Here at Breizh, we always encourage estheticians to open their own business by providing them the best resources to do so: We offer the best training on our product lines, the top brands in the industry, as well as the best deals on supply and retail.
This time, we also bring you a guide with each step you should be considering so you can build your business from scratch. We hope this is helpful to your future company and would love to help you if you have any doubts after reading it.

Target Market
First of all, you have to find the market you’re going to be targeting. What’s the age of your future clients, their gender, and last but not least, what’s their income? Though you’d surely love to get all the people in your hometown to be your future clients, you’ll have to position your business for a particular sector, and it’s important to know which one you’ll choose in order to invest in the right elements.
The decision of your target market will come hand in hand with the philosophy you wish to apply to your business. Which values do you want to transmit to your clients? What’s the concept you want the general public to have of you and your business?

Designing a unique esthetic business space
Once you’ve defined values and philosophy, you’ll have a better idea of the products you’ll be searching for; not only the treatments you’ll be providing, but every element that you want in your facilities: uniforms, equipment, tools, and all what your clients will be able to see, reflect the resources you’ve spent in your spa.
For now, surely (hopefully) you’ll already have a physical space where you’ll open your business. Now it’s time to plan how to put together your space according to the requirements of each esthetic business. Remember that putting together a hair salon is very different to designing a spa, so you’ll have to talk to interior designers, architects, landscapers, and people in the industry to make sure you have the most efficient space for your employees to move around and perform the best of their work. Simple things like plumbing, electricity wires, cabinetry and lighting can become a problem in the future if they are not well planned at the beginning.

Here are some beautifully designed spas around the world!

Marketing your business
Now that you have a proper architectural design, it’s time to go into the marketing strategies you’ll be applying to your business.
Define a menu of your services, and make your signature treatments to stand out. Analyze the cost plus time of application to establish a standard price for each one of them. Define the protocols you’ll be using on each specific treatment, so every client gets the same satisfaction.
In the visual area, make brochures with the help of a graphic designer to reflect the concept and story of your business. Provide costs, collaterals, philosophy, and all you need your clients to know inserting unique keywords you’d like to stay in their minds.
If you want to take a step further, you can ask different companies to custom their products according to your needs. Would you like a signature scent in your spa? Or maybe you want bottles labeled wit the name of your salon. There're dozens of companies that do that, and all of them have a universal volume discount that applies to your specific needs.

Retail
A significantly part of your income will also be coming from the retail area, and not just for the services you provide on the spot. Find the best supplier (Breizh!) and make a plan with them on how many products you’ll be buying monthly, who are you going to sell them to, and train your staff in how to sell these products to your clients.
Make a plan with your marketing team on how to sell these products and find the best retailing practices.

Human resources
The final step before having your business ready is finding the people that bests adjust to the values of your company. While we provide a BC human resources manual in here, it’s important to establish your goals as which kind of people you want to hire in your spa. Remember that the concept your clients have of your spa doesn’t only relies on you but on your whole team. Do you want recent grads to perform for your business or would you like long time professionals? Identify the pros and cons on each of them and define what’s best for you as an opening business. Your training will also depend on the level of knowledge of your staff.
Finally, each division will have its own management area, and everyone will adjust to their own operating area.

As a final note, remember that we are here to provide you with the best services. We offer retail and professional sizes in all of our products, training for you and your staff in any of our lines you want to know better, classes with owners and professionals for each treatment, planning, and consulting services, and special programs to help you open your spa!
So please, doesn’t matter if you are a new entrepreneur starting a business, or you’ve been in the industry for years, don’t hesitate to give us a call if you need assistance along the way :)

Cheers,

Mariana