Category Archives: Loans

Feb 15 NO comments
Business Plan, Hair Salon, Ideas, Loans, finance

Producing A Successful And Complete Salon Business Plan

SALONThe popularity of the salon business continues to grow year after year, and more and more entrepreneurs are jumping into this exciting world.

There are many ways to run a successful salon, and many different types of salons to run, but the key to making any salon business work is a detailed and complete salon business plan.

==Detail Exactly What Type Of Salon You Propose To Run==

It goes without saying that the salon business plan should lay out in detail exactly what type of salon you propose to run. There are many types of salons, from hair salons to nail salons to day spas and beauty retreats.

Some salon owners focus on just one type of salon, while others offer a variety of related services to their clientele.

==Detail Your Financial Information==

A good salon business plan will contain detailed financial information on the proposed business to be opened, if it is a new business.

In the case of an existing business, it is important that the salon business plan contain information on the current financial health of the business.

==Attracting Financing And Potential Investors==

A business plan has many uses to the entrepreneur, but one of the most important of all is in attracting financing and potential investors in the fledgling business.

After all, no responsible investor will want to part with his or her hard earned money unless he or she is certain the business has a shot at succeeding.

==The Business Plan Is The First Thing Investors Will Want To Look At==

It is important that your salon business plan be professionally prepared, and that it be a good reflection on you and your business.

After all, the business plan will be the first thing any potential lender will look at. It is important that it put your business in the best possible light.

==Legal And Tax Planning Considerations== Get the whole story »

Feb 09 NO comments
Competitors, Ideas, Loans, finance

Getting More Massage Therapy Clients, Without Expensive Advertising – Part 2

MT mindbdy expIn Part 1 I discussed how you can get more clients without expensive advertising by what not to do. And that is not doing general advertising to ‘everyone’, I was talking about getting specific to marketing to people who want massage, and that the secret lies in your own practice.

It’s easy to see what groups of people want massage therapy by looking at your own business, and by looking at complimentary practices in the community apart from yours.

To get more clients without spending hundreds of dollars have a look at who else in your community might treat people a similar way to you. This means people who are serving others to help with muscle soreness, fatigue and other reasons.

You see it’s not about who you think needs massage, its more about looking at who is looking for massage. So if you make a list of all the practitioners in your local area who treat people to alleviate their muscle problems, then you are onto a good start.

Or, perhaps you do massage that focuses more on stress reduction. So ask yourself who else in my community helps people relax? There might be people such as Yoga Teachers, Hypnotherapists, health products, Naturopaths etc. You must ask yourself if these people have the people who will seek massage therapy. If the answer is yes, then you are more likely to have successful results than if you stuck an ad in the paper and hoped for the best.

Success never, ever comes from hoping. It comes through specific action with good solid planning.

Start today to write down a list of all the people that have the people who also seek massage to help them and their health issues, whether mental or physical. You are seeking the same group of people, and yes, it must be specific.

Good luck to you.

Amy Roberts

www.massagetherapymarketingsuccess.com

Feb 08 NO comments
Business Plan, Loans, Tanning salon, finance

What Do You Want From Your Tanning Salon

spa
Not all tanning salons are the same, and consumers are being more conscious about this. They want to get a deep golden color from their tanning efforts, but they also want to know they are safe, get the information they need, be treated well when they enter the facility, and have their appointment time honored. If a salon can’t offer all of this then they won’t remain in business very long.

One of the biggest issues to be concerned with is safety. Tanning is an option rather than necessity. You don’t want the experience to turn bad due to cords being out where you can trip or the sunning areas not being kept clean. The equipment also need to be well maintained with emergency shut off switches clearly marked.

Information is a key element of the salon services. There are many questions people will have when they come in. All of the staff members need to be well trained on these issues. Otherwise it negatively reflects on the standards of the business. People will want to know about the various types of equipment, how UV rays can affect them, and what products they should use to accelerate their tan.

People often go to a tanning salon rather than laying outdoors due to time restraints. Therefore a good salon needs to be firm about appointment times. If people are late they will have to reschedule. This way those people showing up on time for their appointments don’t get penalized for it. You need to ask the salon how they handle such issues so you can be prepared for them.

Make sure you check out the various types of tanning equipment in it. This way you can have what you want access to available. Most tanning salons offer both beds and booths. Not all of them do though so make sure you ask what they feature. Many have also added sunless tanning equipment for those that are concerned about UV rays but still want a great look. Get the whole story »

Feb 03 NO comments
Business Plan, Loans, Location, Selection Services

Creating A Great Looking Tanning Salon Business Plan

Tokyo Auto Salon 2009
Creative Commons License photo credit: kanegen

There are many ways to make money while also having fun, and a tanning salon business is one of the best. Before you can start soaking in the rays and the cash, however, it is important to take the time to create a great tanning salon business plan.

Creating a tanning salon business plan will be a vital first step toward attracting the lenders, business partners and investors that will be needed to get the new tanning salon ready for business.

Include Details About Your Start Up Cost And Your On Going Cost Of Operations

After all, it can be quite expensive to build a tanning salon business from the ground up.

There is space to rent or buy equipment to purchase and install employees to hire and supplies to purchase. It is important for the tanning salon business plan to detail each of these costs, both one time startup costs and ongoing costs of operation. Get the whole story »

Aug 10 NO comments
Business Plan, Competitors, Entrepreneur, Investors, Loans, Set Up

Establishing Your Business

Owning you own business is not just about being you own boss or being able to boast at dinner tables that you are self-employed, in fact the first few years of operating and running your own business are an absolute nightmare. The reality is that you should be prepared to go on your first real holiday only after 5 years of starting your own business. Of course there are those who can go on an extended holiday in their first year of business but, believe me, they are few and far between. Being an entrepreneur is hard, but it can be very rewarding

The art of entrepreneurship is as old as mankind itself, people have always traded since time immemorial and there have always been people who are far much better than the rest at aggregating supplies and/or services and selling them at a profit, while at the same time employing people to do various tasks for them.

These types of people have, in the modern world become known as entrepreneurs. I remember at school at age 12, we had a fellow schoolmate who used to bring fizz-pops to school and sell them to us at a ridiculous price and as much as we would complain and call him all sorts of nasty names, he would have absolutely no stock by lunch time. In those days, he had figured out that even though fizz-pops were very popular amongst school children, most of us could never remember to buy the cheaper fizz-pops at the shops on our way to school.

Therefore his success in this little venture was mainly due to the following reasons: Get the whole story »

Aug 07 NO comments
Competition, Entrepreneur, Hair Salon, Ideas, Investors, Loans, Uncategorized, finance

Start-up Guide to Hair Salon Furniture

Hair salon furniture is one of the major expense when starting a hair salon business. This is critical in giving a pleasant experience to the customers of your salon. Hair salon furniture includes styling chairs, shampoo chairs, facial steamers, massage table and other items such as rolling carts and cabinets. The furniture can be selected in accordance to interior look of the salon. The salon furniture should be selected to attract customers since properly chosen furniture will give a touch of professionalism to the salon.

Hair Styling Stations
Can be available as single station or space saving setup which can accommodate two, three or even four stylists. Hair styling stations could consist of extension drawers, glass retail shelves, fluorescent lights, coordinating mirrors, and storage cabinet. It may have power strips, holder for curling irons, blow dryer and clipper pockets.

Shampoo Chairs
Used for shampooing hair with a specially designed head rest. A comfortably designed one should be selected for a more positive experience by your customers.

Massage Tables
Used for massaging face as well as head. Head massage is also critical in hair treatment as it increases the blood circulation. It should however be done by trained massage therapist.

Reception Desk
Is also an important piece of furniture that may bring a distinctive appeal to your hair salon. The reception desk is the initial furniture that the customer sees when entering the hair salon Thus, it must let the customer feel the success and excellent grade of services provided by the salon. Get the whole story »

Jul 13 NO comments
Business Plan, Entrepreneur, Ideas, Investors, Loans, Set Up, finance

How To Open A Massage Therapy Business

Massage TherapyIf you are thinking of opening a massage therapy clinic, you may not get much of an education in business administration from a massage therapy school. Most massage courses spend many hours on the various massage modalities, from aromatherapy massage to Zero balancing, but they often skip over how to get started once you graduate.

What do you know about professional business practices? What is your expertise in bookkeeping, data entry, accounting, marketing, office administration, or human resources? If you plan to be a successful businessperson, these skills should all be part of your repertoire before you open your own massage therapy clinic.

The public’s growing interest in natural health care has tripled the use of massage as a healthcare alternative in the past decade. In fact, the most widespread approach to natural healing in the United States is currently the practice of massage therapy. And, while there is now a wide range of opportunities for massage therapists, most students are less than prepared to take on a real-world massage business after graduating from massage school.

If your goal is to open a massage therapy business, be sure the massage training you receive will include instruction on good business practices. Otherwise, you may be left out in the cold. If your massage course has no business training, why not enroll in a few concentrated business administration classes at your local community college or vocational school? Such a course will help you gain the confidence and professionalism you need to manage a massage therapy business of your own.

Additionally, you must be knowledgeable about the local regulations that apply to massage therapists and massage practices. Specific regulations and licensing requirements can vary greatly from region to region. Some states require the massage therapist to be certified by a national board; some will require massage professionals to attend continuing education classes; some require recertification every year; some will insist that massage professionals gain approval from a peer review board. These are just a few of the regional variations that you will want to be aware of before you begin practicing massage. Get the whole story »

Jul 12 NO comments
Business Plan, Ideas, Investors, Loans, Spa, finance

If I Was Going To Start Up A Day Spa

Spa PartyFor several years, I dreamt of opening my day spa. I would spend hours in my 10×10 cubicle planning the service menu, the decor, the marketing theme, the perfect location. I spent zero hours thinking of managing staff, bookkeeping, dealing with plumbing issues.

BUT if I was going to start up a spa, I would do these things to create the best marketing strategy and plan:

I would visit every competitor — day spas, medical spas, salons with spas, solo practitioner, and hotel spa — in a 15 mile radius of my target location. I’d get their brochures, inquire about “what are you known for” with the front desk, schedule an appointment and go home and cancel my appointment. This would give me a wonderful view of my competition on the inside, how they view “what makes them special” what type of service they give to prospective new clients and whether they ever call me again to try to get me to come in again. While the service treatments are highly important, they do not help attracting new clients in a startup — is mainly it the external view of your business that attracts new clients.

I would use professional help. While creating a website or designing your logo yourself can be done…the time it takes you figure out the applications, fiddle with things, change your mind again, etc. is really best spent doing more strategic things that only you can do. So I would definitely get a graphic artist, web designer, interior designer, a general contractor, a lawyer, an accountant, a spa consultant and a publicist to advise me on the best way to achieve my goals. Granted, my dream is about a fairly large spa … in reality we all have to make tradeoffs with startup costs and which trusted advisor is the most critical to your success. And you can make shortcuts with college interns or new businesses getting started, but the key is that you don’t get stuck doing everything yourself. If you look at the most successful spas — they do have a team of trusted advisor’s in place.

I would write my marketing plan for the year even before I opened. Using my competitive research I would make sure my business stood apart — in colors, words, concept and services. I want to have a unique angle. Not unique to the world, just unique to my local competition. Then I would determine what marketing and publicity activities I’d do every month to communicate that uniqueness over and over again. Get the whole story »

Jul 03 NO comments
Entrepreneur, Investors, Loans, Set Up, Spa, finance

Your Massage Business Success in 2008

massageSuccess is different things for different people, but what I can assure you of is that success is about personal and spiritual fulfillment. This means that you can not experience success in one area that’s detrimental to another. For example if a Massage Therapist has great success in attracting a huge number of clients every year but pays their staff very little and works them into the ground then this person would not be successful.

Success is about fulfillment. True fulfillment spills over into other areas of your life as well. For example if this Therapist wanted to experience complete or true success he or she would look at the massage business as a whole and examine areas that need improving and alter the way the staff is working. This would then maintain a sense of harmony and peace throughout the clinic. This energy would then spill over into the hearts and minds of the staff and eventually the clients. This would in turn bring a deeper level of satisfaction for all those working and visiting the clinic.

Success is about really living your healthy potential. It’s about tapping in to a well of happiness inside you and creating a life accordingly. Life goes very quickly and once you are at the end of it, it would be good to look back and say “wow, I lived a full and wonderful life.” This doesn’t mean a life free of challenges, but it’s how you respond to those challenges that are where the fulfillment and growth comes from.

A definition of success could be something like;

A person conscientiously experiencing and creating truth and happiness in all areas of their life for themselves and for others.

This is just my definition; it doesn’t have to be yours. Let’s just work with it now. Get the whole story »

Jul 03 NO comments
Hair Salon, Investors, Loans, finance

Tips on Buying a Hair Salon – Hair Salon for Sale?

hair salonHair & beauty salons are businesses that are in a very high demand market. However there is a lot of competition in this industry.

If you learn how to set your business up right then competition will not be a problem for you.

Here are a few things to consider before starting your search:

1. Start Date

2. Income Goal

3. Start Up Capital

4. Franchise or Existing:

5. Location

6. Time Commitment

Start Date:

When do you plan to actually start your business? Many people think that they first have to find out all of the details first so that they can plan the start date around everything else. Well that may take a little longer by doing it that way. Do it like the pros do. Establish a date that is realistic in your mind, for example: I will start in 3 months on August 1st, 2008. Now that you have established a date then everything else will revolve around that date. Know your start date & write it down.

Income Goal:

How much do you want to make monthly or annually? This is a very important question to ask yourself because it will help match you up with the right business opportunity. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know how much you can make with a hair salon, beauty shop or any other type of business. Know how much you want to make & write it down.

Start Up Capital:

How much money do you have to start your business venture? It’s okay if you don’t have any idea of how much it may cost to start a business as long as you are able to find money when you need it. Most successful businessmen rarely ever start a business with their own money even if they have it sitting in their bank accounts. They use other people’s money like banks & credit unions.

Franchise or Existing:

Franchises are the best way to go because they have a good system in place that has been proven for years. Systems don’t fail, people do. The franchise will train you on everything that you will need to know about this business to become very successful. They cover every area that will need to be covered. However the start up costs is very high. Most franchises start from $250,000 & they may require you to have $100,000 liquid cash on hand before even looking at you. The $100,000 is for you to survive on during the first 6 months (the hardest time). That’s the main reason that the franchise model works so well.

If you are looking at an existing business then find out exactly why they are selling, for example: If they are selling due to illness or retirement then that’s okay but if they are selling due to lack of success then be very careful. Most businesses fail due to poor management skills.

Location:

This is very important because if you don’t have a good location then you may not get enough business. The thing about high traffic locations is that they generally cost more to get. You may make more money in a high traffic area but you will end up having a higher overhead than a low traffic area. Get the whole story »

Powered by Yahoo! Answers