Buying an existing salon

Buying an existing salon

Purchasing a salon usually is not the first thought that comes across your mind when you wake up in the morning. In fact, planning and eventually fulfilling such a goal requires a lot of time and many cups of coffee. Every hairstylist dreams of running things how they seem fit, and buying an existing salon is the perfect solution! But there is a lot of work involved before purchasing a business. You may have considered opening your own, however buying an existing salon seems like a safer bet. It just so happens that there is one on sale in your area which caught your attention? Before you bust out your wallet, here are just a few factors you need to look into first:

Why is the business selling in the first place?

There may be a number of reasons why a salon is selling in the first place - the previous owner may have found a different calling, the number of fees may have gotten out of hand, or the business was not making a profit. Make sure to find out the cause as to why the business is on sale - if the previous owner simply outgrew the business and its responsibilities, then you do not have as much to worry about, however if the salon made little profit, there are many factors that may be causing this. If the salon utilised Booksy salon software, generating revenue reports for certain timeframes will not be a problem. Although the way in which the salon was previously run may be to blame for the business closing, do not rule out other possibilities, such as competition or location. If the area is flooded with other salons, you will have difficulty making a name for yourself, and if the location is hard to reach, does not include parking space or is on the outskirts of town, attracting clients may prove challenging.

Monthly profits and expenses

It is crucial that you receive expenditure and revenue reports from the previous owner before buying a hair salon. Make sure to ask for reports from various timeframes, in order to calculate the average monthly costs of utilities such as water, rent, electricity, sewage, trash collecting, etc. As you already know, salons have a tendency to use large amounts of water and electricity, so if the business was often billed hefty fees for their usage, you may want to reconsider choosing this salon.

Staff management

When buying a hairdressing salon, chances are the business may come with staff members, which saves you the stress of having to look for new ones, but keep in mind that it is necessary to check their performance history. For salons that use Booksy, generating staff work time and sales reports is done with just the click of a button. Make sure to pay specific attention to individual staff sales and the number of appointments processed for a given time. An employee who is underperforming should have additional training or have to be let go lawfully.

Know what you are buying

Many new salon owners do not take into consideration everything they pay for when they are buying a salon business. Sure, you are now the rightful owner of the enterprise, but bear in mind that your business does not start off with a clean slate. The quality of work, clients and most importantly, reputation are all passed down to you, which is not so bad, unless the business has a bad reputation. In such cases, you have to work hard in order to improve it, which may take months or even years to accomplish. As you can see, there are many hoops to jump through. However, creating a checklist for buying an existing salon should come of great help. And with the support of Booksy, generating necessary reports of the salon’s figures is just a click away.