Category Archives: Set Up

Jan 31 NO comments
Nail Salon, Set Up

Creating A Compelling And Useful Hair Salon Business Plan

HAIRThere are many interesting and potentially lucrative business opportunities in the world of beauty, and few are as potentially profitable as running a top quality hair salon.

Top quality salons can profit not only from the often high cost of haircuts but from the top end hair care products they are able to sell.

The top name hair care product manufacturers often work out very lucrative sales deals with the best salons, and the money to be made in this area often matches or exceeds the money brought in by cutting hair.

==Create Your Business Plan Before You Open Your Salon==

While this type of business can be quite lucrative to the right owner, it is important to know that it is truly right for you. It is also important to work out a solid and detailed hair salon business plan before you do your first haircut. Get the whole story »

Jan 30 NO comments
Hair Salon, Ideas, Set Up

7 Steps To Salon Retail Heaven

Eden beauty salon />Over 90% of all hair products bought in the UK are bought over the counter on the high street, with Tesco recently being voted “Best haircare retailer” in the “Hair magazine awards 2007″ meaning most salons are losing out on a MASSIVE amount of extra revenue. In other countries like Australia, for example, the vast majority of hair products are actually bought in-salon due to stylist and client education and stylists being seen as the hair care experts that they are. In the UK, however, while a client will trust you with their cut and colour, their preferred expert in home care products is still the high street retailer and chemist. This is like hiring a personal trainer to help you lose weight and then ignoring the nutritional advice they give and simply buying what you deem “healthy” from the supermarket.

So why is this? The 2 most common reasons given for not trying to retail are:

1: We’re hairdressers, not sales people.

2: My clients don’t want to feel pressured.

These are not reasons, they’re excuses and here’s why:

1: You ARE sales people. Every day you sell your skills and knowledge to your clients and prospective clients and this is why they trust you, because you know what you’re doing. YOU are the trained expert and part of your job is to know what the client should be using on their hair.

2: If it’s done properly, it’s not hard sell it’s heart sell. If you think your client should have a few inches cut off and some highlights put in, would you say to them “I want to chop a couple of inches off and give you some highlights”? No, it’s too abrupt and would probably scare your client away. But if you said, “I really think that we should take a little length around here, bring it in around your face, which would really compliment your face shape, and add a few highlights to give your overall colour some definition”. Don’t you think that sounds much more appealing? Give your client a reason for wanting what you suggest and they will want it. The same rule applies to retail products. Listed below are 7 steps than any salon can take to see positive change in their retail sales and an increase in extra revenue. 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 06 NO comments
Competitors, Entrepreneur, Ideas, Investors, Partnering, Set Up, finance

How Owning Your Own Business Can Change Your Life

If you are like most people today, you are running around in circles looking for more ways to make money.

With having two jobs out of the question, and how can you afford going to school with gas prices so high?

Lets face it, with the cost of living so high today can you afford not to have your own home based business?

You should not have to wake up and rush out of the house to get the kids to school then scurry off to your job, only to listen to your boss complain everyday.

Just imagine all of the money you could save in gas by working at home.

How much stress could you release each day by being your own boss?

Don’t you want to spend more time with your family? You deserve time for you.

When you work at home you do not have to be a slave to money.

That is not what life is about. You should always be able to spend more time doing what makes you happy.

A home based business is easier than you may think. You may not even know anything about how the internet works. You also may not know the first thing about running your own business.

None of that really matters.

There are so many more people willing to share their advice for making money online.

Regular people are becoming millionaires everyday online. Get the whole story »

Jul 15 1 comments
Competition, Competitors, Entrepreneur, Partnering, Set Up

Beat Your Competition With A Strong Personal Brand

AishwaryaAbout 75% of the 22 million small businesses in the U.S. are owned and managed by a single individual. The typical business reflects the solo owner’s values, tastes and personality. Most importantly, the business and its owner are inseparable in the eyes of customers and prospects.

You can turn personal involvement into marketplace advantage by creating a strong, distinct Personal Brand identity.

What is a Personal Brand?

Personal branding represents a powerful personal self promotion and small business strategy. You create a Personal Brand based on your talents, skills and values. This Personal Brand identity becomes the foundation for all your marketing efforts. With a clear marketing identity, you can intentionally shape positive perceptions about you – as the symbol for your company.

Think about brands you use and recognize. Your perceptions about those brands have been shaped by consistent and persistent marketing messages. When your personal experience as a customer confirms those messages, the brand perception becomes reality.

Do you know any small businesses with a strong brand identity?

One of the most powerful small business owners tools is personal branding. Examples of individuals who created strong Personal Brands and developed them into multi-million-dollar enterprises include Oprah Winfrey, Martha Stewart, Nora Roberts, Stephen Covey, Tiger Woods and Tommy Hilfiger.

However, very few small business owners will use branding to be distinctive from their competitors. You are likely to be aware of a business owner with a strong Personal Brand ONLY if they are active in your market space or network. Most small business owners just don’t know how — and won’t make the effort — to use personal brand reputation building as an effective marketing strategy.

Personal Branding represents one of the most powerful — and under used — small business owners tools!

How can you create a strong Personal Brand?

Follow the five steps to create your Personal Brand identity. The process is adapted from Brand Me, Inc: How To Be Distinctive And Remarkable In What You Do And How You Do It, a guide for small business owners.

Step 1: Define Your Target: Everybody is NOT a potential buyer for what you have to offer. The biggest mistake you can make is being unclear about your target customer. Write a detailed description of the person who is your ideal buyer. 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
Entrepreneur, Ideas, Set Up, Spa, finance

What’s All The Hype? It’s Just Water – Creating Memorable Spa Experiences Without A Wet Room

Huvafen_Under_Water_Spa.jpgIt was possibly the most luxurious treatment on the planet, the smells, the sensation……As I lay there, swaying in my hammock reminiscing about my luxurious day at the spa, I couldn’t help but think about how it compared overall to spa treatments around the world and the spa menu promise of a tropical escape.

Elements of almond and honey polish those neglected areas. Harmony is induced with a cascading Vichy Shower, followed by a cooling mente de coco wrap. Cocooned in heated fragrant linens, your own personal sanctuary is created as your skin continues to absorb the cleansing and balancing effects of coconut and mint, finished with an exotic blend of oils smoothed over the skin. This is something to take home. Aside from using mind altering agents, this treatment was a close runner up in the search for total bliss.

I had just spent a great day in a tropical resort. A place where they specialized in creating a client “experience”with packages, indigenous rituals and native fruits and plants. From the Four Seasons, Papagayo, Costa Rica, to The Banyan Tree, Phuket, Thailand, they are going out of their way to include all the expected amenities of spas, including wet rooms. But is the wet element really necessary, and worth the expense?

Though spas were originally based on “taking the waters” for health and beauty, the modern day spa guests and spa developers have other considerations when it comes to spa concepts. In the extensive and growing area of spa development, owners need to decide what their floor plan will be, what equipment to include, and what technical requirements will be needed for that plan, some of which may include a wet room. With a realistic expectation of each wet room costing $20,000 – 30,000, or even more with
elaborate and palacial concepts, it could be a while before you break even on your investment. It has been of growing advisement from industry consultants and builders that a wet room is not needed, and in a lot of cases, should not be included as an anchor to grow a spa business. They are expensive to build out, to maintain, and more difficult to sell than other treatments. Especially away from the resort concept.

With a majority of day spas opting for a more intimate to moderate square footage, it’s not recommended a wet room be considered for this type of floorplan. In working with technicians, owners, operators and developers we see more development towards total wellness retreats, and a focus on inner health, with treatment menus listing anti aging facials and indigenous body treatments rather than water oriented therapies. Spa guests on the other hand are now looking for results based treatments, anti aging and unique culturally based indigenous experiences. Once again, a wet room is not a necessary element to give your market what they want. For the purposes of this topic, we’ve opted to evolve a fictitious practice without a wet room, and look at wet vs. dry and other unique elements you can take advantage of. We will utilize the many beneficial treatment options and add on’s for a memorable waterless spa treatment. You will no doubt find ways to apply this to your business, and relieve some of the stress of feeling you have to include a wet room in your concept, or follow suit in what your neighboring spas may be doing. If your market segmentation, feasibility and strict mission concept doesn’t show you will fail without a wet room, forge ahead with your own spa identity and apply some of the tips here.

Breaking into your “style career” with spa essentials

Think of your own practice or spa as a vital part of your “style career”. In other words a career with style. You can create this with any career, and in the spa and beauty industry we have the added benefit of working in a highly consciousness driven business. Treat it as if you were the choreographer of a motivational event, with lots of fans booked to see you, and you are the star of your own fiction or fantasy. Your spa essentials kit should include a high level of professionalism, knowledge of products, benefits, contraindications, an authentic design and the desire to succeed in everything you do. Receiving continuing education for specialty therapies can also make a big difference in your sales, treatment concept and booking abilities. 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 01 NO comments
Business Plan, Hair Salon, Ideas, Investors, Set Up, Spa, finance

Why Marketing And Adverting Your Salon Should Be The Last Thing You Do

Photobucket
Why marketing and advertising your salon should be the last thing you do.

Do you want to know why marketing your salon or spa is the last thing you should be doing right now??

And the reason is very obvious.

In fact, I’m going to fly straight into the face of all those ‘experts’ out there and tell you that until you do one very important thing, you can forget about marketing totally!

Marketing will be no good for you. Actually marketing could make your journey to bankruptcy a heck of a lot quicker! And that’s not the reason you’re in business, is it?

There is one thing you need to do before you do anything else, and you need to do it right now!
How do I know? Well I’ve owned, run and managed salon chains for 24 years. I’ve employed thousands of staff in that time, and I’ve gone from turning-over $16 a day to turning over many, many millions of dollars a year! And I’m not telling you that to impress you, but to justify the success in what I’m about to tell you.

And it’s this … it’s the one thing that almost all the wildly successful salon owners do… and that is… stop deluding yourself.

That’s it. Stop deluding yourself! You see, the reason why more clients aren’t coming to you in the first place is because you are not that special. You offer only average ‘perceived’ value for money. And there is nothing compelling about your business that makes your existing clients want to recommend you to their family, friends and work colleagues. Get the whole story »

Jun 15 NO comments
Entrepreneur, Hair Salon, Investors, Loans, Set Up, Spa

Are You Ready To Start You Own Business?

BIODAD!Deciding to give up your day job in order to open your own business is an exciting and rewarding time but can also be full of challenges. The success of your new business venture will depends partially on your attitude and skills as well as obtaining the correct finance.

Every year thousands of people decide to set up their own business. However out of all the people who take the risk 20% of these new businesses fail within their first year and 50% of them fail within their 3rd year. This is why being prepared is so important. You need to be completely ready to open your own business before taking any steps to make your dream a reality. If you’re not prepared you could end up failing.

In order for your business to become a success it is important that you have researched thoroughly into the area that you are hoping to set up your own business in. For a start off it is highly important that you have a good idea to pursue. You should think about whether the product or service you are trying to sell is new or is there a gap in the market for it? Is your new business venture linked to the business that you are already working in? Are you interested in this new business venture? Is it hobby? The more you know about your intended business the better chance you have of making it a success.

As well as knowing all there is to know about the business that you are hoping to go into it is also very important to ensure you have looked into your target market, you need to ensure that there is a sufficient market for your business idea. The way in which you should do this is by identifying your customers and answering questions such as does your business satisfy a need? What competition will you face? Is your product or service safe for public use? Get the whole story »

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