Updated August 2, 2021
Written by
Benjamin Davis
Contributor
How-to-start.org
Experts interviewed:
I spent many hours chatting with these three industry professionals, who each come from very different backgrounds – proving that it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, you can make a success of this business. I wanted to start by understanding if this is a difficult business to get into. Does it take many years of training and experience? Or, can you be up and running within a few weeks?
The first question I asked the successful trio was:
Do you need to be a nail technician to start a salon?
Do you need training to start a nail salon? Or, can anyone do it?
So the three founders come from very different backgrounds. One has business experience, the others had no business experience at all, and no experience with nail salons. This is one of the reasons we rate a nail salon as one of the easiest businesses to start, for anyone.
The second question on the minds of those who are starting a nail salon is usually about finances.
I asked the founders: How much does it cost to start a nail salon?
The short answer is – anywhere from $5,000 to $100,000 or more. Here's what they said:
Now that I understood the financial part, I wanted to know what equipment I would need to start a nail salon. Is there a long list of expensive things I hadn’t even considered? Or is it really just the basic ‘tools of the trade’?
I asked the three founders: What equipment do you need to start a nail salon?
Do you need to spend a fortune? Or can you just get a few basics, and get started?
Knowing what equipment was essential, I wondered about location.
What is the best location for a nail salon? Should it be in a small local shopping center to keep the rent low? Or inside a big mall, with much higher rent but also much more people passing by? I know the three founders had thought through these things, so I asked them:
What should someone consider when they’re choosing a location for a nail salon?
What should someone consider when they’re choosing a location for a nail salon?
The trio of founders had given me some good info to work with. I knew I didn’t need to be a nail tech to start a nail salon, I knew I could spend almost nothing (or a lot, if I wanted to!) to startup a nail salon, and I knew the things that matter about choosing equipment and location.
What I really want to know is:
How much does a nail salon earn, especially in it’s first year?
How much does a nail salon make? What about in the first year? Is a nail salon profitable?
With a salon open, in a good location, the next thing I think of is the customer base. I asked the three founders how they built their customer base. I know that some salons rely on their technicians bringing customers with them, from their previous locations or jobs, but what if you’re just a new salon, with no solid source of customer?
How does a nail salon get customers, and build its customer base?
How can a nail salon build its customer base? How about getting new regular clients?
With all those customers coming in the door, I was beginning to think there would be some… bad customers. You know – the ones who complain for no reason. The ones who will take the service and then refuse to pay, or the ones who ask for a refund. I mean the type of person you should just avoid if you could.
So I asked the three founders:
How do you avoid bad customers for your nail salon? Is there a trick to spotting them?
Can you spot a bad customer walking in the door? Do you know who's going to be a problem?
With the wealth of experience that the three founders had shared with me, I wanted to know what mistakes they’d made. I knew that they’d probably bought things or spent money that turned out to be a waste, so I asked them directly:
What was the biggest waste of money when you were starting your nail salon?
I asked the experts if they had some things they regretted spending money on, in their early days
After many hours speaking with these three founders of successful nail salons, I had a good idea of the ins and outs. It seems like a pretty simple business to operate, without too much difficulty. I wanted to know what their average day looks like. Are they working crazy hours? Or did they find the nice work/life balance that they probably hoped for before starting their business?
I asked them: what does a typical work day look like for you now?
I asked the experts how they spend their days now that they own a profitable salon
It seems the three founders are making good money, and living a reasonably good lifestyle. Who doesn’t want to go in to work whenever they wish, and have the freedom to stay home the rest of the time? It seems like a dream business. I wanted to know if competition is tough in this industry. Some businesses have to fight for every customer, and it just becomes a hassle after a while. Do they need to discount prices sharply, to the point where it’s not even profitable anymore? What do they need to do in order to win business?
I asked them:
How do you compete against other nail salons? Do you even think about your competition?
I asked the three experts what they do to compete against other nail salons, or if they even bother
It seems to me that the competition in the nail salon business isn’t really tough. From what I was hearing, it’s just a matter of ‘doing it well’ – as simple as being clean and tidy and offering a good value service. I wondered what other services a nail salon might sell. Some businesses have add-on services that often make more money for them in an average year than their main service.
I asked the three successful salon owners: Other than nails, do you offer additional services that bring in extra money?
I asked the experts what additional services a nail salon might offer
After many, many hours of conversation with these three bright and successful founders, I asked them for their final advice. I wanted to know – what advice would they give their own friends or family, if they were going to open a nail salon?
I asked the trio: what three key pieces of advice would you give someone starting a nail salon?
I asked the experts for their key pieces of advice for anyone starting a nail salon
I spent many weeks compiling the information I learned from the successful nail salon founders and from other industry experts into a comprehensive guide, which you can check out below.
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