Barbing salon – Looking good like you are aware is a good business, in this case beauty and fashion has found a sustainable ground in human existence.
What am I trying to say? So long human exists the quest to look good will be a reoccurring decimal irrespective of the gender.
Given this, there’s money to be made in fashion and beauty industry and I think you should tap into it by either investing in a barbing salon or setting up one or manage it yourself for a recurrent return and profit.
I am not telling you what is not obtainable, I am telling you what I have done myself just so you know what you are about to read is not a half-baked information.
In this guide, I will walk you through the business strategy and show you how to succeed in doing just the right thing in the barbing salon business.
About barbing salon
Like you are aware, this does not require a basic introduction. It’s an everyday experience that’s found in your immediate environment, you should have visited a salon countless times in your life unless you are what we popularly referred to as “Dada” which I believe the conventional ones outnumbered them.
A barbing salon is an outlet where you get a haircut, it could serve a purpose for both males and females.
Why start a barbing salon
The population in your location alone is a good reason why you should venture into this business.
Whether you are looking to set this business in a rural or urban area, the truth is that there’s opportunity irrespective of where you are.
Human hair grows just like we get hungry and have demands for food/water, some persons must not barb immediately they will choose to just get their head carved, dreadlocks, etc. All this means money.
Start a barbing salon because it has a good income potential, truth be told, any man who makes N4-N5k daily in Nigeria is doing well.
The potency of a daily income cannot be underscored, with a good attitude and patient in a particular area you will make enough money in this business, don’t take my word for it go out there and carry out your survey.
There’s this branch of my shop that makes more than a graduate earns as bank staff in a month, the income only gets better since strategies employed have not been exhausted yet.
So why aren’t you making up your mind to tap into this gold mine? The choice is yours anyway, but if you decide to give it a shot, keep reading.
How to go into this business
Making money here depends on two factors
- If you will barb yourself or
- Hire barbers
The choice of strategy depends on what you are doing at the moment or if you have some other business or a day job.
If this is your case, you may open a barbing salon to serve as an additional income source aside from your day job/business. In this case, you will have to hire competent and professional barbers.
But if you are not gainfully employed or have any business running for you I will advise you to go into this business yourself.
I do not know how to barb, did I hear you say that?
Well, nobody was born a barber, everybody has got to learn skills they feel are interested in and have income potential.
Since this will put money in your pocket and food on your table why not go all out and learn how to barb, you can get acquainted with the process in less than two months.
Not conversant with barbing should not be an excuse whatsoever to debar you from doing the needful.
Hire barbers
If you wish to go by this strategy, there’s still a lot of money to be made.
What happens here is that you employ professional barbers.
To make the most of this strategy, follow the below steps
- Get to enquire about a good barber from an existing bar in town, such person is likely to recommend the best hands since that’s his field.
- You may get a cue from the same barber on the daily income potential for a full-fledged salon and a new barbing salon, from this cue you will have an idea of what to expect in your location
- Get to meet the barber you will work with and discuss the rules of engagements and terms.
- You should allow the guy to barb for like three weeks just to access the income potential of the location, during this period you should be abreast and must know what’s going on.
- Let go of one more week to ascertain a conclusion. It’s time to discuss how much you will receive as a return weekly. Depending on the location you could be receiving say N35k to N50K
Did I hear you say is that possible? Keep reading and you’ll get to know why.
Depending on how big the salon is, if you built a salon that can contain two or three persons barbing at the same time, the income potential should be higher than what I cited above, hope you understand.
Note: In the case of multiple barbers, it’s the responsibility of the chief barber to employ other barbers and not you.
He will pay them from whatever they made, it’s left for him to discuss terms with them, that’s none of your problems.
You will hand over the shop to the chief barber, you are not expected to be acting like a boss even when you are around, just sit down like other customers and make sure you pay when you have a haircut.
What you need to start a barbing salon/equipment and accessories
You can set up a salon with the least budget you can think of, it all depends on how much you wish to recoup and your target location.
Setting up a salon in the state capital will be a bit expensive than setting up in a local government or nearby town. Consider the cost of renting a shop and other expenses that come with it.
The beauty of this business is that you can start small and still make a living regardless of circumstances.
1. You will need to cite your shop in a busy area
That said, kindly do understand that sometimes traffic does not imply money or revenue, you should watch out for strategic traffic on a busy street.
Why consider a busy street? Most people prefer to barb either in the morning for self-made business men and in the evening for working class, etc.
The two most peak ends in this business are morning and evening, then weekends for students and pupils who need to get a haircut in preparation to going back to school by Monday, that’s clear?
This is not to say you cannot site your business in a busy market area, the downside to this areas is that once the market closes for the day, you’ll close up and there’s no opportunity for evening and night business which could fetch a lot.
A tertiary institution environment will be a good bet, students always want to look good and could spend their last penny just to look smart and cool for their babes, or intending new catch, (smiles) but that’s the “koko nah.”
2. Consider a location with good or moderate power supply
Power is a major economic driver that has not been put to disrepute by any kind of theory, if this has been the case why would you not use your head enough to maximize profit by renting a shop in a location with moderate power supply.
While these locations are rare and hard to come by, some areas are better off than others according to certain market surveys.
The more supply you have the better your revenue/income potential in a barbing salon business.
3. Make provision for a power generating set
You cannot rule out the possibility of power supply going off even in the moderate supply areas, the Discos are not just sane enough, not yet.
It’s ideal to budget for a generator, at least a 2900 capacity generator a lesser one could do, but my experience is that the more capacity the less prone it’s to put you into undue pressure passing through multiple faults and all that.
4. Consider registering your business
While this could be a good addition, it’s not a compulsory requirement for a starter.
Following a business regulation in Nigeria, a registered business stands certain advantages than its counterparts without any.
5. Consider electronic systems like TV, sound system, and a cable network
It’s ideal to keep your customers entertained while they wait on the cue for their turn.
While these are not compulsory they add certain complements and tricks the mind to visiting certain barbing salons often.
6. Get a strong sofer or plastic chairs depending on the class of barbing salon you have in mind.
Get to discuss with local furniture makers in town to customize one for you on a budget.
If you can’t afford that go for normal wood framed seats and plastic chairs.
Other barbing tools and accessories include,
- Hair clippers
- Hair trimmers
- Barbers shears
- Barbers comb
- Edgers
- Straight razor
- Sterilizing equipment
- Hair dryer
- Barber chair
- Hair products
- Mirrors
- Fans
- Wood cupboard, etc.
All these are basic necessities for an ideal barbing salon irrespective of its size and features.
Approximate start-up cost for a little above average barbing salon
Let’s take a look on the possible cost of starting just an ideal or moderate barbing salon.
We will consider the cost of other items except the rent because this varies across areas especially for real urban dwellers like Abuja, Lagos, Enugu, and Port Harcourt, etc.
- 2200 power generator = N75, 000
- Business registration = N15,000
- Depending on your budget you could get a 19/20 inch fairly used TV for N19,000
- Sound system comprising of speaker and DVD = 30,000
- Go TV = N6,000
- Sofer = N40,000 , Plastic chairs 4 pieces = N16,000
- Two sets of barbing clippers = N10,000
- Sterilizer = N5000
- Two plane wall mirrors = N10,000
- One Ox brand fan = N20,000
- Other accessories = N5,000
Total = N235,000 or N211,000 depending if you are using sofer or plastic and wood chairs.
Note: This is not an ideal or specific start-up cost for everyone, rather a little above average startup cost.
You could start a barbing salon with as little as N100, 000 depending on your location and what you wish to achieve.
Possible returns
Assuming you operate in high income areas like Lagos, Abuja, Enugu, and Port Harcourt, etc. You may be making around say
- 400 per haircut x 20 customers a day on average =N8000
- 500 per haircut x 20 customers a day on average = N10,000
Weekly returns = 8000 x 7 = N56,000 before weekly expense
Assuming cost of fuelling = 20 liters x N165 = N3,300
Electricity = N2,000
Generator maintenance = N2000
Total expenses = N7,300 for the week.
N56,000 – N7,300 = N48,700.
Or
Weekly returns = N10,000 x 7 = N70,000
N70,000 – N7,300 = N62,700
Depending on how much you are charging per haircut you will be making N48,700 or N62,700 weekly.
Where you are barbing yourself is a straight away profit, but if you employ barbers may realize averagely N35,000 or N50,000 weekly as returns.
Now on monthly count = N35,000 x 4 = N140,000 or N50,000 x 4 = N200,000.
Don’t take my figures for it, go out there and make your enquiries.
Note: You will have to remove your rent from the monthly income by dividing the total rent by 12, then remove 1 each month.
You can actually make more than projected here depending on your location and budget.
Customer retention
Some customers can be too demanding that you may not get to please them, do not argue with customers like this.
Follow their instruction and give them the best haircut they can get, if they require amendment please do it without murmuring and cheerfully, always seek their consent on sensitive issues before you implement.
The first set of customers will drive your business, manage them well and you’ll get referrals, ask for referrals even, they’ll be glad to do that for you.
Conclusion
There’s no limit to how much you can make from a barbing salon business.
You should endeavor to open other branches by the time your business starts flourishing, the more the outlets the more your returns from simple idea.
Great article thanks a lot!