I may just have a silly notion of opening a salon in San Francisco. I have no training but have been a client for 20 years, as well as being a customer service human resources professional for a luxury 4-star hotel property. I would love to open a salon and focus on service. Any advice of where to even start?
Margarita

Margarita,
Good for you for having a desire to open a salon focusing on quality customer service. It sounds like you will already have an advantage since you have experience in the customer service, human resources, and hospitality area already. However, I would highly recommend that even if you are not going to actually work as a nail tech in your salon that you still go through the course to be a licensed nail tech. It will give you the foundational knowledge to select the right nail techs to work in your salon. This will also give you more working knowledge on the products used in the salon and your state board requirements as well. And, you just never know, you might find that you really enjoy the art of doing nails. 

Once you have decided to definitely make this a reality, get to work on a business plan. Through working on a business plan you will have to do all the research necessary to start a successful endeavor. It will require researching every aspect of the business but will prepare you for what exactly lies ahead. This is something that many (most) business owners fail to do.

Good luck to you.

—Melodie, Tickled Pink Salon & Nail Spa, Clayton, N.C.

Hi Margarita,

Over the years, we've met many successful salon owners who started with a customer service background, so we wish you the best! NAILS' Salon Start-Up Guide may be especially helpful to you.

--NAILS Eds.