Doing what you love. Being your own boss. Owning your own company.
… Sounds good? Then maybe it’s time to take the leap and build a beauty therapy business!
Here’s our step by step guide to setting up as a beauty business owner, from creating your service list to booking your first appointments.
Create a treatment menu
Deciding what treatments you want to provide is a fun part of this process. But there’s a lot to consider.
What do you like doing? What treatments do your competitors provide? Would you like to specialise in just a few treatments? And do you have the space to store equipment for all of the treatments you plan to offer?
One of the most important questions to ask yourself is where your expertise lies. Are you certified to carry out a particular treatment? Or could you boost your skills with a beauty therapy course before stepping out on your own?
It’s important that you and your customers can be 100% confident in the quality of the treatments you provide.
Decide where you will do business
Starting a mobile beauty therapy business? Your initial costs and ongoing overheads will be much lower than if you decide to provide treatments in your own home or from rented business premises.
If you do want to rent a shopfront, consider your target market and the local competition when choosing where to base yourself. And if your budget is tight, look at first floor rather than street-level locations – they tend to be much cheaper.
Create a business plan
If you need a bank loan to get your beauty therapy business started, you’ll need a business plan. This is an outline of how your business will operate and grow.
As well as impressing a bank manager, a well-thought-out business plan is also really useful for you, the business owner.
It can help you to get your ideas in order and really understand the potential risks and opportunities involved in starting your own beauty business.
The legal & financial bit
There are lots of legal and financial details you need to iron out when starting a new business.
You’ll need to register your company with the relevant authorities, and you might have to apply for certain licenses or permits.
All business owners have to keep financial records for tax purposes. Find out exactly what you need to do before you start trading or (if it’s affordable) hire an accountant who will deal with tax and money matters for you.
Getting the right insurance and working out any health and safety issues (before you start providing treatments) is also super important.
Start as you mean to go on. And don’t worry! Official admin instantly feels less daunting when you know it’s all in hand.
Source equipment and products
When your beauty therapy business is legally up and running, it’s time to buy all the essential equipment and products. Make a shopping list, keeping your clientele and their spending power in mind.
Once you’ve got this list to hand, visit trade shows and contact wholesalers. This is a good way to keep costs down and find some great deals (plus, you’ll begin making those all-important industry contacts!)
Price your treatments
It’s beyond exciting when you finally have some money coming into your beauty therapy business! Getting to that point means pricing your treatments at the right level.
When deciding on your pricing, check out the competition. Then consider all of your costs – you need to be sure that your business will make a profit. And that you will get your best beauty therapy salary!
You might also want to consider a few special introductory offers to help get your business off the ground. After all, no one can resist an enticing offer.
Spread the word
How will you advertise your beauty therapy business? Word of mouth can work wonders, so get friends and family shouting about your services both online and offline. Or perhaps offer a discount for referrals to sweeten the deal too.
Then, think about both free and paid marketing options. You can get away without a huge marketing budget if you use social media, send out email promotions and do like-for-like promotions with other local businesses.
Keep learning
When building a beauty therapy company you don’t just need great beauty therapy skills. You also need to know business management and customer service inside out.
Once you’re open for business, make time to brush up on your all-round entrepreneurial skills. Subscribe to professional magazines. Refresh your health and safety knowledge. Attend a beauty therapy course online. When you grow, so does your business.
So if you’re searching for a way to develop any of your beauty therapy skills, make sure to check out our courses here. Or if you have a question and would like some further info feel free to contact us here too!