My passion for hair care began at a young age, helping my mom in her salon. So it’s not much of a surprise I ended up with my own salon business, though one that looks very different than my mother’s.
I went the independent route, operating a one-chair salon. I wouldn’t have it any other way. As a single mom of twins, I love the flexibility of being my own boss and shaping my work hours to fit my family’s schedule, not the other way around.
Even so, my independence came with a learning curve. I’m naturally a creative person, not a businessperson, so it’s taken some trial and error over the years to figure out key practices that keep me booked, busy, and under budget.
Here are a few I learned the hard way and want to share so others don’t have to!
Supply Management: Keep it Simple, Sis
Some stylists go independent as a pathway to owning a larger, multi-chair salon. But for me, simple was best. I wanted to stay solo.
The “keep it simple” mindset has served my business in many ways as I learned how to remain profitable while staying small.
In my early years, I ran my salon like those I’d previously worked in. For instance, I sold take-home retail and bought bulk amounts of products like backbar and color.
The expenses quickly overwhelmed me. I knew it had to stop when I had to tap into the money I was saving for a down payment on a house.
I simplified it big time. No more retail sales. And while I buy larger amounts of the things I use daily — developer, bleach, backbar — I now do weekly product runs, based on looking ahead at my book to see what I’ll need for the next few days.
Shopping strategically has helped me cut way down on waste. I now realize I use far less product now than I did when I bought it in bulk.
Another way my one-chair business doesn’t operate like larger salons? Technology. When I first opened my doors, I had a similar operating system I’d worked with at bigger businesses. I paid about $300 a month for a website with an online booking system and other automated features.
The problem was, my clients never used online booking. The system made them choose specific services they wanted to book, and they didn't always know — since it's my job to make those recommendations during the consultation. So they always ended up texting or calling me to schedule.
The solution was simple: I switched back to an old-school paper book. The automated system just didn't work for my business. Simplifying it has made more sense for me, plus it has saved me money.
Easy But Effective Budgeting, Spending, & Saving
As beauty independents we have two sets of bills to budget — one at home and one at the salon — for utilities, WiFi, rent, etc. What’s worked for me is to add up all the bills per month and divide by three. That’s the minimum you’ll need to make per week.
Always pay the rent first, and try to pay ahead on rent when you get those extra busy months.
My favorite way to build up a financial cushion is to save all my tips! You’re putting money aside for a rainy day without feeling it cutting into your income.
And as far as reinvesting in your business: Pick one project at a time to take on.
During year two of owning my salon, I redid my floors. Then I renovated my bathroom. In my third year, I bought new chairs. At first I wanted it all done at once, but when a salon chair is $1,000 each or the floors are $3,000, and other costs add up quickly — it’s a lot!
Learn When & How to Outsource
Burnout is a real thing physically and mentally in this industry, especially when you’re one person trying to do everything.
I found out that doing it all wasn’t possible. So I hire people to help lighten the load.
For example, once a month I have someone come give the salon a deep clean — dusting the ceiling, pulling color off shelves, wiping down baseboards, etc. It saves me time and energy, plus brings me the joy of a perfectly spotless salon!
One thing I absolutely needed to outsource was my social media. I knew it was vital to marketing myself as a small business, but I didn't like managing social media and was horrible at it.
So I hired someone who not only likes posting content to social media, but is creative, timely, and trendy. I have a variety of content ideas to share — I just needed someone to pull it all together!
By having the right social media person, I was able to start getting 30K interactions on Instagram. I got 15 new clients from a curly haircut post on TikTok. Just being on that platform has brought me younger clients who want to try new things.
Don’t Stop Investing In Yourself
People say it’s easy to do what you love, and it’s true for me, but you also have to put in the time to nurture your skills.
For me that was both my technical skills and my business management skills. I had mentors along the way and still have advisors who help me grow my brand and business.
Ask questions of other stylists. Network and take time to reboot. This way you can get a good idea or different perspective of how they may run their businesses.
Above all, don’t stretch yourself too thin so you don’t enjoy your craft anymore! Your clients can feel it, and you definitely will feel it too.
Bianca Bazante is the owner and creative director of Westport, CT-based hair salon, The Artist Loft. She has 20+ years’ experience in the beauty industry.