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SEARCHIf you think salon ownership is easy, take this quiz before you make the leap.
Think salon ownership looks easy? Ready to take the plunge? Take this quiz to gain some insight before you make the leap.
1. You see the role of staff members as...
A. Part of an ever-evolving team with valuable input.
B. They are nail techs. They do nails.
C. Your minions, ready to take orders and carry out whatever you say.
2. You have given serious thought to a business plan and have…
A. Put it in writing.
B. Considered researching how to write it up.
C. What is a business plan again?
3. You have prepared financially by…
A. Paying down personal debt, securing funding, and carefully examining what the real costs will be for the first two or three years.
B. Paying careful attention to what your current salon pays for expenses, supplies, etc.
C. Thinking about how much more money you will be making.
4. How will you cultivate new clients?
A. Target the neighborhood via advertising, encourage word-of mouth, and draw old clients who will seek you out.
B. Most of my clients will probably follow me.
C. I’m so good and the salon will be so great that the clients will just flock in the door.
5. When designing the salon you…
A. Consider profit per square foot, tech and client needs, and retail integration.
B. Have a pretty good eye for décor and can arrange the stations yourself.
C. Put some stations against the wall. What’s there to design?
6. Your relationship with others is important. You…
A. Realize it is more important to understand the situation than it is to be right. This helps in building trusting relationships.
B. You get along well with most people.
C. It’s not really important what they think. I’m going to be the boss.[PAGEBREAK]
7. When it comes to duties in the salon, you…
A. Are willing to delegate to others as well as fill in where needed.
B. Can do most of it yourself.
C. Expect someone else to do it. It’s their job, right. I’ll be the owner.
8. When it comes to money, you…
A. Know how to stick to a budget, have set up an emergency fund, and have an accountant who can help guide you.
B. Are able to pay your bills on time.
C. Spend it.
9. When you visit other salons, you…
A. Make mental notes about what works well, what doesn’t, and what you can incorporate into a salon of your own.
B. Look at what you can do better.
C. I’m not going in another salon. I had better not catch my employees in another salon either! Traitors.
10. When you visit a trade show, you…
A. Make time to sit in on educational classes, scout out new professional and retail products for the salon, and network with other salon professionals to get ideas.
B. Go to some classes and shop for fun stuff for yourself.
C. I’ve been to all the classes, so I hit the show floor to shop and then go to the bar with girlfriends.
11. When you think of your first year in business, you…
A. Realize that you may not make a profit at first and will need to actively adjust your business plan and work longer or harder.
B. Think it would be okay. After all, the place you work now does all right without a lot of effort.
C. You’ll be glad not to work so hard. And you’ll finally have the money for that cute sports car.
12. You want to own your own salon because…
A. You have a lot of experience in the nail industry, you love to mentor others, and you want to build a salon that expresses your idea of the greatest salon on earth!
B. It’s the next logical step; you have done nails a long time and know what you are doing.
C. You want to be the owner and let someone else do all of the work. We get it.
IF YOU ANSWERED:
Mostly As: Salon ownership may be in your near future. You are on the “yellow brick road” to owning your own salon. Continue to do your research and get expert input to avoid the inevitable pitfalls all owners may face. You are level-headed and realize the risk and rewards.
Mostly Bs: Take some time to examine your motives. Perhaps try on the management hat a little longer in your current salon. You’ve got passion but are you sure you want the responsibility?
Mostly Cs: Who are you kidding? You are a free spirit and would never want to be tied to keeping certain hours or dealing with other people’s drama — let alone, staff members! Salon ownership is for someone else. Keep your job at the salon and you won’t ever have to take work home with you.
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