So you’re keen on starting a hair business but don’t have the money to get it going. And you wonder whether it is possible to start without a big budget.
The hair care industry is expected to grow by a CAGR of 6.6% between 2021 to 2027, which means it is a good time to step into the market.
But, is it possible to start a hair business without investments or a big budget?
Of course, it’s easier if you have money to invest since it can give you a major head start. But consider this – hundreds of people start their hair businesses from scratch every month.
Which means there’s no reason why you won’t be able to do it too.
In this article, we’ll show you the step-by-step process and give you practice-based expert guidelines on how to start a hair business with no money.
Ready to get started? Here we go.
Is It Possible To Start A Hair Business With No Money?
For this guide, we are assuming that you have very little capital to begin with. But as it is with any business, you will need to gather some funds to get started. Here are some of the ways in which you can get your starting capital to start a hair business with no money:
Through Friends, Family and Associates
If you have a convincing business plan, your first investors can be the people closest to you. Draw up a plan of how your hair business would operate, and pitch it to your near and dear ones. You can then ask them for a small amount to start with in exchange for a service or dividend afterwards.
Bank Loans
If your plan requires a considerable amount of overhead expenses, you can consider taking a bank loan to fund the initial period. Based on the terms that you are offered, you will be required to pay it back with a percentage of interest on top.
Or Start Small With What You Have
If you don’t have the above two options available to you, start with what you have right now. There are some ways to cut down on operating costs for hair businesses and still offer a good service – and we will discuss the different ways to do so below:
Ways to Cut Down on Rent
A smaller hair salon is not a bad way to get started. If you can’t rent out a studio space in order to set up your store – consider a makeshift hair salon at your home. You could start by offering your service to local clients until you save enough to move to a better place.
If that is an issue, you could home deliver a salon to clients’ homes or workplaces. Instead of attracting your clients to your home salon, you offer them a makeover at their location – wherever that is.
Price your services smartly, considering the travel expenses you will incur in this model.
Or, if you’re looking for ways to generate capital first before offering your customers a salon experience, you could try selling hair products and services online. And instead of having your inventory in a separate storage space, receive and ship the products from your house to make storage expenses minimal.
If You Don’t Have Enough Budget For Purchases
In such a scenario, start by reselling a few products until you have a bit of money to work with. You could buy cheaper on sites like eBay and have your listing with a slightly higher margin.
Or, you can gather and combine orders from clients and buy products from prepayments. Order from distributors as and when someone buys from you, which can help you run your business without any capital. If there is any delay in shipping, you can always throw in a freebie or a free service to make up for it.
While it is a little difficult for new businesses to get good suppliers, you might get one that extends credit and allows you to pay them back later. This will allow you to potentially spend on establishing your salon or getting your inventory before paying back the supplier.
How To Start A Hair Business With No Money: Steps
Before starting any business, you must have a well-thought-out plan that you can execute to get results. Here are the essential steps you need to take on how to start an online hair store with no money down:
1. Preparation
First, decide on the type of hair business you want to start (e.g., selling hair care and supplies for hairdressers, hair extensions, or natural hair).
Next, decide on a niche and beauty brand with which you want to work, especially when you’re selling products.
Once you have decided the niche and the type of business you will be diving into, it is time to research your target audience. Find out everything about them, including their location, age group, gender, income level and interests. This will help you identify your ideal customer so that you can direct your offers to them later.
But for that, your product needs to have a unique selling point. Decide what that is going to be for your brand, in order to set yourself apart from the rest.
Lastly, come up with a name for the brand or salon so that your customers have something to identify you with. While you’re at it, come up with a logo and a theme that will give your brand a distinct visual identity.
2. Choose Your Business Models
Now, it is time to choose the business model that you will be using. Here are four options that you can choose from:
Dropshipping Model
In a dropshipping model, the retail store doesn’t essentially have the products it sells in stock. The retailer purchases the item from a supplier or other third party handler, who then sends the item directly to the customer.
Wholesaling From a Warehouse
Buying products in large quantities can help reduce the operating costs for businesses. And in this model, you acquire the product in numbers before reselling it.
White Label Model
A white label business model involves selling products with the retailer’s branding and logo, but the product itself is manufactured elsewhere. The third party manufacturer brands or labels their commodities based on the requirements of the retailers, which makes it seem like they have manufactured their own products.
Manufacturing Model
In a manufacturing model, a business manufactures its own products privately, and also takes charge of selling them on its own.
The Icy Whiz team talked to Priyanka Swamy, CEO of Perfect Locks, about cost-effective strategies for growing your hair business from scratch. Here is what she said:
“At the start of Perfect Locks, I concentrated on social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook because they are free and have a visual style that works well for the hair industry.
Create content that showcases your products, videos, and customer reviews. Post regularly and engage with your followers.
Collaborate with influencers! I started by partnering with micro-influencers who genuinely love my products. They gave honest reviews and helped me reach more people. This is a great way to get high returns at a low cost.
Next, try dropshipping. Dropshipping allows you to sell your products without having to store them. You save on warehousing costs and reduce your financial risk. We started with dropshipping because it allowed us to offer a wide range of products without paying much upfront.
Don’t forget, networking is a must. Attend industry events both online and in person. Connect with suppliers, beauty salon owners, and other potential partners. At my first beauty trade show, I made the connections that helped us grow.
Invest in excellent customer service. Your best marketers are happy customers. We put exceptional customer service at the top of our list. That’s a long-term investment, not short-term, but worth it.
Reinvest your profits. We didn’t just sit on our earnings. We reinvested them in marketing, product growth, and team growth, which allowed us to scale sustainably.
Starting a hair business on a tight budget is challenging but achievable. You can build a successful brand without significant financial resources with creativity, strategic partnerships, and a focus on customer satisfaction.”
3. Register Your Hair Business
After deciding the business model that you will be using, it is time to register your business in terms of a legal structure, involving licenses and permits. Here are some of the most common structures that you should consider:
Sole Proprietorship
In a sole proprietorship, the owner of the business and the store is the same person. And they are responsible for all the obligations and debts of the business alone. Since you’re starting a hair business with no money, this is the most inexpensive and convenient way to register your business.
Limited Liability Company (LLC)
An LLC provides limited liability to its owners, which means that the owner of the business (you) aren’t responsible for the debts and liabilities of the business. The advantages of this system include easy management, steering clear of double taxation, and little to no personal liability.
4. Sign Up for an Inventory Management System
Now, if you’ve read this far, you’re pretty serious about starting a hair salon with no money. So after deciding on your niche, business model, and the kind of permits you will need, you have to sign up for an inventory management system.
If you’ve never heard of it before, and an inventory management system presents a simplified way of taking complete stock of a company’s inventory. Here are some of the tasks that it helps you achieve:
- Track all products in your stock
- Audit and prioritize your inventory list
- Analyze supplier performance
- Consistently receive stock
- Track sales
- Order restocks on time
Now, it can be a bit difficult to manage an inventory list when you start a business. And it is a good idea to try and make things as simple as possible so that everything works smoothly. With that in mind, Suplery will help you manage your stock effortlessly.
It has a convenient interface for clear stock and order management. Moreover, it also allows you fully automated reordering with timely alerts and a very simple supplier management system. You also get built-in analytics to ensure that you can keep track of every detail when it comes to your business.
The Suplery mobile app is very easy to use, and can smoothly integrate with CRM services. You also get a very clear overview of the product catalog so that you won’t have to hunt for hours to stock up on inventory.
5. Find your Suppliers
One of the most difficult parts about starting a hair business with no money is the difficulty in getting suppliers. A lot of them won’t sell to you simply because you aren’t big enough. And in the beginning, it can be really demotivating for you to go through all those rejections.
Thankfully, you can use the Suplery app to order products from the best suppliers in the US effortlessly. You will be able to order from some of the best hair and beauty brands even when you’re in the initial stage – without having to worry about suppliers not delivering to you.
And with consistent service from Suplery, you will never have to worry about hair products being out of stock for your customers again. The app is extremely easy to use, and you can get started instantly, right after installing.
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6. Develop an Online Store
One of the best ways to build your hair business online is to have a unique website that potential clients can go to. It should have all the information that someone inquiring about your establishment should want to have such as location, working hours, services offered, a rate card, and the kind of staff you have.
This is important even if you are offering an at-home service to customers. They should be able to see that you’re a reliable brand, and a website sends a great message along those lines.
You can also have a landing page for visitors who come from various sources, directing them to the products that you sell (if any), or services. There are many ways to incentivise potential leads to buy from you. For example, a small discount, or free shipping might help you get extra orders on your e-commerce site.
Sam Rock, Operations Manager at Infinity Laser Spa, shared his views on innovative strategies for starting and growing a hair business with minimal financial investment. Here is an excerpt from the interview:
“Innovative strategies for starting and growing a hair business with minimal financial investment involve leveraging social media platforms and influencer partnerships to reach a broader audience.
Creating engaging content showcasing your products’ quality and versatility can attract attention and generate interest.
Utilizing user-generated content and encouraging customer reviews can also build credibility and trust in your brand.
Collaborating with complementary businesses or individuals, such as hairstylists or fashion bloggers, can expand your reach and provide access to an existing customer base.
Additionally, offering exclusive deals or discounts to early adopters can incentivize purchases and generate word-of-mouth referrals.
Creative approaches include exploring alternative distribution channels, such as pop-up shops or local markets, to showcase your products directly to consumers.
Building a solid brand identity through storytelling and visually appealing branding can differentiate your business in a crowded market.
Implementing cost-effective guerrilla marketing tactics, like street art or sidewalk chalk advertising, can create buzz and intrigue around your brand.
Embracing sustainable and eco-friendly practices can resonate with environmentally conscious consumers and set your business apart from competitors.
Focusing on authentic engagement and creativity, even with limited resources, guarantees that it’s possible to establish and grow a successful hair business.”
7. Use Free Promotion Methods
One of the best ways to promote your new hair business for absolutely free is to have a good social media presence. Over 54% of consumers turn to social media to research new products and services. So, a good social media profile can establish brand value and attract new customers to your business.
Similarly, you could approach micro-inluencers on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube to recommend your business.
Final Thoughts
Starting a hair business with little to no money is possible, regardless of anyone says. But the absence of starting capital will be an obstacle that you’ll have to work past. Which means that it might require more effort on your part, which could have been compensated by the money. And in this article, we’ve shown you exactly how to start a wig business with no money.
It can be difficult to get a lot of traffic in the beginning. And to help with that, you can start small and use free marketing channels to reach your audience. Some of the best ones have been discussed above in the article.
And of course, one of the best tools you can use to fast-track your progress is Suplery. With convenient re-orders and inventory analysis all at one glance, it has never been easier to keep track of your products. So, sign up today to get the easiest access to the best hair supplies and manage your stock effortlessly.
FAQ section:
1. How Much Money Do You Usually Need To Start A Hair Business?
Depending on the business model you choose, a hair business could cost you anywhere between $500 to $100,000 or more. There are a lot of factors that affect the operation costs, which we have discussed here.
2. Is It Possible To Start A Hair Business With No Money?
Yes, you can start a hair business with very little money. And in this article, we have discussed several ways that you can start your hair business without having a lot of financial backing.
3. How To Start A Hair Business With No Money?
Learn about the hair industry, and find out exactly who your target audience is. Once you have learned about who you’re selling to, use social media, free promotion or collaboration with micro influencers to help you establish your brand.
Guest Author: Saket Kumar
Last Updated on June 5, 2024 by soubhik
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