Starting a Hairdressers Part 1

What is it?

A hairdresser’s is a business that primarily deals with the maintaining and styling of hair. However, salons are increasingly starting to offer more than just a simple cut and blowdry. There are also a vast array of other services on offer at hairdressing salons from manicures to electrolysis, body piercing to tanning.

Hairdressing businesses are a common sight on the high street but you don’t have to rent expensive shop premises. Many businesses are mobile, where the hairdresser goes into a customer’s home. Whichever you opt for, you’ll need to do a lot of planning before you wield those scissors.

Government statistics estimate the amount of money spent on hairdressing to be somewhere in the region of £5bn annually. Around three quarters of businesses in the field are independently owned but over the last few years there has been a marked rise in the number of chain and franchise salons appearing on the high street.

Who is it suited to?

You may be drawn to the idea but are you suited for a life of shampooing and shaving? Before you even start to think about setting up, you should have several years’ hairdressing experience of your own.

Thomas McMillan founder of the McMillan salon franchise believes you can run into a lot of difficulty if you don’t have the appropriate level of experience to run a salon.

“Running a hairdressing salon and working in one are two very different worlds and you’ll need plenty of advice and coaching before you start,” he says. “For example, something like stock control. If you’re just a stylist it’s probably not something you’ve paid much attention to, but it’s so important to get it right to avoid financial difficulties.”

If you’re particularly good with people this is a business which tends to inspire a great deal of loyalty from its customers who will often visit the same branch for years. Many people will even follow a particular hairdresser if they move to a new business.

As Linda Heald from Keeping Up Appearances in Chichester, West Sussex says: “I’ve had the privilege of working with some wonderful people. Getting paid for something you love doing and working with friends in a nice atmosphere can’t be beaten.”

Having said that, there’s more to it than just standing there and asking the customer where they’re going for their holidays. Things can get fraught, particularly at busy times and it’s best to be able to stay calm in stressful situations. Making mistakes with people’s hair is not one they’ll forgive easily. “The pressure is high and you need to have the right kind of temperament to deal with that,” says McMillan.

Planning

As with any business, when you start up a hairdressers you will need a certain amount of capital behind you. As with any business, when you start up a hairdressers you will need a certain amount of capital behind you. However, you may be in the position that Linda Heald, owner of Keeping Up Appearances found herself in, three years ago, when she took over a business following the death of a friend. As she says: “It all happened so quickly and unexpectedly that I was swept along by events.”

However, it was still necessary to formulate a business plan. “Right from the start we drew up a contract stating the responsibilities of each of us and detailed how the business would be divided in the event of a split. We knew from the age and needs of our clients and the kind of clientele we wanted to attract. As so many ‘upmarket’ salons only do cut and finish we decided to target the older customers who could not do their own hair. This gave us a guaranteed weekly income that other salons were turning away.”

There are many different types of salon out there, which attract and cater for different sectors of the market. For example, there will be those that mainly have young urban professional customers on their books, those that attract families and those, like Linda Heald’s that attract the older generation. If you’re running a female salon, bridal packages can also be very profitable.

Rules and regulations

A typical hairdressing salon will contain a wealth of electrical items, from shavers and hairdryers to curling irons and possibly electrolysis equipment. Portable electrical equipment must be checked to see that it is suitably maintained every two years. This is your responsibility and a reliable electrician must carry out the check.

Obviously, it’-s good to keep a check yourself and it may not be as difficult as you might think. Just by looking at an electrical appliance – the wiring and the socket pins especially – you should often be able to judge its safety. If you’re worried, don’t use it and call an electrician out.

There are also new regulations on the disposal of electrical equipment known as the WEEE regulations that you will also need to abide by when replacing or getting rid of any electrical items.

One of the most important laws which hairdressers must abide by relates to hair dyes and shampoos, some of which can be hazardous, causing such conditions as dermatitis. Care also needs to be taken in the handling of chemicals, in some cases protective clothing must be worn to protect skin or to prevent inhaling toxic fumes. All cosmetic products must be safely and correctly labelled.

Regulations known as Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) have to be followed with regards to the use and storage of chemicals at work. Again, it is down to the business owner to make the necessary arrangements.

Les Purseglove, team leader of Nottingham Civic Council’s Health & Safety Enforcement Section, says that the local authorities are there to see that these laws are being enforced and that health and safety issues at work are being promoted.

Staff working on customers’ hair must be qualified and have their GNVQ Level 2. Linda Heald, who also lectures in hairdressing at a local college, advises her students to get at least five years’ experience before considering starting up their own business. It takes time for all these various checks to come through.

As an employer, you are liable for the work your staff do. With members of the public stepping over your threshold, you must also have public liability insurance. You also need to ask the local fire department to advise you on extinguishers and escape routes.

Purseglove adds: “Hairdressing is an interesting case because although they are often small businesses there are a number of significant risks in the working environment. If your salon has a sunbed or someone carrying out massage or beauty therapies such as aromatherapy then you have to have a license.”

Your local authority’s licensing department are the people to approach. These licences ensure that everything is being carried out safely on the premises and there is no danger of cross-contamination. If you are only styling and cutting hair though, you don’t need any kind of licence but it may work in your favour to be registered with the Hairdressing Council as it could instil confidence in your customers.