment, specialized equipment (like foot bath), nail polishes, nail tips and money for signage, tattoo flash catalogues and other costs related to promotion. The main research that is required to open this type of shop has to do with the local tastes in nail and nail art. If your salon is in an upscale neighborhood the French Manicure and French tips might be the most popular thing and you will need to stock up on the beige and pink nail polishes and electric nail buffers. However if you are setting up in a more casual, hip neighborhood where there are many nightclubs then your customers may want false nail and nail piercing services from you as well as acrylic nail painting.
Obviously the more “blinged out” your customers want their nails, the higher your overhead might be. You should also make sure that your business is wanted in the area before you sign a lease or buy a building. Sometimes a close-knit community might already being devoting all of their money to a nail salon that has been in business for thirty years and that you cannot possibly compete with. Foot traffic, proximity to clothing stores or a fashion district and night life might come into play when choosing a location for the business and this should be looked into as it can affect your profits. If you are writing a business plan yourself it may seem like you are saving money, but actually it costs you your time. Most business owners forget to acknowledge that their own time should be worth something. Thankfully, you can buy business plan templates and how-to books online for about thirty to eighty dollars each that can help make the entire process more organized and easier.
You can also hire a professional to help you develop your business plan. This can cost anywhere from twenty to eighty dollars an hour depending on who the writer is and what their qualifications happen to be. Your costs for inventory are going to depend on where you get manicure and pedicure supplies such as nail polish, nail tips, nail glue, auto sterilizers, sterile jars, cotton balls etc. In some cases your tattoo artists might bring their own medical supplies. You will also need to devise a system for tracking appointments for each nail technician. You may keep this information on the computer and/or use a physical calendar that is accessible to every employee. If you want to take pictures of the work that you do then you should invest in a web cam or camera so you can post the pictures in your window and waiting room. You can also post pictures of what your salon does online. Keeping up with client information, especially when their next appointment is scheduled, is an important aspects of managing your salon.
A great organizer program can also help you set and track employee schedules. Developing a buzz for a nail salon is not as necessary as it is with other businesses because the customers are usually readily available. It is, however a good idea to be sure you have the money to pay for listings in both the White and Yellow Pages both offline and outline. Make sure your number is listed in the directory assistance in your area as well. You can also plan for a grand opening party to get the word out as well. This can be a special night sponsored by you at a local night club or similar event right at your store. Of course these types of advertising efforts can cost. If you have a specialty it is a good idea to start a blog that tells your subscribers about trends in nail art. This a great way to get more customers in and also allay a customer’s fears about more complicated procedures such as getting fake acrylic nails. You need to factor in the costs of financing your tattoo studio including the cost of an accountant, lawyer and any fees you have to pay your bank.
Do not forget to factor in the interest and fees on any loans that you take out as well. Whether you have bought or rented a space you will likely have some renovating and decorating so that it has shelving, sinks and stations for each of your nail technicians to work in. Ventilation in a salon needs to be excellent because the chemicals which are used in a nail salon are quite harmful to breathe. For sanitary requirements, plumbing of building needs to be very good and should not be overlooked. Everything in your salon needs to b e very clean to prevent the risk of infections. For the lobby area, you need places for customers to sit and a place to display nail art portfolios. In the office, you need office furniture and a computer to house your business software, daily records and inventory. Many people who run nail salons also need display cases as they sell nail polishes, nail jeweler and beauty products at the front of the store. People who get their nails done also tend to like soothing or easy listening styles of music.
Music also helps distract your customers from any pain they may be feeling while getting their nails done. Make sure you spend some money on a sound system as well as a television for the waiting room. Your salon may need special wiring or lighting to help the interior look attractive. You may also need an “OPEN” sign or a neon sign outside on the façade. For customers, your workspace will need reclining chairs (like dentist’s chairs) and sinks on the floor for washing feet. There should be several mirrors mounted to the walls, a reception area with seating and a counter to make payments, sales and transactions You’ll need a high-quality color printer to do specialty nails, an autoclave machine to sterilize equipment, nail dryers and power suppliers. You will also need polishes, removers, moisturizers, latex gloves, spray bottles and paper towels. If you are opening a nail salon you simply will not be able to acquire a license until you can prove that you have certain types of insurance in place.
Before you can open you must have liability and property insurance. You might also require worker’s compensation, health, life, and fire and product liability. Your state insurance department is your best source of information about who can insure a nail salon. Some nail salons will provide everything, except an artist’s individual equipment; others will supply some of the artists’ disposables including paper towels and antibacterial gels; still others won’t provide anything and each nail technician takes care of their own inventory and ordering. The amount of items supplied may determine the percentage of money a nail technician keeps after each completed job. Aside from actually paying a salary to your employees you will also have to factor in the cost of finding the talent in the first place. This can include putting an ad in a newspaper or online to find the right help. It can also cost to write up contracts for them; it can mean hiring a lawyer. Each nail technician needs a document outlining what the shop will provide for them and what they will provide themselves in the form of tattooing supplies and earnings.
If all the work of nail salon is to be done by your employees, then you will not need a nail tech license but your employees will require this. If you buy a building you may be paying a mortgage every month. Otherwise you will be leasing. Some nail salons are inside an even bigger facility, like a department store or spa. Realize that you might be leasing a car and other equipment as well. Be sure to include all leased equipment, computers and NCRs into your budget. These include amounts that must be paid for equipment and facility leases before opening. Expect to pay several months’ worth of lease payments even before you open your doors for business. Fees for licenses and permits include all fees charged by state and federal agencies. Usually the cost of these fees is higher if your industry is highly regulated. You might be required to acquire a license to operate from the Health Department or Department of Cosmetology in your state. Be prepared for a law in some states that requires you to put a legal announcement that you are opening up at your location in your newspaper.
You will probably need the assistance of a lawyer when it comes to drawing up agreements for your customers and nail technicians to sign. You are also going to have to form a corporation or limited liability Company before you will be allowed to do business in most places in the United States. You may also have to pay an accountant if you decide to outsource your bookkeeping and payroll and most businesses definitely assign the doing of their taxes to a professional. The cost of your supplies is going to depend on the services which you want to provide in your salon. These services may be manicure, pedicure, acrylic nails, airbrushing or fiberglass nails. A big cost is the nail polishes you buy. Some nail salons actually mix their own colors in separately purchased bottles. You might also want to consider selling related products like nail care products, nail polishes and piercing jewelry. You also need to factor in the cost of the cleaning and office supplies that your business needs to survive in its first few months.