Barbing Salon Business Ideas: How to Start a Profitable Barbing Salon Business

A barbers shop is the same thing as a barbing salon and both formats have similar startup structure. An average barbing salon in Africa with 10 customers a day charging $2per cut makes $20 daily. This comes to $140 a week which equates to $420 monthly.

This is huge earnings in Africa but hardly equates to a fortune. There are lots of running costs such as power, rent, maintenance and equipment.

Others are transportation to workplace including staff wages and local government tax. Starting a barbing salon is easy however making it lucrative requires proper planning.

Let’s see how to start a profitable barbing salon

Company Registration

The first thing to do is register your business enterprise. Register your business name with the corporate affairs commission.

You can make your business a limited liability company or a sole proprietorship. Registration fees defer and are cheaper getting a business enterprise license. Once you have acquired you business name the next step is location.

Location

The business location is the most important aspect of your enterprise. The reason is because to profit it this business you need a good location.

 A customer despite being loyal to a certain barber would rather patronize a salon close to his place of residence. There is nothing wrong is setting up your salon on a busy street or financial district.

Who are your Customers?

This important question will provide a clear picture to choice of location. If your barbing salon is setup in a financial district you focus on corporate customers.

Lots of customers are found in residential areas and townships. The age group demography that patronizes barbing salons cut across all age groups. However the more fashion conscious are those between twenty years and thirty five years of age.

Locating your Business in Financial District

There are many advantages and disadvantages in this arrangement. The major concern is cost of renting your shop.

Business districts don’t come cheap and a small square meter will be expensive. Assuming you insist on this format you need to increase your price per cut.

This could spiral out of control because there is a limit you can charge. Corporate customers will have the financial strength to patronize your establishment but there are more hurdles.

Since it’s a business district your customer base are office workers who come from different locations. They already have time constraints because they resume work at 7.30AM and close at 6PM.

They will only patronize your business very early in the morning, during lunch breaks and after work. An advantage is less competition from other barbing salons and higher charges.

Locating your Business in Residential Areas

The second location is locating your business in a residential area. Even this business format has its ups and downs.

You cant charging more fees to cover costs in residential barber’s shops. There is lots of competition locating your business at residential areas.

The reason is simply because residential locations work and attracts lots of customers. Residential locations have easy access to pedestrian traffic and vehicular traffic.

To locate you enterprise, find residential areas with heavy population and very few barbing salons. Majority of customers will patronize any barbing salon nearest to their homes.

Customer loyalty only applies to branding and customer service.

Develop Your Barbing Skills

Barbing is an art form that revolves around handling the clipper and different hair styles. There are three services offered during styling seasons.

Barbers cut and style the hair including shaving the client and beard trimming. There are a few ways to gain experience and become a barber.

You can become an apprentice to an established barber. This means that you learn and work without pay for a limited duration.

An apprenticeship agreement should not last more than three months. Another way is to pay an established barber to teach the skill.

You need to develop amazing skills with the clipper because you business will only thrive based on you skill level.

The more amazing the cut the more customers get attracted to your establishment. Other ways to gather knowledge are vocational institutions and experimentation with family and friends.

Decorate your Establishment

Once you have chosen a location and rent a shop then you are ready for the next step. We assume you have registered your business and acquired proper training.

The esthetics of your shop is very important. The shop should be very comfortable with a community ambiance.

To achieve a relaxing community feel choose your colors and theme carefully.  You need basic furnishing like swivel chair, chairs and other equipment.

Most barbing salons operate an open plan layout with nice photographs of styled hair.

Equipment

You need a number of equipment to run your barbing salon. Buy a large mirror and place in the shop and add a rotating barber’s chair.

Install a table counter with drawers for your creams, powders and clippers. The kinds of creams you need are spirits, after shave, powders and hair creams.

 Buy heavy duty clippers and add a sterilizing unit. The reason for buying a sterilizing unit is because of communicable diseases. The machine reassures your customers of high safety standards.

Purchase barbers cloth for your customers including combs and hair brushes. Buy a television set, generator for backup power and chairs for customers.

Some countries experience very poor electrical power supply. This is very bad for company’s that operate with electrical equipment. Without a generating set in such countries your barbing business will fail.

Make sure your clippers are original with a good brand name. The quality of the clipper aids your barbing skills and offers your customers a stress free cut

Branding

Branding is a very important aspect in the barbing industry. If the truth be told there is little difference between one barber and the next.

The difference is branding, promotion and image. Some customers believe the costlier the cut the better the service.

However this is not true because every cut is the same. Some clever barbers take longer time cutting a hair he could do in one minute.

Customers who feel they have gotten special treatment pay more. Branding involves creating an identity or style.

As your reputation increases so will your customer base. That is the secret between a highly patronized salon and a low one.

The simple difference is branding, promotion and word of mouth. The also barber needs to get acquainted with many hair styles and changing trends.

Marketing and Promotion

Create hype around your brand and see your profit grow. Word of mouth is an effective tool in promoting your business.

You can also use print media like billboards, handbills, business cards and posters. Offer promotional cuts and discounts to customers.

Home Service

Barbers earn huge payouts offering home service to customers. They usually charge three to four times the price of a single cut.

To effectively run your barbing salon offer home service and take on an apprentice. If you choose to hire barbers then you need an effective method to monitor and collect money.

Many barbing businesses have failed from sharp practices of hired barbers.

Pricing

As stated earlier financial areas attract higher prices per cut. Study what others are pricing in your locality and set your own.

Take into account the cost of running your business including tenancy fees, local government levies and tax. If you have staffs then include wage and transportation.

Financing Your Business

You need just a little money to start your barbing salon business. The most expensive expenditure is to rent the shop. You can buy used furniture and revamp them but you need brand new clippers.

To get funding for your business use target saving in a commercial bank or seek small loans. Other sources to explore are loans from family and friends.

If you get it right from the start barbing salon business is profitable.