Location

The location of the salon will basically decide for me how my salon does. My book gives me a lot of tips for putting my salon in the best location for the services I will provide. For example, if I put a high end expensive salon off of First Ave, it probably wouldn't do very well. Since most people in that area have a lower income, my prices would have to accommodate and my salon services would have to change based on that neighborhoods needs. If I were to put my salon in a completely dead area, like Westdale mall, it definitely wouldn't last. It needs to be put somewhere close to where a lot of people come and go so they can check it out easily and it will get better business being out in the open.

My book also talks about prices of services. If my prices are too low, we will be booked and my business won't have anytime to grow. If my prices are too high, it would be hard to get business and I'd probably end up losing money that way. Once again, the prices would have to depend on the location. If my salon is located next to a country club, I'd probably be alright with the higher prices.

Although many salons don't, I would research the area and it's needs to salons around the area before settling on a place. Just because it seems like it's a good location to my eye, doesn't mean it is. I could get statistics of the area from the census and learn about the economics and business of the area. For example, if the type of people who frequent this area are people 70 years old and up, I probably wouldn't want to open up a modern and urban salon up. It probably wouldn't do very well.

I wouldn't want to open my salon in an area where there were already eleven salons on that street. Competition is good, but when you're starting out, trying to compete with salons that are already established and have their loyal customers is tough. I would need to get my own plethora of loyal customers before moving into such a competitive area.

To make my salon successful, I would probably have to start out as a cosmetologist at a salon I didn't own. That way I could get some loyal customers that would come to my own salon. If I didn't do that, it would be incredibly difficult to draw people in and get word of mouth advertisements. A lot of people are scared to try out new hair stylists unless they've heard they're good because you have to wait for all the hair to grow back. So getting good, loyal customers first would be important.

Overall, location is very important. It will most likely decide if my salon will sink or swim. Researching the area before opening it up will be very important. Last, but not least, I will need loyal customers before opening up a successful salon.