How to Make a Career Change With a Beauty Salon Franchise

Making a career change can always seem like a challenge, but when you’re thinking about making that change with a beauty salon franchise, you know you can count on a huge amount of additional support. Whether you’re already an experienced franchisee, or a total newbie, here’s how to make a career change with a beauty salon franchise.

Most businesses initially suffered during the pandemic and across various lockdowns, and beauty salons were no different. But after coming through some rocky months, and with restrictions lifting and high streets buzzing all over again, salons are eyeing up some exciting growth in the near future. 

As one of the fastest growing sectors in the UK, there are many reasons to start your own beauty salon, so if this sounds like an exciting opportunity for you, here’s what you need to know. 

Why make a career change with a beauty salon?

There has been a massive growth of 54% in the number of hairdressing, barbering and beauty businesses across the country over the five years up to 2020. The nail and beauty industry was one of the strongest in the UK prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the number of salons increasing year on year.
- Policy Bee

Beauty franchises are one of the most popular spots for Brits. In 2019, us Brits spent around £8.6 billion in beauty salons, driving the total number of beauty salons in the UK to over 45,000 [Policy Bee]. It's no surprise then, that so many aspiring franchisees are looking to make this industry their home. 

And why choose a franchise? On top of the many competitive advantages to running your own business - improved survival rates, for example - you can look forward to boosting your business’ credentials with the following:

• Dedicated and comprehensive training and support
• Mentors and tutors to kickstart your own personal development 
• An exclusive territory to work within
• Recruitment support 
• Beneficial financial rates to help start your business
• A trusted customer base and reputation 
• A like minded franchisee network

How to make a career change with a beauty franchise?

If you think you’d be a good fit for a beauty franchise, here are some of the steps you’ll need to take to get that dream career change off the ground.

1. Assess your own skills

Franchising is one of the most attractive business models for aspiring business people, but that doesn’t mean running your own franchise will be a walk in the park. You won’t always need previous experience to start your own business, but having some of the following skills will certainly help you:

• Good organisation
• The ability to lead a team
• Determination to succeed
• A commitment to developing a long-term business opportunity 
• Excellent communication skills 
• Good manual dexterity 
• Some kind of beauty qualifications, such as a Level 2 NVQ Diploma.

You won’t necessarily need all of these to be an excellent franchisee, as your franchisor will be helping you to develop your own skills over time. But having a good grounding in the above skills will certainly make your franchise. 

2. Market research

Market research is at the heart of every successful business. It might sound like an obvious point, but you’re going to need to understand the market, the current lay of the land and its future direction. You’ll need to find a niche within this market to get started, so figure out where the market is and where you fit within it. 

3. Finance your franchise 

Ultimately, no business can ever get off the ground without some investment, so you’ll need to figure out how and where you intend to get the financing from. The good news is that, as a franchisee, you’ll be able to make the most of some highly attractive financial rates. Because franchising is known for having improved survival rates versus smaller and independent businesses, banks will be willing to lend up to 70% of start-up costs.

Whether you’re going to be counting on a bank’s start-up support or something altogether different, there’s plenty of flexibility when it comes to financing your business. 

4. Due diligence

Carrying out due diligence is more important today than ever. With so many businesses enduring difficult and trying times, it’s only fair that you carry out a rigorous assessment of the financial situation of the health of the franchise. Don’t just take one person’s word for it either. The last thing you want to do is join a franchise that appears a great fit for you, only to find yourself locked into a long-term franchising agreement that no longer ticks the boxes.

5. Inventory 

In this industry as much as any other, your equipment and inventory is absolutely essential to the wellbeing of your business. In your business plan, you should outline what kinds of equipment you think your business will need. Consider the costs of this equipment and whether you need the best, industry-leading equipment or something slightly more budget-friendly. 

Make a career change with a beauty salon franchise 

Hopefully, having read this article, you’ll feel that little bit more confident when it comes to making a career change with a beauty franchise. If you’re still looking for expert insights on the beauty industry though, consider some of tech trends innovating the beauty sector or how to choose a beauty franchise that’s right for you. 

If you think your skills might be better suited elsewhere though, consider having a look at the UK franchise directory for a list of other opportunities in other sectors.