Hello our dear reader, we bring to you a quick guide to starting a barbing salon business in Nigeria.
Many of us always want to look smart and sharp because we completely flow with the quote that says we are addressed the way we dress. So, we spend a lot of money and time not only on the type of dress to wear but our entire grooming.
Among the 50 most popular business ideas in Nigeria, today is barbing salon business. It is one of the answers to our looking smart and sharp each time we leave our home to engage in our various daily activities.
Barbing salons belong to the category of businesses that will continuously be in vogue and will always bring in money in as much as they are managed well.
Some people have overlooked this profitable business because it doesn’t make a lot of noise and in their own word, it is not fancy.
People naturally like businesses that make lots of noises even if it doesn’t bring money, but would you like to go for a business that makes noises or the one that brings real money? You answered correctly as expected.
Now, let’s take a closer look at what a Barbing salon is.
What Is a Barbing Salon?
In Nigeria, a barbing salon is basically a place people, especially men visit to get a haircut. Other services may include hair treatment, dying of hair, dreading, and other beauty-related services.
Many barbershops in Nigeria render all the aforementioned services, so that explains why Nigerians prefer to call it a barbing salon.
A barber is one who cuts, shaves, grooms, and styles hair. This job is not just limited to males as women to have become interested in this line of work.
Just like any other job, barbering is important and is not as easy as it may seem. This job will always be in demand because human hair grows daily and is in constant need of grooming and maintenance.
Most Barbing salons are run on a small and medium scale and they rake in a considerable fair amount in profit on a daily basis. No wonder it is considered one of the most profitable daily income businesses in Nigeria.
The Barbing salon business can as well be run on a large scale depending on your initial startup capital or length of time of running a small and medium barbing salon.
How profitable a barbing salon will be and how much you will make as the owner depends on some variables.
These include the location of your barbershop, quality of shop & services, number of hours put into the work, publicity, cost per head for haircuts, among others.
There’s no doubt the salon business is a lucrative one to startup. In recent times there has been a boom in profitability for this business.
How to Start A Successful Barbing Salon Business In Nigeria
To learn more about this booming business and find out how to set one up in Nigeria, keep reading this article.
Learn How to Barb
Learn and whilst you’re learning don’t just learn the barbing aspect, learn the business aspect; How your boss treats his customers, how he pays bills, how he maximizes his profits. Basically, how he manages his business in general.
Barbing is an art and a barber is an artist! It’s not just enough to learn how to handle the clipper, you need to perfect the art of haircuts; like shaving, tracing the hairline, and trimming.
The length of time you spent learning will be subject to the agreement you have with your trainer, your passion, effort, and dedication.
It can be within few months or a year. To be sure you’ve really learned the skill and to enhance your cutting skills, offer to barb hair for your junior ones for free.
Since they pay less attention to themselves they are likely to pardon any mistakes you make while barbing, unlike adults.
Whether you want to operate the salon yourself or you will decide to go into the business as an investor by employing a professional and skilled barber, it is important to learn what the job requires.
In the event when your employee is busy and you are around or is away you should be able to fill in. You should do your best to learn and make sure you are at least, averagely skilled. To do that you must become trained and qualified.
Preliminary Work
This stage involved some background work you will do or get someone to do for you. It includes getting to know a lot about the business. Writing an effective business plan is also important at this stage.
Find out locations where the business is not saturated, the cost of renting shops in that area, how much on average does it cost to have a haircut in those areas, the scale of operation, cost of the necessary equipment and appliances, and some other research work.
Undeniably, location is very important in the barbing salon business therefore channel your energy into areas that are easily accessible to all.
It is advisable that your shop is located where it will really attract attention or along a very busy road. A well-chosen location brings in more customers.
Also, a residential area is a strategic location because people mostly go to the salon right after work or sometimes before work and weekends specifically.
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Get A Shop
If you have done your research and preliminary work well, you wouldn’t have problem getting a nice shop in a good location.
It could be in a shopping mall, a busy plaza, or beside a busy road. Location matters a lot in the barbing salon business.
So, if you’re really interested in making a good profit from your barbing salon, you must discover the most perfect location around you.
It is preferable that the shop is spacious to accommodate your customers and still have enough space for people to mingle around.
It is very important because when you’re working on customers, you may have other customers on the waiting list. The spacious shop will afford you the space to put some chairs for your customers to seat on while they wait.
Furnish The Shop
Furnishing a barbing salon is quite simple and cost-effective. You can get a very good and comfortable revolving chair (although not a must) where your customers will seat on while you work on them.
The revolving type makes your work easier as you don’t need to move around, you can stand still and turn the chair to any direction of your choice. Get other chairs where your customers will seat on while waiting.
Paint your shop creating your own style by using some creative color combination and not a plain color. Buy and paste Barbing salon pictures & wallpapers, as your objective is to impress your customers, and there is no better way to do it than to make your business place stand out from the crowd.
Equip Your Shop
At this stage, you need to get your barbing equipment/ tools. What you buy will depend on your budget. You can buy the necessary ones now and as time goes by, buy others.
Equipment for your barbing salon includes:
- Hair clippers,
- Hair Trimmers,
- Barber Shears,
- Cover clothes,
- Straight Razor,
- Sterilizing and Disinfectant Supplies,
- Mirrors,
- Fans,
- Air Conditioners,
- Head washing basin,
- Towels and towel warmer,
- TV or Music Player,
- Standby generator,
- Hair products and cosmetics (hair creams, hair sprays, dyes, powder, aftershave, relaxers, conditioners, etc.),
- Miscellaneous tools (combs, hair brush, scissors, blades, tissue papers, etc.)
- Long Shaving Brush with Powder Slot,
- Barbers Duster Brush,
- Barber’s Neck Strip,
- Neck Tissue Paper, etc.
Employ Qualified Barbers
If you plan to go into the barbing salon business as an investor then you need this stage in setting up your business, otherwise, you should skip this step.
Employ barbers that are ready to deliver the best quality services to your customers. Don’t entrust your new shop to the hands of a learner.
If you do, your business will be on the road to failure. They have to possess all the qualities necessary to grow a new shop.
However if you will man your shop, then you will need apprentices to train and they will handle your business anytime you are not around.
After all, a quote I stumbled upon sometimes ago says “Your business is not really a business until it can survive without you” and I guess that’s true. So, you need to instill in your apprentices your principles, qualities, and objectives.
Branding
Choose a nice name that will be easy to read, pronounce, interesting, intriguing, and easy to remember. Create a logo to be used along with your name.
In as much as making a brand for your barbing salon is important, you shouldn’t spend excessively on it as a business starter.
Get a good graphic designer that can create a simple logo that makes you stand out within your budget. Make a good impression of your salon that goes in line with your name, logo, and motto.
With a good logo and an epic name, you will have a greater chance of spreading fast within your community and it’ll be very easy for people to describe your barbing salon to others.
One of the things you can do to stand out from the competition is to have a website, where your existing and new customers can order your service, with specifics of the time you’ll come to offer home service.
Get Registered
The registration of any business is very important in Nigeria now than ever and your barbing salon should not be exempted.
Apart from the certificate, the trainer will offer at the end of your training, you should also register with a government authority like the CAC.
When you register your business on time it keeps your mind at peace and makes you focus on other important parts of your business.
Creating Awareness
In this technologically advanced era, you will need to have social media accounts. This would allow people to see your work and to keep up to date with you.
This medium will help to build your clientele. Flyers, banners, word of mouth, radio, and television advertisements are also a good way of publicizing your business.
Offer promotional services and bonuses like if a family man comes with his son, you will barb the boy free, if they are two, one will be free and so on.
Make good early impressions. In the barbing salon business, the first impression matters a lot. You want to retain your customers, make then come back again and increase your customer’s database.
Bad news spread faster than good news. So, if you want to succeed in your business, don’t give the community any bad impression about your business, especially not within the first few weeks.
When people visit your shop, give them the best treatment possible. Be friendly and polite to customers; and above all, give them the best haircut possible.
With all that, you’ll win over new customers and the news about your salon will spread like wildfire in your community.
Standing Out
Because the barbing salon business is quite competitive, in order to stand out and become the best, you must make other services available.
These additional services can make you a one-stop shop, barbering and more! Here are a few ideas to consider:
- Invest in videos games to occupy your client’s time while they sit in the waiting area.
- Have a table tennis or snooker board
- Sell food and drinks
- Offer training services
- Offer Home Service
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Challenges Associated With Running a Barbershop In Nigeria
Like most businesses, this business comes with its own risks and challenges.
Knowing and understanding them will help you prepare now for them, improve your business and grow it smoothly. Some of the major risks and challenges include:
- Saturated market: There are so many barbers. In fact, a street in most major cities may have more than 10 barbers on the same street. So the competition is tough, to stand out you have to offer a unique service and be quite excellent with customer service.
- Getting your customers: Most people already have a steady barber, someone who they already trust to cut their hair the right way. So it may be difficult to win them over to your side. This means the percentage of customers available is greatly reduced.
- Fraudulent employees: If you do not understand the barbing salon business thoroughly, your employees might easily play a quick one on you. Learn what services bring income and what expenses take money away. Hire reliable employees especially people you trust.
- Power supply fluctuation: In Nigeria where there is so much inconsistency in power supply, the Barbing business is affected as you would need to rely on generators and fuel to deliver your service.
Summary of Barbing Salon Business In Nigeria
Barbing salon business in Nigeria is a lucrative business if you can see the potential gold in it.
I don’t like quoting figures in my articles because prices change with time and vary from a location to another but my articles will remain to see many years and can be used in all locations!
However, imagine you are open for business 6 days a week and on average there are 10 customers daily. You can do the rest of the calculation based on the price in your area to see the potential profit.
You can be sure that your capital will be realized within the first few months of launching the business.
Barbers can actually be millionaires if you set your priorities well and manage your income wisely. Starting a barbing salon business is not difficult as you must have realized by now.
It is gradually becoming one of the most patronized businesses in recent times. Whether on a small scale or large scale, the salon business has been among the most consistent businesses in Nigeria.
The fact that they are not too expensive to start makes the business a top choice for entrepreneurs and has been a positive step for lots of young people.
Be positive and don’t let anyone discourage you if it is the business of your dreams. Go for it and start raking in constant money into your account!
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