We’ve all heard of the phrase “jack of all trades but master of none” which implies that it is better to become an expert in one area as opposed to being only okay in several. However, what if you are already a master of providing hair services at your hair salon and want to expand your services into other areas like manicures, pedicures or facials? Maybe you’re not even planning on taking on these services yourself but, instead, you are planning on hiring an expert in one of these other areas because the finances of your business are at a point where that is possible. But where do you start? Here we will discuss what other types of specialists you may want to add to your team as well as the process you might want to follow in acquiring those specialists.
BEGINNING THE PROCESS
If you are not well versed in beauty services apart from the hair salon services you already provide, you will want to do some thorough investigation and due diligence. First, depending on which types of services you are looking to expand into first, you will want to find out what a typical salary is for this position in your area. Is paying an aesthetician even at your budget at the moment if you are looking to expand into facials? If not, maybe a nail technician would be more affordable and you should, instead, consider venturing out into manicures and pedicures for the moment. Also, what type of equipment (facial beds, facial steamers or other facial machines) will you need to buy in order for your new aesthetician to work? This is something you should discuss with your prospective, or at least any, aesthetician, first. It is especially something to consider if your aesthetician is starting fresh and not bringing, at least a handful, of previously acquired clients with them because it could be weeks or months until you see any return on your investment if you have to wait (and maybe advertise) for your aesthetician to generate income for your business.
NAIL TECHNICIANS
If you are considering bringing on a nail technician to your salon because you want to expand into manicures and pedicures you should sit down and crunch all of the numbers first. Manicures typically cost around $25 but, in more expensive metropolitan areas, may go for as much as $75. Which figure actually applies to you in your area is something you should understand accurately. Pedicures in averagely priced areas are generally about $30. Then, for each of these services, you have to consider the initial equipment investment which would be about $2,500 to $3,500 on average for a pedicure chair for pedicures and around $900 for a manicure setup which includes a single table, one technician stool and one customer chair. You will then, of course, have smaller costs like the polish and other nail supplies needed to complete the nail services. After comprehending this, you need to try and anticipate what the demand for these services will be like at your salon. Considering an average nail technician salary is about $30,000 annually, that means just to break even, your nail technician would need to be bringing in about $600 dollars a week. If this is not feasible from the beginning, you could, of course, consider hiring them on a commission basis until that part of your business is off the ground.
AESTHETICIANS
If you are considering adding an Aesthetician to the roster at your salon, they generally demand a slightly higher salary than nail technicians but can also pull more income for their services. Basic facials begin around $35 to $40 and a more comprehensive facial can be $100 or more. So, if your aesthetician is able to schedule at least 3 to 4 clients daily, this should be sufficient to cover your overhead. Aestheticians can also provide services like body waxing, skin scrubs, airbrush tanning and special skin-related treatments like microdermabrasion. Therefore, depending on who you hire, they may have a variety of ways to expand the horizons and services available at your salon. As far as equipment goes, you could easily put your aesthetician services in motion with a table for around $500, a good steam and a good magnifying lamp for $250 to $300. Aside from that, you would only have to worry about the smaller items like cleaners, scrubs and creams. If you are inclined to do so later on, you could always add a microdermabrasion or ultrasonic facial machine to the mix.
MASSEUSES AND MASSAGE THERAPIST
One thing which is possibly convenient about adding a masseuse or massage therapist to your salon is that, if you already have the main equipment (a table) for an aesthetician, the massage therapist could use the same equipment and vice versa. This can save on some initial costs. Aside from massages, a massage therapist can provide back facials, skin scrubs, aromatherapy, hot stone treatments and scalp treatments. Therefore, their skillset is fairly versatile and they can bring several new services to your salon. However, massage therapists do typically command a salary in the range of $50,000 to $60,000 annually, so this needs to be taken into account when budgeting for a new massage therapist or any new team member for that matter.
CONCLUSION
Expanding into new services at your hair salon is exciting and certainly has the potential to improve the bottom line at your business. However, as with any major change to a business model which is already working well, due diligence is required. You should have a good and comprehensive understanding of everything that will go into the new services you are looking to add to your business so that you are not simply jumping in blindly.