You can begin a hair and salon business with a moderate amount of capital. The success in this business is influenced by the ability of the salon owners to provide consumer satifaction with good services, quality products and a comfortable and friendly ambience at affordable prices. The customer is willing to pay the price if the services provided by salons are excellent and  are able to enhance the appearance of individuals.  

There are various services offered by hair and beauty salons.A full-service hair and beauty salon business offers almost all the services:

Hair: haircuts, trims and style; highlights, foils & weaving; hair & scalp treatments; relaxers, perms; colors; shampoo and conditioning; curling, reconstructing, permanent waving.
 
Nails: manicures, pedicures, polish, sculptured nails, nail repair, hand conditioning treatments.

Skin Care: Facials, body waxing, massage. 
  
Sells  professional hair and beauty products:There are many salon owners that provide a huge collection of  beauty and hair products for the convenience of the consumers so that they can get everything under one roof.The products offered includes shampoos, conditioners, hair styling products like mousse, gel and pomades.

Some hair and beauty salons offer spa services as well. Day spas include  services like body scrubs, skin lightening, body wrapping, herbal wraps, massage/aromatherapy, derma abrasion, stretch mark and blemishes, anti-aging, facials, makeup, skin care, waxing, polishing, and anti-acne treatments.

Requirements to set up the business: 

The capital required to start the salon business depends on a number of factors like the rent and utility deposits, fixtures, leasehold improvements, opening inventory, equipments required, salon design , interior decor and furnishings. 

Start-up expense components of a hair and salon business are:

Salon space. Unless you are living in a huge house you will require some space to start your salon business. Depending on the kind of salon you want to set up you will require space anywhere between 500 to 2000 square feet.
There are many places where you will be free to open a salon in a residential area but where there are zonal restrictions you may not be allowed to operate a salon from your home. Moreover the people living in your neighbouhood may get disturbed with a number of customers visiting your salon daily.There may be parking hassles as well.

Staff. The staff you appoint for your hair and beauty salon business depends on the services you have decided to offer. A salon venture  definitely needs a number of stylist and a receptionist.You m,ay also require shampoo technicians, barber, nail technician, facialist, make-up artist, and a massage therapist.

Leasehold improvements. Maybe you will be required to make leasehold improvements to your space depending on your interior layout, design, and plumbing requirements. Leasehold improvements are referred to as the construction of new structures or improvements made to the existing ones  by the lessee. You will have the right to use these leasehold improvements over the term of the lease. In many states such improvements are returned to the lessor at the expiration of the lease. Moveable equipment or office furniture that is not attached to the leased property is however not considered to be a leasehold improvement.

Salon Equipment. The equipment you purchase will depend on the services you offer. Some basic equipment required includes washing basin, styling chair, hair driers, supply trolleys and manicure sets and aprons. Other equipment you may need are shampoo spray machines; facial bed, hair steaming machines, and other body/skin care instruments. Moreover if you are planning to sell beauty products, you will also have to invest some amount in inventory.

Contact a beauty salon equipment suppliers and check if you can get a good deal. You can also check out alternative sources such as eBay where you can get equipments at low prices.

If you want  to can spend anywhere from $2,000 to $30,000 for salon equipment alone. Starting a salon also requires you to take initial training, professional and licensing fees, and at least three months of working capital.

Other expenses for a start includes:
Cash register
Merchant account fees (to accept credit cards)
Business license fees and other required documentation (varies by state)
Utilities
Insurance
Professional fees (accountant, lawyer, etc.)
Signage costs
Initial marketing and advertising expenses
Depending on the variety of services offered by you and the interior design and decoration of your salon, you can spend anywhere from $10,000 for a few services to $100,000 for a full-service outfit to begin your salon business venture. 

Before the development of these new technology hair straighteners , getting your hair styled was a very painful and agonizing experience for most women. The irons used by hairstylists caused burns and injuries to women. It took a longer time for the women to get their hair straightened or styled using those bulky straighteners. They had to sit under the heater for atleast 45 minutes leading to stiff necks and sometimes burns in their head. It was distressing for the customers as well as the hair-dresser.

Earlier the hair-stylists lacked proper training and equipments for hair styling leading to accidents. In order to prevent such mishaps hair-dresser and technicians are being given proper training and quality equipments to be used on their clients. There are a number of schools offering training courses to hair-stylists to enable them to acquire a greater understanding of hair-styling equipments and their customers needs.  Moreover the hairstylist can get together and share their ideas and opinions leading to the development of more creativity in them. This also enhances their hair-styling skills.   

Here are a few tips to appeal to a larger number of people and increase your customer base: 

Cultivate a special coupon system for a wider appeal among the general masses.  It is a good promotion technique thereby attracting a larger number of people. Consider for example you are a regular customer of some shop, its obvious that you will remain loyal to that shop despite great offers from other stores. However if you are being offered a special coupon or incentive by a store you would probably love to grab it. Therefore developing a strong advertisig and marketing strategy is very essential to attract new customers to your hair salon.


Secondly know your target customers so that you can easily approach them. Traditional media like TV, radio, newpapers or magazines can reach a wider audience but this is an expensive method of promotion. Moreover it covers a larger geographical area without heeding to your target customers. A more direct marketing technique will help you distinguish between your target customers who are willing to accept your services and the general masses. It is important to know those members of society who are likely to take your services.  

It is very difficult to attract those customers to your salon who are already visiting some other hair salon. Therefore there is no point in wasting your resources in targeting such customers. Approach those people whom you think would probably like to visit your salon.  Prove your capabilities to your new customers and convince them of the quality of services offered by your hair salon. Firstly target people in and around your vicinity.  Approach those people who have just moved in your neighbourhood. Subscribing to a new mover direct mail service that offers current new mover mailing lists and direct mail fulfillment services which enables you to target only those customers who have recently moved into your business area and are probably already searching for a new salon to try.  That new salon could be yours. So make the most of the opportunity.

If a customer has visited your salon  make sure you ask for their contact number , e-mail or address so that you can get in touch whenever their is some offer for your customers. Stay in touch with your customers in order to maintain customer base. Express gratitude by thanking for visiting your hair salon. Ask them their opinion about the services offered by your salon. Such information will help you improve your services. This is a good way to let your customers know how much you care for them and would love to see them visit your hair salon again and again.   

Planning is definitely the first step towards a more profitable and stonger business. Make sure to include targeted customers marketing campaign that reaches your customers who are likely to give your salon a try.