When one decides to start a business venture, the first thing one focuses on is potential income. And a little birdie told us you were considering opening a nail salon.
Right off the bat, we must say you have great taste, going by your choice of industry and our blog. Let us provide you with an all-essential fact – The average nail salon industry earnings were estimated to gross $287,000 in revenues, with a 17% profit margin. So opening a nail salon might be a lucrative venture for you after all.
But how do you make sure your salon turns a profit consistently? The answer is – by writing a solid nail salon business plan.
Not only will such a plan make your nail salon easier to establish, but it will also equip you with the right tools to succeed in the industry. And the best part? Our step-by-step guide with a free downloadable template will make your job even easier!
We sincerely hope you keep making great choices and read on!
Going back to the basics
Before we delve into the planning, let us first discuss what a business plan truly is. Don’t think of it as a ton of documentation headache to get over with. Rather, think of it as a blueprint. In the hands of a talented architect such as yourself, that blueprint builds the foundation of your business.
A nail salon business plan lays down a roadmap for your salon from marketing, business development, and operational standpoints, by defining its various aspects in detail. It also includes a business summary, talking about the aims and objectives of the nail salon for the future.
So why do YOU need it?
Now that we understand what a business plan truly is, let us establish why it is important. This documentation is essentially a doorway between the past, present, and future.
Sounds far-fetched? Give us a chance to explain.
It documents the industry statistics and your initial stages, which are soon to be your past. It will help you look back and remember how it all started.
(It may help you learn from mistakes. Not that we’re saying you made any. This was just in case.)
By taking stock of the current situation (whenever you document, of course) and keeping financial records, you make it your present.
And by creating those financial projections and laying down growth markers for the next steps, you are looking to your future.
Did our extensive reasoning convince you?
Essentially, by creating a detailed business plan for your nail salon, you are capitalizing on your strengths and giving yourself a competitive edge. So it is imperative to business success, for a salon or any other enterprise.
And this entire blog is structured to be a business plan template for a nail salon. Maybe, made just for you!
What to include in a business plan
So what goes into this big plan we keep talking about? Listed below are the elusive parts. Read on to find out!
Getting started with market research
Getting down to business planning
Getting a marketing plan underway
Getting to operations planning
Creating an appendix
Compiling your detailed business plan
Nailed it!
Getting started with market research
Understanding your market is an essential part of starting and maintaining a successful business.
You have already begun your market research, you just didn’t know it (or maybe you did?). By looking up your prospective income, and even settling on the idea of creating a business plan for your future nail salon, you’re on the right track.
In this section, we will talk about conducting market research a bit more systematically.
Before we begin, let us introduce you to a fictional nail salon – ‘ABC’s Nails’. It will serve as our case study, to follow their journey of creating a business plan.
So far, for our convenience, they have finalized just their name. In the course of this blog, ABC’s Nails will go on to become a full-fledged nail parlor (on paper, of course). So let us write this nail salon business plan example together.
Analyzing the industry
Keep in mind that we’re writing for ABC’s Nails right now. The first step for us in analyzing the industry is looking up the market trends. According to
- Market data estimates that the U.S. nail salons industry was worth $6.5 billion in 2020
- As mentioned previously, the average nail salon industry earnings were estimated to gross $287,000 in revenues, with a 17% profit margin.
- Also noteworthy was that in 2020, the market was down 19% from the prior year.
- This implies that during any economic downturn, your business might face a financial ebb,
- but still, be able to turn a profit as a whole.
This information collected for ABC’s Nails will help us understand opportunities for growth as well as prepare us for any slow days.
We quickly document all this information under the industry analysis of our nail salon business plan and move to the next step.
Defining the target customer (base)
Now that we’re armed with the data about the market for ABC’s Nails, we look for possible customer segments.
An excellent way to approach this step is to create a profile or a persona of your customers. A customer persona is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer(s). They’re usually created by interviewing various potential customers, and charting their information together.
To build a persona, consider their –
- Age,
- Location,
- Gender,
- Income,
- Preferred method of communication
- Other demographic details – hobbies, preferences
The below listed persona is from the nail salon business plan sample pdf that we’ve been creating for ABC’s Nails.
By creating multiple such personas, you ensure that you design your nail salon keeping all your customers in mind. This will be helpful in drawing up a marketing plan in later stages as well.
Again, we will add these customer insights in the respective tab in our business plan.
Doing the competitor research
Now ABC’s Nails may be prepared to accommodate their future customers’ wishes but how will they contend with their existing competitors?
By doing competitive research, of course! The answers to these questions can be filed directly in our report –
- Who are the competitors in my locality?
- What services and products do they offer?
- What is their typical pricing?
- What is their branding and marketing strategy?
The answers to most of these questions can be found by looking at their websites online, or even physical directories.
To compile all this information, ABC’s Nails plans on using a table to add clarity to their information, as shown below, but you can choose to use paragraph formats as well.
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