Starting a new business is exciting — and a little scary! If you’re thinking of opening a salon of your very own after marking time on the rental-chair treadmill, you’ve got a lot of planning and prep to do. Luckily, we know where you can find great business support for your entrepreneurial dreams: IMAGE Studios!
Supporting beauty professionals in the discovery of the joys of being your own boss is our jam, here at IMAGE. We know a thing or two about how to start a salon that has real staying power — thanks to the proven success of our studio salon business model.
We are committed to making it easier for pros in the beauty industry to take control of the process of starting a business. Help comes in the form of vetted locations, luxurious amenities, polished marketing materials and much more.
Read on to see how we can help you realize your dream of opening your very own salon with real-world business support today, tomorrow and all along your journey to #success!
When Jason Olsen set about disrupting the traditional beauty salon model in 2009, he had little more than a big idea and boundless optimism. Today, his legacy is a nationwide community of like-minded entrepreneurs working together in incredibly beautiful spaces, sharing resources and inspiration as they develop their craft and creativity. Instead of being isolated from their peers and constrained by the schedules or fee rates that someone else put in place, these skilled professionals now have the business support they need to run with their own big ideas for growing their brand identity.
We all share Jason’s vision of freedom, growth and support that make starting a new business a little less risky — and a lot more fun!
The four biggest reasons any new business fails (according to Investopedia) involve inadequate financing, managing, planning and marketing. And those are areas where IMAGE Studios offers the most business support!
Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of renting a salon suite from IMAGE and how our support fills in the gaps these obstacles present when you start a salon, then helps you grow into your own entrepreneurial chops!
What are the three most important aspects of opening a salon that has staying power? Location, location, location! Okay, that’s an old real estate line, but it def applies to starting a business in the beauty industry. You need a salon location that your clients can easily find, that’s accessible to foot traffic for walk-ins, and that’s surrounded by other businesses your clientele finds attractive. That can be a very tall order — especially if you’re looking to relocate from your hometown to a bigger city.
We scout the best salon locations in areas across the country that are bursting with potential for growing your professional contacts. They’re also ripe with opportunities for enjoying your time off, whether that means access to amazing natural wonders or world-class dining and entertainment. From Portland, Oregon, to Boca Raton, Florida, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, to San Antonio, Texas — and hundreds of places in between — you’ll find the perfect place to open a hair salon “near me” or far away from your current locale with IMAGE Studios doing the leg work for you.
It takes more than your skill set and a great location to start a salon. Your clients expect great amenities, like an upscale waiting area, beautiful lighting and clean and spacious restrooms. As you’re thinking about how much it costs to rent a salon suite from IMAGE, remember that all these amenities are included — as are the gorgeous European design elements and luxurious fixtures in all IMAGE Studios locations. Your salon suite also comes fully equipped to start servicing clients on move-in day with:
If you wanted to open a nail salon on your own and had to remodel a space with all these amenities, you’d either have to go into debt or stumble forward with a subpar shop that doesn’t reflect the sophistication of your brand. Catch our glamorous vibe in a virtual tour of our upscale facilities.
How’s your social media presence? What’s the conversion-ratio projection for your Insta or TikTok followers? How are you expanding your reach to new target audiences — and what’s your budget for both hard-copy and online brand campaigns?
Marketing is often one of the trickiest and most expensive parts of starting a new business, but successful marketing is critical to keeping any beauty business on the path to long-term success. As an IMAGE Studios salon owner, you’ll hit the ground running with professionally designed marketing materials like business and appointment reminder cards, grand opening mailers and more. Plus, we’ll set you up with your own personal IMAGE Studios website and GlossGenius, the app that impressed us with seamless appointment booking and payment processing. This kind of day-to-day new business support is truly priceless!
Do you have experience hiring and firing other beauty professionals? How important is branding in the beauty industry? When is the right time to begin scaling up your services?
These might not seem like important questions when you open a nail salon, but they are critical to honing your boss skills on the way to your goals. The IMAGE Pro Success program is a unique kind of ongoing new business support for our salon owners that addresses these and many other topical issues. It’s a series of free workshops that are conducted live via Zoom to guide you through crucial business and marketing practices that will help grow your brand from startup to successful prosperity. We know how hard it is to find this kind of business support outside of expensive college programs, so we bring valuable, long-term educational resources directly to your digital device!
There is strength in numbers. Just ask any member of a trade organization, like the National Restaurant Association or Retail Industry Leaders Association. When you’re a part of a group like this, you gain access to a network of like-minded professionals with similar goals who can share resources and industry insights.
Professionals in the beauty industry have long been shut out of such groups, but the IMAGE community puts you back in good company! We’re proud to have one of the most diverse groups of beauty professionals in the country that includes hair stylists, barbers, nail and lash techs, estheticians, massage therapists, eyebrow threaders, makeup artists and more. Our salon owners come from nearly every racial and ethnic background, too, each bringing a unique perspective and purpose to raise the color bar for all.
This level of diversity creates a supportive, noncompetitive environment where you can build clientele and create brand identity instead of fighting for scraps from a limited work pool. The IMAGE Studios business support creates a collective mindset that celebrates each individual success as a victory for all.
Do you dream in vivid colors and eye-catching artwork? Is your ideal work environment overflowing with live greenery or sumptuous furnishings? Are you tired of tamping down your creativity in service to someone else’s idea of branding?
When you open a salon at IMAGE Studios, you have 100% freedom to decorate your space however you like. We’ll make sure the facility is secure 24/7 and the restrooms get cleaned by a professional housekeeping service — but the way your salon studio looks and feels is entirely up to you! Go crazy with wild paint colors or unique artwork or crazy design themes! We support the inventiveness of our new business owners so much that we reward the most inspired efforts with our annual Studio Design Awards for regional and national recognition.
Ready to see how IMAGE Studios business help can make opening a salon of your very own an exciting reality? We cannot overstate the benefits of touring IMAGE Studios salon suites in person, so reach out today to schedule a tour in the city of your dreams. It’s the first step toward your dream of starting a new business and being your own boss — and IMAGE will be right beside you the whole way!
