Have you had a passion for doing your nails ever since you were old enough to apply nail polish?
Do your friends and family often comment on your on-point nail art and immaculate hand-care routine?
Do you have a mind for business and a keen desire to become your own boss?
If you answered “yes” to the three above questions, then opening your own nail salon might be the perfect career move for you!
However, starting and maintaining a successful salon can prove a daunting endeavor at first glance.
How can you tell what steps you need to take first?
Never fear! Our guide will show you how to start your career as a nail technician and entrepreneur step-by-step!
Build Your Experience
Your first step on your journey to a polished nail salon is to build your experience level. Sure, you may have years of experience doing your own or a friend’s nails.
However, that experience does not always translate to paying customers.
So, how can you build your experience doing nails? For starters, you can take a part-time position as a nail tech at another local business.
This will also give you a look at what a full day running your own nail salon could be like on the ground level.
Alternatively, if you prefer learning in a classroom environment, you can attend a cosmetology school.
This has the double benefit of ensuring that you get the cosmetology license you will need to open your business later on.
Choose Your Business Model
Do you wish to operate your mani-pedi business out of your home? How about visiting the client’s homes for appointments?
Or would you rather have a traditional luxe nail salon location for clientele to come and visit you?
Will this be a small business intended to offer a luxury spa experience to those looking to relax? Or do you intend to keep hectic clients on their lunch breaks rushing in and out the doors?
These are all things you will need to consider when you choose your business model.
Obtain the Necessary Licenses
Once you’ve decided on your business model, your next step will be to obtain all the licenses that you’ll need.
Many states require you to have a cosmetology license if you run any sort of cosmetics-based business.
You may also need operator’s licenses and seller’s licenses, depending on the services and products you offer.
Not sure what licenses you need for your location?
Reach out to your local county clerk or business affairs board. They’ll be more than happy to point you to the information you need.
Secure Funding for Your Nail Salon
Once you have your licenses in hand, it’s time to secure the funding for your nail salon.
There are a few different ways that you might get the funding you need for your business.
These methods can include but are by no means limited to:
Saving the Money Yourself
If you’re in a position where you can save money, your best bet will be saving the money yourself.
This can save you the cost of interest further down the line and prevent you from going into debt to start your business. (This may also be your only option if your credit score is less than stellar.)
If you don’t already have a dedicated checking or savings account for your nail salon, you should set one up now.
It will save you a great deal of time and effort in the long run.
Obtaining a Business Loan
If you have decent credit and not enough time or money to spare towards saving up, obtaining a business loan can be another way to jump-start your capital.
However, keep in mind that if you go this route, you’ll be paying interest for quite some time.
Worse, should you ever start falling behind on your payments, you could end up going bankrupt.
Whichever funding method you choose, you should take the time to plan a thorough budget of your start-up costs first.
That will ensure that you have enough funding to cover your initial expenses and keep your business running for a few months.
Find the Perfect Location
When it comes to keeping nail salons open, location is everything.
Unless you offer extremely niche and luxe services that are impossible to find elsewhere, your salon needs to be near major population centers.
People don’t exactly relish driving out of their way for a biweekly or monthly appointment.
You also want your salon away from your major competitors.
Running a new business near your competitors would be like a coffee shop owner opening their doors across the street from a Starbucks.
They can do it, but it would be an ill-advised move.
Another factor you don’t want to neglect is parking.
Nothing drives customers away faster than lacking parking or a poorly maintained lot. Your clients need a place to park during their appointments, even during peak hours.
You don’t want them to park in the streets and risk their cars getting damaged.
Stock Up on Supplies and Equipment
Once you have the perfect location purchased, it’s time to stock up on all the supplies you might need for your business.
Here are a few of the many things that you may need to run one of the best nail salons in your area:
Manicure and Pedicure Stations
One of the priciest pieces of equipment you’ll need to purchase are manicure stations and pedicure chairs.
Pedicure chairs with attached foot baths and massaging functions can run as much as ten thousand dollars.
Manicure stations have a few different elements that can affect your final costs.
You need a table big enough to hold your polishes, tools, and brushes.
You may also need a UV lamp for gel polish curing or fans to help get rid of fumes.
And, of course, your customers will need comfortable places to sit.
All told, manicure stations alone can run from seven hundred to over a thousand dollars, depending on how much you’re willing to splurge.
A Variety of Nail Polish Types
Not every client can use every type of nail polish.
If you offer gels, traditional, non-toxic, and organic polishes, you can pull in a much wider customer base.
Sanitation Tools
Even before COVID-19 struck and imposed further restrictions on how salons could operate, you needed proper sanitation tools to keep yourself clean and avoid potential legal issues.
Now, keeping your new salon sanitary is more important than ever.
Nail Polish Displays
While these aren’t necessary, per se, having a nice display to showcase your nail polishes to customers can add curb appeal and bring in more people.
They can also help you display your product if you’ve chosen to sell polishes in addition to manicures and pedicures.
Unleash Your Inner Marketer
With your salon fully supplied, it’s time to bring in your customers. There are a few different ways to do this nowadays, with the most successful methods being:
Influencing Social Media
Social media marketing is how the best nail salons make their mark these days.
Since salons offer visually appealing services, pictures on social media can drive foot traffic better than anything else.
Consider partnering with a local influencer, or else running an account for the salon itself.
Creating a Salon Website
If you want your luxe nail salon to be trusted by clients, you need to have a website.
These days, if someone can’t find a business on Google, it may as well not exist, and automatically looks sketchy.
This perception can also affect you if your website looks unprofessional or proves difficult to navigate, so make sure that your site’s user interface is intuitive and accessible.
There’s an App for You
Developing an app for your salon might prove pricey at first, but if you want the best nail salon experience for your customers, it’s a crucial step.
Having an app allows customers to set appointments and choose their preferred packages, perhaps even pay before they arrive.
Search for Additional Nail Salon Techs
Once your polished nail salon is up and running, the number of your clients might well outpace your ability to handle them alone.
If and when that happens, you’ll need additional help.
You can reach out to local cosmetology students or any number of other aspiring nail technicians to help you book those appointments that you can’t handle yourself.
Starting a Nail Salon: Let’s Review
So, if you want to start your own nail salon, what do you need?
First, you need to build your experience, craft a business plan, and obtain the licenses and funding you need.
After that, you need to find the right location and stock up on your supplies and equipment.
With all the main practical concerns handled, it’s time to bring in customers with successful marketing and hire on the extra help you may need to handle the influx of appointments.
If you’ve made it this far, congratulations! You now run a successful nail salon.
If you need more help getting your own business started, check out our blog each day for more helpful guides like this one.