Operating hair and beauty salons in Oman
Last week I shared the conversation that happened with Ms Hanna with regards to her enquiry about launching and operating an online store selling traditional Omani products.
Today I am responding to Mr Hilal, who reached out to me concerning his wife’s idea about opening an hair salon. Mr Hilal is worried about the sustainability of the business.
Although I do not have direct experience on this specific segment, I had a call with my friend Amos — who runs countless salons in Malaysia — and had an exchange with him. I am aware that Oman and Malaysia are substantially different markets, but the similarities are strikingly interesting.
Amos describes hair and beauty salons as the best business model. Of course, he has bias in his statement, as he literally does that for a living, but some of the points he brought forward are really compelling.
“First of all” he said “hair keeps growing throughout someone’s life... so that tell you already that this is an endless business.” Good point on that Amos. So if clients are endlessly experiencing the “problem” of hair growth and we are always offering the “solution” of cutting hair, we have a good starting point there. The same could be said for gentlemen’s beard by the way.
“Secondly, the products that you need to operate the business have virtually no expiry date.” In other words, shampoo, conditioners, serum and all other products for hair care and — for some beauty salons — skin care, can be stored for years.
Even if business was slow to pick up, there is no rush to sell our products. That would not apply of course to a restaurant, where food expires quite quickly. So if we can wait virtually forever
RENT COULD BE A “KILLER” FOR ANY BUSINESS, BUT IN THIS CASE, SALONS CAN START WITH 60 TO 80 SQUARE METRES AND EXPAND AS BUSINESS GROWS. SO THE INITIAL RENT COULD BE UNDER CONTROL. to grow the business with no repercussions on our stock, that makes the business a lot safer.
Where to focus then? According to Amos the key points are:
1. Low rent in a decent location
2. Flexible, yet experienced staff
Here is where things get a bit complicated. Decent locations generally come with high rent, but Amos reasoned that “in this specific business, women prefer privacy, so you don’t need to be visible, but convenient. Look for shop lots with plenty of parking availability.”
Rent could be a “killer” for any business, but in this case, salons can start with 60 to 80 square metres and expand as business grows. So the initial rent could be under control.
When it comes to staff, experienced hair stylist tend to be quite demanding on their salary and benefits. In Amos’ mind this could be both bad and good.
Having an experienced full time staff with high salary might reduce profits when business is slow, but also could create loyalty among clients and provide a higher baseline. Ideal scenario could be to have experienced staff willing to work flexible hours as-and-when needed.
To conclude, I would encourage Mr Hilal not to be scared about the possibility of a total failure as long as his wife is able to attract experienced staff, willing to work flexibly, and setting up shop in a convenient location with accessible car parking.
Although competition might be tough, as a number of salons has sprung in the past years in Oman, this does not prevent new salons to make a living or prosper.