Let People Know Youre Open
The nail salon business is highly profitable, but itâs competitive too. Here are a few techniques to help you attract and retain guests. You can also:
- Advertise in local media announcing your opening and promoting your services
- Participate in local events to improve visibility
- Sponsor local events that cater to your target audience
- Invest in billboards and posters
- Create a great-looking website that makes you easy to find on Google
- Make a business listing to appear on search engines
- Run targeted paid ads on Google
- Update your social media frequently with relatable content
- Use email and SMS marketing to keep in touch with guests
Purchasing Nail Salon Equipment & Supplies
You need to find quality nail art supplies and equipment at affordable prices. Doing the proper research on various suppliers and pricing will reduce excess spending.
Make sure the nail art items, polishes, and other products are delivered on time before the nail spa opens. This will help ensure your salon is up and running as soon as possible without delays. As nail trends emerge, make sure you are ready with the proper supplies for customers seeking the newest and greatest nail art designs.
Before You Do Anything
Its great that you have decided to open a manicure/pedicure business but in order to do it legally you will need to do some homework. This will take many forms. The best way to make sure you have every aspect covered is to make a checklist of all the steps, forms and documents you may need to set up your nail manicure business is to learn how to write a business plan for a nail salon.
Recommended Reading: How To Get Nail License In Texas
So How Exactly Do You Become A Nail Technician
Firstly, you need some training so that you can learn the skills to give professional nail services, understand nail care, and how to master safety and sterilisation.
Training should also include some business skills, so that you have the knowledge to set up and run your own business successfully, meeting all the legal and taxation requirements.
What Happens During A Typical Day At A Nail Salon
A nail salon business owner may spend a portion of their time providing services for customers, which involves:
- Scheduling appointments for customers
- Giving customers manicures, pedicures and other treatments
- Restocking supplies as theyre used
- Cleaning equipment between customers
Most salons, however, employ nail technicians who also perform these tasks. Having technicians gives business owners time to focus on other tasks, such as:
- Forecasting sales and scheduling technicians as appropriate
- Recruiting and training new technicians as needed
- Managing all technicians employed by the salon
- Ordering supplies as theyre used
- Overseeing the operations of the nail salon
Even when performing tasks like these, owners still have chances to connect with customers. Many of these behind-the-scenes activities are still done within the salon, so owners regularly see their salons customers. Talking with customers both builds connections with them and helps owners know their salon better.
Also Check: How To Tell If Nail Fungus Is Going Away
So What Are The Benefits Of Owning A Nail Salon
- It’s quick to get started
All you need to do is create a legal business entity with insurance and a license, and youâre ready to go.
- You can make a great living
Once established, a salon owner only has to worry about standard operating costs. Barring the high initial investment, running costs are comparatively low. The rest of the profits are yours!
- Itâs a rewarding job
When your creative efforts make people look and feel amazing, youâre certain to come home with a smile on your face every day.
- High client retention
Once youâve established a great relationship with your guests, theyâre likely to stay loyal to your business for years to come.
Now you know the benefits, let’s look at how you can get started.
Create An Accounting Plan
Accounting software for a nail salon
One of the most important contributors to your salons success is how you keep your business organized and manage its books. There are many accounting software options available to business owners that will help you stay organized and on top of your salons finances. Programs such as Quickbooks, Kashflow, SageOne, and Xero allow you to minimize time allocated to your books on a day-to-day basis as well as during the rigorous tax season. We have included the links to the four popular accounting platforms to help you.
Read Also: How To Use Liquid Nails
How Much Can You Earn From A Nail Salon Business
A manicure cost nearly $23 while a pedicure cost more than $35 in 2019. Assuming an average cost of $55 for a manicure and pedicure, you could serve 5 persons a day for six days a week and earn more than $85,000 in annual revenue in your first year or two. With a profit margin of 50%, you could easily net more than $42,000 a year.
As your brand gains recognition and you get repeat customers, you could hire three nail technicians and increase your clientele to 20 persons a day, but reduce your profit margin to about 20%. This will bring in annual revenue of more than 340,000 and a tidy profit of nearly $70,000.
Since minimal space is needed to provide services you can hire multiple employees to work within the same salon. Later, you could open up another location if the demand is there.
Structure Your Business Correctly Right From The Start
The benefit of having your business accounting properly structured is for future sale. At some stage you may decide to sell your asset which you have worked hard to build up over time. Potential buyers can see your books at a glance, the profit and loss statements over time and feel confident they are buying a viable business. Youll find your business easy to sell.
Recommended Reading: How To Make Acrylic Press On Nails
How To Start A Press On Nails Business
Press-on nails are a popular way to get that salon look without actually going to the salon. You can do it yourself, in the privacy of your own home! It’s also a relatively cheap and easy business to start that can be really rewarding. In this blog post, we will discuss how to start a press on nail business from scratch by teaching you how much it costs, how to market yourself online or offline, how much money can be made with this type of business, what equipment you will need and more!
Advertise & Market Your Salon
There are many ways to advertise your nail salon business. Use social media, referral programs, and customer rewards to attract new customers and keep them coming back.
However, know the laws when advertising and marketing your business. For example, do not use another salon’s logo, slogan, or advertisement.
Also Check: How To Do Fake Nails At Home
Step : Register For Taxes
You will need to register for a variety of state and federal taxes before you can open for business.
In order to register for taxes you will need to apply for an EIN. It’s really easy and free!
You can acquire your EIN for free through the IRS website, via fax, or by mail. If you would like to learn more about EINs and how they can benefit your LLC, read our article, What is an EIN?.
Learn how to get an EIN in our What is an EIN guide or find your existing EIN using our EIN lookup guide.
Small Business Taxes
Depending on which business structure you choose, you might have different options for how your business will be taxed. For example, some LLCs could benefit from being taxed as an S corporation .
You can learn more about small business taxes in these guides:
There are specific state taxes that might apply to your business. Learn more about state sales tax and franchise taxes in our state sales tax guides.
Hiring A Team Of Qualified Technicians
Youve been running a freelance nail business for a while, its becoming busier and busier by the day and you cant fit everyone in. You need an extra pair of hands and decide to open a nail salon with staff.
Successfully starting a nail business requires a business with staff who are both qualified and have enough experience to complete the services you offer.
Nowadays, courses in nail treatments and general beauty therapy are readily available to provide your technicians with the skills they need. Many people opt to have a recognised qualification, such as a VTCT Level 3 Diploma in Nail Technology, which is recognised by the government as an industry standard.
Don’t Miss: Nail Salon Ventilation System Cost
Buy The Right Insurance
You may already think you are covered for insurance purposes because you have a home owner’s or renter’s policy. But these policies do not offer sufficient coverage for home-based businesses. It’s not just the cap on business equipment either if a client is hurt on your property, you need business insurance to cover the injury since home insurance excludes business liabilities.
Obtain Permits And Licenses
The legal requirements for nail salons vary by location. But youre likely to need a building permit, business license and state-approved training in order to officially open your business. If youre not sure what is required in your area, connect with a local business attorney or check with your local government.
Don’t Miss: Professional Manicure And Pedicure Kit
How Much Does It Cost To Start
The cost of starting a press on nails business, including the materials and initial inventory, is around $50. This includes everything you need to get started! You can find pre-made nail kits and purchase them in small batches or in bulk. You can buy a few colors of nail polish for relatively cheap as well. Depending on your style stickers, and other craft materials can be purchased from your local craft store.
As you start, it may be a good idea to start working with cheaper materials. That way, an expensive bottle of nail polish isn’t wasted on practicing a new design or style. Once you’re confident in your direction you can upgrade your materials .
Get The Necessary Professional Certification
Nail technicians work in spas, nail salons and cosmetology centres to beautify and shape clients nails. In addition to manicures and pedicures, nail technicians may also provide such services as hand and foot massages. Manicure and pedicure services involve cutting, shaping, polishing and painting nails. A great deal of sitting is involved, and masks and gloves must often be worn while working with chemicals. Having a certification will help tell your customers how professional and passionate you are.
- Shellac Pro Certification
- Nail technician certificate
You May Like: What To Do For Brittle Nails
How Much Do You Need To Start A Press
First thing first, you should have an idea of how much you are likely to spend before starting this business. Luckily, starting a press-on nail business is not expensive at all. With less than $1000, you can start your own press-on nail business. You can get pre-made nail kits and buy them either in small batches or in bulk.
You will also need to get some other supplies and get your business registered. But in all, you will definitely need a lesser amount of money compared to other businesses.
S On How To Set Up A Nail Manicure Business From Anywhere
Running your own business and being self employed can be immensely satisfying. An old friend once wisely said- being self employed is self development on steroids! Youre feeling excited at the idea of starting your nail care salon and working through the multitude of steps of how to set up a nail manicure business. Which you can set up from anywhere really. Offer mobile services, a store front or work from home. The choices are many!
Don’t Miss: How To Fix Nail Holes In Wall
Pay Attention To Wedding And Prom Seasons
Custom press on nails can be a big hit and upgrade any outfit. As wedding season approaches, you can reach out to local bridal salons.
Additionally, proms are a big time for nail art as well! Prom attendees will often want something unique and inventive that they’re unable to find anywhere else. If your designs are unique enough – you’ll be able to tap into this market as well.
Obtain Licenses And Permits
Home-based salons are allowed in most states, but beware of any regulations and restrictions before getting started. For example, you may be required to have a separate bathroom and a separate entrance for clients. Some states dont allow in-home nail businesses to hire employees other than family members. You might also need special parking permits. Call your state board of cosmetology to find out what laws apply in your city.
Nail technicians are required to obtain licenses. Depending on local laws, you can either complete a course by participating in a nail technician apprenticeship or through a nail technology program. These courses teach you about personal hygiene, nail care products, tools, sanitation, sterilization and other key aspects of the work. You can specialize in specific services, such as nail extensions, sculpting procedures and hand massage techniques.
Don’t Miss: How To Get 3 Year Old To Stop Biting Nails
Youve Decided To Start Your Own Nail Salon Business Now What We Explore The Benefits How To Get Started And The Ten Key Components For Success
Contents
The beauty industry is a great place for creative minds who enjoy interacting with people. So, if your nails are always on point and you love helping others look and feel fabulous, a nail salon might be the perfect business for you!
In the US, there are around 56,300 individual nail salons and 395,600 nail technicians. In fact, nail care makes up nearly 16% of the $42.8B beauty salon market with an annual spend of $8.36B. Thatâs a lot of money being spent on the perfect pedicures.
Despite the inevitable impact of the pandemic â the nail salon industry declined 19% from 2019 to 2020 â the beauty market is expected to rebound. Industry experts predict it will grow at an average of 9% annually for the next couple of years, as more people return to salons for their regular beauty treat.
How To Create A Financial Plan
As you develop your business plan, you should also make sure you understand all your business accounting and administration needs. A financial plan will ensure you have control over your finances and set up costs to make tax time as easy as possible.
A reliable accountant can help you minimize the stress of balancing your checkbooks at the end of the financial year. Find out if you should charge a sales tax and how this affects your pricing. You may also need to set up a business bank account to ensure you keep your personal finances and business banking separate.
While it may be tempting not to pay yourself when you are setting up your business, your time and needs should be factored into your startup costs. Ultimately, your profit margins should support you as well as your business.
Also Check: How To Heal An Ingrown Toe Nail
How To Get Legal
First things first, your state may require you to obtain a general business license even if operating your business online.
Even when selling customized goods like your press-on nails you are still responsible for collecting sales tax from all of your sales and therefore you will need to apply for a Sales Tax License . Or maybe you live in one of the 5 states who do not collect sales tax.
I dont think there are any other licenses to add but do check with your states SOS to see what other forms or permits you may need to start selling.
Lastly, after securing your domain, or website name, you need to turn it into an e-commerce website, and so you need to integrate an online store builder to it like Shopify.
If creating a website totally freaks you out, I get ya. That is why sites like Etsy, and Square exist. So head on over to those sites for the easiest online selling setup. The downside is that the URL you always share will not be a lovely URL with your business name but rather something like:
https://etsy.com/mybeautifulnailbiz, or https://Squareup.com/onlinestore/mybeautifulnailbiz
Instead of the beautiful URL of mybeautifulnailbiz.com, do you see that?
Alright, I dont think I need to make this any more complicated.
Acquire The Management Software
Managing your nail business by using pen and paper is no longer sustainable. If you want your nail salon to make money, you need to invest in marketing activities and Im not talking about social media only, but also more efficient, better-targeted SMS or email campaigns. Nowadays, theres much more being expected from beauty salons than just providing excellent services. In reality, if you want to keep track of it all you need a digital management system. Not to even mention using so much paper is extremely wasteful! When you are ready to start operating to check out Versum and its functionalities you can start a free two-week trial to find out if it suits your needs.
Read Also: Nailer Reviews
Also Check: What Nail Colors Are Trending
Promote Your Services Locally
When all those items are in place, you need to start actually promoting your business around your local community so potential customers can find you. Place local ads online or in print. You might also consider getting on social media and using some special events or promotions to build buzz early on.
Image: Depositphotos.com
Dont Miss: Vicks For Toenail Fungus
