Setting up a home salon!

Please find my new blog on beauty HERE

Currently I am in the process of working towards setting up a home beauty salon once I have completed my level 2.

When I googled for information (which let’s face it, we all do!) I could not find exactly what I was looking for and decided I would incorporate it into the blog.

Although the exciting bit is getting out there and buying all the stuff for your home salon, it is not the first thing on my “to do” list.  You will find my task list below with information of what I personally had to do.  Please note this does not mean it is “the right way” and your way may differ to suit your own needs and location.

Checking with the council if you need a permit:

The first thing I started with was making sure it was ok to actually set a salon up at home.  I couldn’t imagine anything worse than actually setting up and then being fined by the council.  I am very blessed that my local council in N.Ireland could not care less if you run a beauty business from home provided you A – do not have a separate entrance for it and B – do not use any needles in your treatments (think semi perm make-up, epilation etc).  Should my home salon have met any of those stipulations they would have wanted to come and see the property and also have me fill in a lot of paperwork.

They did however say I would need to contact the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland.  So I did and was further elated by the fact that they too have no interest in my home business and said I was fine to proceed providing I make sure my insurance covers a home salon.

Not everywhere will be as fortunate as I have been, so if you are looking to set up a home salon then please do contact your local council to make sure they are happy for you to do so.  Some may issue permits/licences and some may wish to come out to check your property and location is suitable.

Research your competition:

The first element of research I started to do was looking at other salons (both home and commercial premises) to see what services they offered, what brands they used and what prices they charged.  In an effort to be organised, I have made an Excel sheet to keep track of the details.  This will not only help me better understand my competition but also to understand my place in the market.

I can use the information I have researched to see if the brands I am using are of a similar standard and from this decide where my pricing should sit in the market.

Research the brands you wish to use:

If you have not already got the brands you want to use in your head, then it would be a great idea to research them too.  I have a fair idea on most of the brands which I want to use as I have been looking at different companies as I have been going through my course.

Start to think of how you would like to market your business:

“This list is still a work in progress and will continue to be so until I have actually got my home salon up and running so please do check back for updates”