Hair Salon Business Plan: the Ultimate Guide for 2024

5 min readJun 21, 2023

Last Updated: 12/17/2023

Are you excited to launch your own hair salon business? A solid business plan is crucial to getting your venture up and running and ensuring its success. Whether you’re just starting out or expanding an existing salon, having a well- thought out plan in place is key to staying organized and on track. In this article, I’ll provide helpful tips and resources to craft an effective hair salon business plan for 2023. We’ll cover important topics like researching your market, creating financial projections, developing a marketing strategy, and more. With the help of this guide, you’ll be able to build a comprehensive plan to launch your dream salon.

Why is a Business Plan So Important for a Hair Salon?

Many new salon owners skip creating a thorough business plan because it can seem complicated and time-consuming. But without a proper plan, you’re essentially moving forward blind. It’s very unlikely you’d secure funding from an investor without a solid plan. And even if you do, a lack of planning, structure, and financial forecasts will likely lead your salon to struggle. Your business plan maps out how you’ll turn a profit, identifies your target market, and shows how you’ll stand out. A little effort upfront is worth the reward of a successful salon in the long run.

Need a Hair Salon Business Plan?
Create a custom business plan with financial projections and market research in minutes with ProAI’s business plan generator.

How to Write a Hair Salon Business Plan

A good business plan is tailored to your unique salon concept, target market, location, and more. If you’re new to the salon industry, writing a plan may seem daunting. To help you get started, here are the key sections you should include:

Here are the main components of a hair salon business plan:

Executive Summary

A hair salon business plan should always begin with an executive summary. An executive summary serves as an introduction to your plan and outlines your entire business concept. Its main goal is to draw the reader in and make them want to learn more.

Common elements of an executive summary include:

- Your salon’s mission statement

- Your proposed business concept

- Your plan for executing that concept

- An overview of potential costs

- Expected return on any investments

An executive summary is especially important if you’re seeking funding from investors. Rather than combing through your entire plan, they can read the summary to get the key highlights.

Company Description

This section fully introduces your company. Start by providing your salon name and location, contact details, ownership details, and a brief description of the owners’ experience.

Then highlight your salon’s legal structure and short-term and long-term goals. Include a brief market analysis showing you understand trends in the local salon industry and why you’ll succeed.

Market Analysis

The market analysis section is typically split into three parts:

3.1 Industry Analysis

Identify your target market or customers and explain why they’ll choose your salon.

3.2 Competition Analysis

Research other local salons, including their prices, hours, services, interior, etc. Then share how your salon will differ.

3.3 Marketing Analysis

Explain your salon’s marketing campaigns and how they’ll attract your target market.

Services

Services are the core of any salon business plan. List the services you’ll offer, e.g. haircuts, color, styling, waxing, extensions, etc.

Think about what makes your salon unique and any services that will set you apart, like specializing in a certain type of hair or offering organic products.

Discuss the payment options you’ll accept, any discounts or promotions, and pricing for services while factoring in costs.

Employees

Your staff is crucial to running a successful salon. In your plan, determine the types of employees you need, e.g. full-time stylists, part-time receptionists, color specialists, etc. and estimated hours for each role.

Describe each position, expected qualifications, salary/pay rates, and any benefits like health insurance, PTO, or service discounts. Outlining your staffing structure shows how your salon will function.

Salon Design

If opening a new salon location, focus on its design. Consider the space needed, look/feel, color scheme, natural lighting, décor, etc. You may want to hire a designer.

Include a floor plan in your plan so investors can visualize the layout. The design should match your target clientele, e.g. modern for a younger crowd or classic for older clients.

Location

Location is crucial for a salon’s success. Select a spot that’s easily accessible, with parking, and consider competition, local spending, rent, taxes, utilities, lease terms, etc. The location’s appearance should match your target market.

Market Overview

Research the current salon market and trends to inform your plan. Review the market size, range of local services, competitors, revenue, trends, customer base, etc. Knowing your industry helps demonstrate your potential.

Marketing

A strong marketing strategy is key to reaching new clients. Define your target audience by factors like age, gender, location, interests, etc. Choose marketing channels they use, e.g. digital, TV, radio, social media, email, etc. Discuss how you’ll measure success through website visits, coupons, reviews, etc.

Financial Analysis

Your financial analysis is critical for investors to determine your understanding of the financial side of running a salon. Include profit/loss statements, cash flow projections, break-even analysis, key assumptions, funding sources/uses, sensitivity analysis for different scenarios, potential risks/mitigation strategies, etc.