Beauty Salon Management

Beauty Salon Management: As a cosmetologist, you have the opportunity to own and operate your own business. The key to developing a successful salon is careful planning.

Overview: This Chapter provides you with a knowledge of business principles and management as they relate to the operation of a full-service salon as well as a specialized service salon, e.g., unisex haircutting, esthetics, hair coloring.

Behavioral Objectives-Student Goals: After completion of this chapter, and after instruction and study, you will be able to perform and demonstrate competency, knowledge and understanding of beauty salon management by describing and/or listing a brief description of the six area type salons, the importance of a lease, the physical layout of a salon, color scheme, business insurance, business laws, customer reception, management-operator relations, financial control and record keeping, salesmanship and merchandising, advertising, budget and average expenses, professional ethics, telephone techniques, contemporary salons, in-salon training and operational policy.

Each year, many cosmetologists enter the business world as salon owners with little or no experience as business administrators. As a result, many of these individuals face failure.

Although the key to successful beauty salon management is the owner-manager being a thoroughly trained and experienced cosmetologist, many salons fail because the owners and/or managers are ill-equipped to deal with the daily problems of the salon.

Successful salon ownership is based on careful planning. Operating a beauty salon is a considerable responsibility, and only those who are adequately prepared to manage a business will be able to realize their ambition: a successful operation.

This chapter provides basic information and data which will serve as a guide for the cosmetologist who undertakes the responsibility for operating a beauty salon as a manager or owner. You will learn and understand the important principles to follow when planning and operating a salon. These include types of ownership, selecting a salon, the lease, the physical layout of the salon, structural limitations, lighting and décor, color scheme, insurance, business laws, health regulations, patron reception, management-operator relations, financial control and record keeping, time allotted for services, merchandising, salesmanship, advertising, operating expenses, rules of good professional ethics, telephone techniques, gratuities, the new concept of contemporary salons, selecting a name and logo, staffing, in-salon training, school training and operational policy.