[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he beauty and wellness market is a huge one and there are a lot of prospects. While it is important to keep your eyes on the huge amount of profits waiting to be raked in, it is also advisable to be realistic. The pedicure spa business is a serious one and to be successful, you need a number of things in place.
You need to be passionate about it and you ought to have had a reasonable amount of experience working in the beauty and wellness world. This will help you avoid mistakes that are prevalent in the business.
If you don’t have any experience in the business, it won’t be a bad idea for you to spend some time and effort immersing yourself in the business. Understand the dynamics, the pitfalls and the shortcuts. These are guaranteed to help you have a successful start.
There are quite a number of things you’ll need to consider when setting up a pedicure spa, but these are the top five on my list.
IDENTIFY AND DEFINE YOUR TARGET CUSTOMERS
Once you’re ready to establish your spa business, it is important to clearly identify and define your target clients and customers. This aspect is the most important of all the questions you must answer.
Knowing who your pedicure spa is for will help you position your brand in the market. What need does your pedicure spa seek to satisfy? Is your beauty and wellness business geared towards filling a gap? These questions will go a long way towards helping you define your target audience.
LOCATION IS CRUCIAL
The location of your pedicure spa will determine how much patronage your business will receive. While it is great to ensure that your spa is centrally located, it is also essential to make sure that the location is one that will attract your target customers.
Before your sign, the agreements, sit outside the building and watch the passersby. How many of those people fit your defined clientele? Count the number of potential clients who drive and walk past. Once you determine that the number is substantial enough, you can then pay for the site.
Another thing to do is pick a site that is near a shopping plaza or entertainment center. Such relaxation centers are likely to attract clients to your pedicure spa and salon.
BE SPECIFIC ABOUT THE SERVICES YOU INTEND TO OFFER
Before you pay for your location, it is likely that you would have made a detailed list of services you intend to offer. After all, you already drew up your business plan.
Consider that there are a plethora of services that can be offered in a beauty and wellness spa and salon. But you have to tailor your services to suit the needs of your target clients. This is essential to ensure the success of the business. Resist the temptation to be a jack of all trades.
Because the pedicure spa and salon business are fiercely competitive, your focus should be on offering services that will attract and keep the right customers. Your service list can focus on basic services such as manicures, pedicures, aromatherapy, reflexology, body wrapping, clinical facials etc.). Alternatively, you can target a niche market by providing unique, luxury and highly specific services like advanced skincare therapy, hot stone, yoga, full body massages, hair care and treatment, lower leg massages etc.
Detailing your services will help you in deciding your staff strength, required consumables and the equipment you’ll need to provide the best services. For instance, you’ll need to determine if there are skilled staff around to competently handle the services. Do you intend to hire expatriates or will you train local professionals? Are the consumables locally available? Or will you need to source them from other countries? And your equipment? Consider purchasing high quality and comfortable pedicure spa chairs, manicure tables, pedicure spa stools and pedicarts and so on.
A Marketing and Promotional Plan Are Indispensable
When you’re running a highly competitive business like a pedicure spa and salon, you’ll need to find creative and proactive ways to promote and market your brand so that potential customers can find you. Without sufficient patronage, your business is unlikely to bring in the big profits.
There are many strategies you can use. First, establish excellent customer care relations. As much as you can, communicate clearly and regularly with potential clients. You can send SMS or emails. This will help establish your brand’s recognition and loyalty. You want your business to be easily remembered.
Consider printing and distributing flyers. Take out advert spaces in online and offline beauty magazines and newspapers. Radio jingles and TV adverts are a great way to get the word out there. Most importantly, you should develop a strong marketing plan and strategy when your business has just been established.
Is Your Budget Watertight?
Your ability to accomplish the aforementioned tasks will depend on your budget. When choosing your location, purchasing equipment, consumables, hiring staff and running a promotional campaign, you need to consider your budget. Don’t overspend on a location if it means you won’t have sufficient funds for operational costs.
Most businesses fail because there is poor cash flow management. When setting up a pedicure spa business, you should ensure that you have enough money to keep the business running for at least six months’ even if you don’t get any customers. This will help your business weather the storms while it’s in the fledgeling stages.
Here are a few things you can do to keep the costs down.
- Avoid over paying technicians
- Beware of over-experienced and inexperienced technicians
- Purchase the best you can afford
- Advertise effectively (sometimes, online ads are more effective)
Whatever you do, make sure you tailor your budget to accommodate the most important aspects of your business.
Chioma Iwunze-Ibiam writes creative non-fiction and prose fiction. Her works have appeared in Romance Meets Life, Flash Fiction Press, MTLS, Saraba Magazine, Sentinel Magazine and others. Her first novel, Finding Love Again, was published by Ankara Press. She owns and manages Creative Writing News.
