If you are looking to turn your love of all things beauty and relaxation into a business, a beauty salon or day spa could be the perfect one for you.

 

There is an increasing demand for beauty therapy treatments and services all across the country, and it is showing no sign of slowing down. It’s a lucrative market to get into. However, the key to a successful salon is that alongside giving top class treatments, you provide your customers with a thoroughly relaxing and enjoyable experience.

 

 It is also important to bear in mind that running your own salon involves a significant injection of cash, long hours and lots of hard work, but if you are prepared to do that, you can make a real go of it.

 

Here, we look at some of the things that you can do to make your customers come back time and time again.

 

Image credit: Pixabay CC0 License

 

Find the right location

 

Location is important whatever business you are going into, but even more so with a beauty salon as the target market is more focused. Generally speaking, your primary demographic is going to be younger women, so you want an area that has a younger population. Consider whether there are parking or transport links. You may, however, want to think carefully about being positioned in the middle of a bustling high street. Your customers may feel vulnerable having treatments done, and if they are very exposed to passing traffic, or there’s a busy bus stop outside, it may be off-putting.

 

Make it easy to make appointments.

 

If your customers can’t make an appointment with you, they are going to find somewhere else. These days, people hate phoning up and making appointments, and that also takes you away from time with the customers in your store. Why not implement online scheduling software so that your customers can make appointments without the hassle and you have all the information that you need at your fingertips? There’s less chance of you double booking, and if you left your appointment book at home, you still could access your schedule for the day.

 

Hire the right staff

 

Your beauty salon is only ever going to be as good as the people who work in it, so choose your team carefully. First and foremost, make sure they hold the right qualifications. The beauty industry is highly regulated and to make sure the appropriate insurances cover you, you need to be sure that your staff are qualified. They also need to be friendly and people-orientated. As we said above, many people feel vulnerable in beauty alone, particularly if they are having an intimate procedure done, so they need to be put at ease by your staff.

 

Make sure your waiting area is welcoming.

 

Sometimes, treatments and procedures can take longer than expected, and customers can be left waiting. Most people understand this and don’t mind a short wait if the waiting area is welcoming and comfortable. Provide decent seating, magazines and always offer your customers a drink, or pop in a coffee machine and water dispenser for them to get their own.