In a survey conducted by lifestyle experts, it is found that the cosmetics industry has been grown by 60% in the last five years in India. With this, there has been an increase in the parlour or salon industry too by 35%.
It is a booming business and attracts customers of most age groups whether it is men or women. If you have skills and knowledge and if you are going to start a beauty parlour business then it is a good idea you can earn well from a beauty parlour.
A report by a leading lifestyle magazine tells that in the years to come in the beauty industry, India will grow as fast as US and European markets. There are many opportunities in India, especially for women entrepreneurs who play a major role in the industry. In this article, we will discuss in detail how to start a beauty parlour from the scratch.
1. Make a Business Plan
2. Types of Services
3. Beauty Parlour Ownership Types
4. Select Proper Location
5. Make Pricing Chart & Packages
6. Get Beauty Products
7. Beauty Parlour Marketing
Steps To Start A Beauty Parlour Business
Beauty parlours are the most popular and prevalent type of ownership structure. Learn how to start a beauty parlour business from the set-up to welcoming clients. Here is a complete guide on starting a beauty parlour business in India.
1. Make a Business Plan
If you are planning to start a beauty parlour a business plan is very important. A good business plan is an overall summary of your business. You also do market research and analysis the scenario of other beauty parlours.
Also, you can find competitors and their prices for services. You should include a few important points such as available funds, monthly rentals, products, target customers and monthly income of the beauty parlour. Usually, the monthly income of beauty parlours is Rs 6000 to 50,000.
You must interact with the existing beauty parlour owner to get some suggestions about how to manage. Share your thoughts with other people who are already doing this type of work get tips from them as this will grow your beauty parlour. You have to make a business plan also for your services, staff and equipment.
2. Types of Services
A beauty parlour can be categorized into various business types depending on what aspect of this business you want to take either a part of the service or the whole package. It all depends on the type of services that you offer to your customers. It is important because depending upon the type of services which you are going to provide classify your beauty parlour type.
There are many different services in the beauty industry but are specific to one or more services as follows:
- Spa center
- Reflexology center
- Barbershop
- Wellness center
- Traditional beauty parlour or salon
- Hair and skin clinic
- Cosmetology center and more
3. Beauty Parlour Ownership Types
The beauty parlour industry accommodates small businesses as well as big businesses. Therefore it is important to know the ownership structure of the business.
Independent Beauty Parlour
Independent beauty parlours are the most popular and prevalent type of ownership structure. An independent entrepreneur would establish or operate an independent beauty parlour.
The advantages of this model are that it requires very minimal investment and operational costs. Limited liability partnership (LLP) or One Person Company (OPC) would be ideal business entities for this business model.
Franchisee of a Beauty Parlour
In this business, model parlour will operate as a franchise of a large beauty parlour chain. As the beauty parlour is set up by franchise then the franchisor provides support for setting up the beauty parlour, operations, staff training, branding, advertising etc.
This types of business model require a higher investment than an independent beauty parlour. Most franchisors also require a franchise fee to be paid based on the revenue of the beauty parlour.
It is recommended that beauty parlour franchisees be established in a limited liability partnership (LLP) or private limited company. This would ensure that the beauty parlour franchisee along with the franchisee rights, lease rental, licenses, tax registrations, equipment, etc., could be transferred to another person if required. Some of the popular beauty parlour franchises are Lakme, Juice Salon, Truefitt & Hill, and Green Trends.
Anik Banerjee
4. Select Proper Location
You have to find a good location for your beauty parlour. If you already have your shop then you can use that for the beauty parlour. But if not available then you have to pay rent.
Finding a good location is very important because your parlour must be convenient for people. Everyone aspires to open shop to the locations of the enterprise, the surrounding areas, local places. This is due to factors like environment, cultural or social methodology and overall stability.
Always find places that have good foot traffic. Also when you choose a location it must be visible and easily accessible by car, passersby and public transport. Free parking will appeal to clients as they won’t have to worry about parking their car.
5. Make Pricing Chart & Packages
You need to be careful when you set up the pricing strategy for your services. First of all, you need to ensure that you understand how much your services are worth. Setting the right prices is avoiding under or overcharging. A price that is too high or low can send your parlour to the bottom.
Some steps you consider before parlour pricing:
- Analyze every service you offer to your clients and set each price individually.
- Your brand is highly important when it comes to pricing. People won’t pay high prices for a brand that they don’t recognize.
- Never focus on the services alone. You need to convince the client that your parlour is the only one that can offer such an experience.
- The more loyal the customers, the more you can raise the prices.
- When you are just starting your parlour, you cannot afford to provide discounts. Once your parlour gets profits, you can start offering discounts.
6. Get Beauty Products
Beauty parlours require a wide range of raw materials. Searching for the best quality material at cheaper and affordable prices will be helpful. You can also sell the beauty products to your customer so it will generate more profit from your beauty parlour business.
Various beauty parlour products are easily available in the market. All these products are designed by carefully understanding the needs and requirements of the varying users and thus are preferred by most of them.
Some common beauty parlour items are given below:
- Foundations
- Makeup Palettes
- Eye Liners
- Lip Gloss
- Eye Shadow Palettes
- Face Moisturizer and Cleanser
- Hair Shampoo and Conditioners
- Styling Creams and Gels
- Anti-Aging Products
- Body Lotions
7. Beauty Parlour Marketing
No matter how great your beauty parlour is if people do not know it exists then you will not get the clients to make your business successful. Any industry heavily depends on technology which has major changes year after year. With good marketing, you can compete with your competitors.
Some marketing ideas for your beauty parlour:
- Get your parlour listed on online directories.
- Manage online salon reviews.
- Form partnerships with other local businesses.
- Offer referral discounts.
- Parlour promotions.
- Share your promotions on social media.
- Make use of Facebook & Google Ads.
- Run a contest in your parlour.
- Capitalize on holidays & special events.
- Always promote gift certificates.
Pratyusha Srivastava
Conclusion
A beauty parlour is a profitable business to get started with. All over the world a lot of customers, be it men or women are using beauty services on a daily basis. And if it's a festive season or a marriage season then you will be packed with customers. It is one of the booming businesses and the market is growing each year. Beauty parlour attracts customers of all age groups. From teenage girls to women of all age groups, beauty parlours and salons are widely used on a daily basis. It's a good business to start your journey to earn good money.
FAQs
How can I start a beauty parlour business?
These are some important factors one should keep in mind before starting a beauty parlour-
- Make a business plan.
- Select a proper location.
- Make pricing chart and packages.
- Set pricing.
- Get beauty products.
- Hire staff.
- After-sales.
- Focus on marketing.
How much investment is needed to start a beauty parlour in India?
The cost of establishing a beauty parlour is depended on its size. But if you want to start a beauty parlour on a low budget, you can start this beautiful business for INR 40,000 to 50,000 in your house. If you want to establish this business in any commercial shop then the investment required would be between 15 lakhs to 30 lakhs.
Is the beauty parlour business profitable?
The average salon profit margin is 8.2% which is above the general business average of 7.7% and is improving year on year. Salon profit margin ranges from 2% to 17% depending on how well the salon is managed.
How to start a beauty parlour at home?
These are some must-have things before starting a beauty salon business at home-
- Be separated from the living quarters by a permanent wall;
- Have a separate entrance to the salon other than through the living quarters;
- Have toilet and lavatory facilities that are separate from those used by the household;
- Meet all other minimum salon requirements.
- Hire staff if required.