Opening A Beauty Business in 2023: It's doable!

Opening a beauty salon can be an exciting but daunting prospect.

Even in good times it requires dedication, time, and a good sense of where to spend money in order to create a successful business that your clients will love.

On the other hand, it is known that niches like beauty offer the small guilty pleasures that men and women alike keep splurging on even when the economy doesn’t look up. So, if you dream of starting a beauty business in 2023, it’s definitely possible.

Doing your research, having some capital and planning for scalability are all essential parts of the success equation. It’s just as important to understand the industry, and the best thing about that is that it does not need to cost you anything: staying in touch with what’s trending on social media, following your competitors and building up your trade skills will give you an edge at no financial cost.

Ultimately, with a plan, creativity and some resources, you can still build a thriving beauty business, no matter the economic conditions.

Let’s look at some of these more closely.

Get The Needed Equipment

Getting good equipment for your beauty business is definitely the one thing on which you should never skimp, no matter what.

If you’re opening a salon, the aesthetic decor of the place can be done on budget with pretty much the same effect, if you know what you’re doing. Good tools on the other hand are absolutely essential for providing quality services to your clients.

Your supplies should be tailored to the types of services you offer, as well as updated often to keep your customers curious and engaged. People are curious about advances in technology and will be coming to see them!

A lot depends on your niche, but there are some common rules. Whether you’re looking for hairdressing equipment or skincare tools, the first factors to consider are price, quality and how easy to use the tools are.

Consider Partnering With Someone

Let’s face it though - the economy isn’t looking up. In times like these, solo business get more vulnerable to the whims of the market. It pays off to network and build solid business relationships.

If you’re looking to open a beauty salon, consider partnering with someone who already has experience in the industry. This does not have to be a salon owner, you could partner with another skilled professional who works in a different service than you or had a different career path. This way, you could each bring new approach to work to the table and learn from each other without competing for the same customers.

Your business could also benefit from your combined networks which would increase your marketing reach.

Having a partner to help you brainstorm and make decisions can also be incredibly beneficial. Working together, you and your partner can create a successful salon that serves customers who appreciate the services you provide.

A Business Plan Is Imperative

Planning helps when starting any business, but it is even more important in brick-and-mortar business where you have monthly expense on lease and utilities.

A good business plan should include an overall concept of the business, your forecasts for income and expenses, drafts of marketing strategies, operational processes, and exit strategies.

It should also consider potential risks and opportunities that could arise during the operation of the salon.

It might also help to incorporate details such as pricing, services, staff details, and equipment. If you’re using a spreadsheet tool, these details can come handy when you want to see how would changing your prices influence your monthly income.

A good idea is to make a business plan before the launch. That way you will be able to prepare your promo strategies and resources it needs to succeed. Without a clear plan in place, it can be fairly difficult to stay on track as you’d need to figure out solutions to every hiccup as you go.

Location Is Important But Internet Might Help

For physical businesses, location is one of the most important aspects to consider.

Good news for your budget is that it is not that important to have your salon centrally located. As long as you open in an area where a couple of other businesses are already clustered, the place will be easy enough for to find.

You might want to think about how well your salon will fit in with the surrounding businesses, though — both aesthetically and in terms of the services offered.

To give you some examples, hippy coffee shops and niche boutiques could be a good neighborhood for a makeup artist. On the other hand, stores catering to urban professionals in the full swing of their lives could be a better fit for a beautician or a hairdresser.

If your salon is located in an area that doesn’t have similar businesses, you might have a harder time attracting customers.

But then, so much can be done with the help of social media these days. Building up a loyal Instagram following can get you plenty of business even if your store does not have the best location.

Budget Well In 2023

Lastly, especially these days it is key to budget well when opening a beauty salon.

Being mindful of how much money you can afford to put into the business upfront will help make sure that you do not overextend yourself financially. It is also good to make sure that you have enough money set aside for any surprise changes in operating costs - the costs of utilities go up and down with the market but they are key in keeping your business running smoothly.

Creating a detailed budget plan that includes long-term and short-term goals can help, but might be an overkill if you are starting small.

Instead, just doing some research on the average costs of running a beauty salon will do plenty. Use that data to keep an emergency fund ready will help you stay on top of your budget and gives you peace of mind knowing that your business is well taken care of.

All said and done, being flexible and approaching challenges with an open mind is really the key thing to help guide your journey in the beauty business and ensure long-term sustainability. On the other hand, being organized is what matters in the long run, especially for small businesses.

It might not always be easy, but with focus and dedication, success is achievable no matter what happens in the coming years.