HAIR SALON

The norm used to be that top hairdressers would open their own single-location, high-end salon where they would work and hire a few other stylists. Today, whether the owners are hairdressers or not, they’re primarily business people—and business people grow by expanding their business.

Instead of owners who’ve learned how to work well in their business, today’s owners are people who’ve learned to work well on their business. They’ve become so good at it that they’re opening up their second and third locations. They’re putting systems in place—recruiting, programs, education, marketing—that they can carry over to each salon they open.

The best strategy for working in and on your salon business is to work with a partner who is also a stylist. It is actually easier to run four salons than it is to run one. When you have four salons, you’re forced to loosen your micromanagement grip. Good managers and proven systems free your time and diminish your stress, even as you’re multiplying your presence. 

Finding quality mangers is very important as you can’t be in multiple locations at one time and someone needs to make decisions all day long.

Behind the scenes is where owners should be devoting their time in order to grow their business. It I okay to work on clients hair and it is very important to stop by all your locations. You should never loose visibility.

Once you get above two salons you will need an infrastructure to manage them. Recruiting, hiring and training will become very important. Owning a hair salon school is a great way to keep multiple salons staffed.

Another good way to increase revenue is to become your own distribution center for hair care products. You can buy in bulk and sell to smaller salons not just your own.

If you are thinking of opening up a salon and starting from scratch you might consider buying a few existing salons as it can actually cost you less money over time. Our valuation team can help you evaluate a multiple salon purchase.