How to setup a profitable barbing salon/Barber Shop

Barbing salons are everywhere you have men, meaning they are practically suited for every environment. But having another barbing salon and one that makes a lot of money are not the same thing. Barbing salons in the cities or rural areas in Nigeria are numerous but not necessarily indicative of the fact that the business is booming because many are merely doing it to scrape out a living. But for those intending on creating a sustainable business that will not only create wealth but employment as well then knowing how to set up a profitable business is the way to go.

Background

In many towns and cities especially the big cities like Lagos, Abuja, Benin and Port Harcourt people set up shop to do business, barbing hair for mostly the male folk. In Lagos for instance, there are probably more barbing salons than there are churches (you know how we Nigerians love church even more than the early Christians) which means the business is fairly easy to set up and remain in the business otherwise entry into the business should be hard and remaining profitable would also not be an issue. In campuses of Universities, polytechnics around densely populated areas and sometimes in high brow areas and commercial areas, barbing salons seem to thrive. Suitable locations therefore are; popular streets, densely populated areas with a lot of male folks and higher institutions of learning.

Opportunity

Considering that it may not cost more than a few thousands to set up a baring salon, the business offers many opportunities to make a lot of money. For instance, selling clippers, shaving powder, shaving stick, aftershave, barbing equipments and accessories as well as the normal barbing services means that this business isn’t limited in terms of how much money can be made. But more importantly is the opportunity to make a lot of money from being exceptionally professional and organized, word spreads fast and with barbing excellent referrals from customers can do a lot of good in terms of winning patronage and increasing sales.

Challenges

The problem of electricity supply and having fuel for generating sets to power the barbing salon is the obvious challenge. In most parts of Nigeria, electricity supply is usually less than 10 hours a day making cost of doing business to be unnecessarily high. When the business becomes more stable and profitable one would expect the business to expand, unfortunately capital to fund growth is not readily available but with micro finance banks this is gradually changing for the better.

Business Strategy
The key thing is to stay focused on what works and what doesn’t. Imagine a situation where the strategy should be to do something useful that no other person is doing at least in your own locality that will at least offer the intending investor an edge over the competition. For instance, if other barbing salons don’t offer the customer much in terms of quality service, more fashionable environment and professional looking staff or workers.

Startup summary

2 Rotating Chairs (although ordinary chairs may do for a start): N10,000
1 Long waiting chair: N10,000
Tables: N6,000
Mirrors: N12,000
3 original Clippers: N9,000
4 Cover Clothes: N2,000
Barbing ‘Cosmetics’ (Spirit, powder, aftershave etc): N3,000
Generator: N20,000
Sterilizer: N15,000
Others: N30,000
Total: N117,000