Open your own organic institute

If you’re an esthetics professional and feel ready to embark on the great adventure of entrepreneurship, then take the time to read these few tips.

This short manifesto outlines the 10 steps you need to take to make sure you don’t forget anything before the big jump!

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Training

Training

To open your own beauty salon, you’ll need a beauty diploma.

  • Certificat d’aptitude professionnelle (CAP) Esthétique Cosmétique Parfumerie
  • Brevet professionnel (BP) Esthétique Cosmétique Parfumerie (after CAP)
  • Bac Pro Aesthetics Cosmetics Perfumery
  • BTS in aesthetics, cosmetics and perfumery
  • Brevet de maîtrise (BM) esthetician-cosmetician

Note that the Pacte law has abolished the obligation to complete a preparatory course for setting up (SPI) 1.

To know / Icon

The person in charge of the institute may not even hold an aesthetics diploma, as long as his or her employees have a diploma. The CAP (vocational training certificate) does not provide much in the way of management skills. It is certainly preferable to complete your training with a BEP or Bac Pro to open your own institute. A self-employed beautician will not only have to practise her profession as a beautician, but also manage her institute, her purchases, her sales, her expenses, her staff if necessary…

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Market research

A big word for a little analysis and a lot of logic. But don’t think you can get away with this study, because it’s one of the keys to your project’s success. You’ll need to study and formalize at least :

Defining the Offer: What services / What products?

  • Waxing
  • Facial care
  • Hands and feet
  • Light legs
  • Relaxing body treatments, relaxing stopovers.
  • Slimming care
  • Detox treatments
  • Anti-aging, radiance and purity protocols…
  • Care for pregnant and nursing women
  • Maderotherapy, Kobido, …
  • Duration and pricing of care
  • Manual drainage or with accessories?
  • Organic or conventional products?
  • Made in France or not?
  • Recycled and recyclable packaging or whatever?

The answers to all these questions will define your offer and your positioning in relation to your competitors and the customer target you’ve identified.

Pricing of your services and selling prices of your products

You’ll need to know your treatment prices and make sure they’re in line with the market (your competitors). These are the foundations of your business plan, which will determine the attractiveness of your offer and the profitability of your business. Think about having an introductory price that you’ll promote, and build a “discovery offer” to attract customers when you open. You’re buying the opportunity to seduce them with the quality of your services and products during their first appointment. Think about offering treatments in the form of cures, to regulate your sales. Your customers will undoubtedly appreciate the results if you follow a tried-and-tested protocol…and this will build their loyalty.

Competitor knowledge: Who/What/Where/At what price?

It’s always interesting to know that a competitor doesn’t do body treatments, slimming treatments, etc. But it’s just as interesting to know whether a facialist who charges reasonable rates is already well established in the area you’re thinking of setting up in.

Potential customers

What are the needs in your geographical area? What are the trends? Knowing them will help you define your offer and your sales proposal. Don’t hesitate to draw up a short questionnaire that will help you define your types of treatments, prices, opening days and times, etc. This will also be the start of your commercial prospecting. This will also be the start of your sales prospecting.

Examples of questions you can/should ask:

→ What services would you like us to offer? Hair removal / Face, body, nail care…
→ What price levels would you find acceptable: For hair removal (define the area precisely) -Ex Full legs Between €20 and €25 | Between €25 and €30 or for a 30 min Facial : Between €25 and €30 | Between €30 and €40
→ Would you like us to offer natural and organic cosmetics? Yes / No
→ Do you attach importance to “made in France” in an eco-responsible approach? Yes / Very much / No not at all
→ What’s your favorite day and time for an appointment with your beautician? 1 only choice because it’s the only way to have a clear opinion Offering a wide range of days and times will help you to pinpoint your needs. This is a very important point, and may lead you to propose staggered working hours, which must be compatible with your personal schedule.
→ Would you like to be informed when the institute / home institute opens? If so, please enter your name, cell phone number and e-mail address
Offer them a discount on their first treatment or purchase to thank them for completing your questionnaire

Now that you know your offer, your customers and their needs, your prices and your competitors, you can determine your strategy and work on your business plan.

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Draw up a solid business plan to guide your company.

  • Which concept? Institut Spa / Institut / At home / At your home?
  • List the services you will offer and estimate the volume of business (see 3.1 below).
  • Take over the sales and purchasing pricing previously identified
  • Look for products/brands that match the margins you’ll need to support your expenses.
  • Don’t forget to include product sales in your business plan, otherwise it will be harder to achieve profitability.
  • Approximate your theoretical margins and simulate your expenses (rent/ insurance/ energy/ internet box/…)
  • Quickly present it to several financial organizations, because the more they believe in your project, the better they will finance it and the better your cash flow will be.

Once all these elements have been gathered, we advise you to enlist the services of an accountant or business start-up support organizations (Chambre des métiers / France Active network / BGE…). But remember, no one can come closer to your sales forecast than you.

1- Sales

Care:
Average price of a service x number of services / week x 47 weeks (if you take 5 weeks’ vacation). Simulate the different types of service and add them up. This will give you your projected turnover.

For example, per week :

  • 20 waxings per week = 20 x €20 = €400
  • 5 facials per week = 5 x €40= €200
  • 2 body treatments per week = 2 x €50 = €100

Or €700 / week
Per 47 weeks = €32,900 / year

Resale:
For your business to be profitable, you need to generate at least 20% of your care sales through resale: i.e. €32,900 x 0.2 = €6,580
Studies show that 40% resale would be the ideal ratio for a profitable business. Of course, this depends on the amount of expenses you incur. Never underestimate that, even if you are a beauty professional, you must first and foremost be an advisor, a beauty expert. You’ll need to make a beauty diagnosis, so if your brand offers it, use beauty prescriptions so that the advice you give turns naturally into a sale. Of course, it’s always important to differentiate between in-booth care and daily follow-up at home. Don’t sell overly technical products that your customer won’t use. On the contrary, recommend maintenance and comfort products.

2 – Margin

1/ About your cabin business

Take the amount of your purchases of raw materials used and relate it to the services provided.
Margin = cost of products used for the treatment (€) / selling price of the treatment (€)
At Oxalia, a treatment is estimated at 3-4 € of products for an average cost of 30 to 40 €, i.e. a gross margin of 90%.

2/ Concerning your “Resale” activities

Calculate the ratio between your purchase price and the selling price of the products you sell.
The coefficient generally applied is 2.
So if you buy a product for €10 excluding VAT, you will sell it for €20 including VAT, i.e. a margin of 40%.

3 – Expenses

These include water, electricity, insurance for the premises, civil liability, rent, etc… These costs vary considerably depending on whether your business is “home-based” or “salon-based”, and on the location of your salon.

4 – Salaries

During your first year of operation, you can benefit from partial exemptions from social security contributions if you were previously unemployed.
Excluding exemptions, allow for 45% of social security contributions in relation to your salary. Consult your accountant, as exemptions from social security contributions also depend on the level of your gross salary, and require an expert to calculate them for you. In fact, the lower the salary, the higher the Fillion exemptions.

5 – Financing

Once you’ve finalized your business plan, it’s time to convince your bankers to trust you. It’s best to preserve your cash flow. Consult regional or departmental aid programs. Finally, there are organizations that can guarantee your loan, which can limit your personal commitment as guarantor of the loan requested. Consult the association www.franceactive.org

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Legal status

You’ll need to decide on the legal status of your business.
Common options include SASU, SAS, SARL, SCI or auto-entrepreneur status.
Here again, your accountant should be able to help.

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Choose your partners

To guarantee your margins and ensure sales, you now have a brief that will enable you to find the brand you will be working with.
Will it be :

  • Conventional or organic?
  • French or foreign?
  • Entry-level / Mid-range / High-end?
  • With large or reasonable account openings?
  • Sold over the Internet or only in beauty salons?
  • With minimum orders and minimum annual purchases?
  • With large or reasonable free port charges?
  • Cash or 30-day payment?
  • Offering training services for its own protocols?
  • Innovative?
  • Dynamic?
  • Listening?

Don’t hesitate to ask all these questions, which are crucial to the health of your institute. A beautician often works alone, so it’s important to be able to rely on a trusted brand that will be able to help you when the time comes.
Don’t forget that if minimum orders are high, it may be difficult to restock regularly… and this will affect your cash flow…

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Find commercial premises by ticking all the boxes:

  • Find attractive commercial premises or consider setting up a dedicated, private space in your home.
  • Sign a commercial lease for your beauty salon.
  • Choose a strategic location to attract customers. As with private real estate, think location, location and location…
  • Before you set up your own beauty salon, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the regulations governing the opening of an establishment open to the public (ERP).
  • Before you open, make sure you comply with the health and safety standards applicable to the opening of an establishment open to the public (ERP).
  • Think about parking facilities, as your customers will often be in a hurry and like to park as close as possible.

Choose the right material for your concept:

  • Buy the equipment you need for your esthetic services (massage tables, products, manicure equipment, etc.).
  • Convenience for you and comfort for your customers

Don’t think too big, but include these purchases in your financing.

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Hire staff (if necessary) :

  • Recruit qualified beauticians to provide treatments and services
  • Beware, “chi va piano va sano!” as charges can quickly generate cash flow problems.

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Communication

You have to say what you’re going to do and do what you’re going to say.
Build your community and engage them before you open. Use social networks and rely on a brand that listens to you, that can help you.
Once you’ve made your brand and care choices, think about creating or having created a support document (care card) with pricing that communicates your services and resale products, but also includes your contact details, opening days and times, and your social networks.

Remember to reference your establishment on Google and to enter your opening days and times, as well as any contact information. This Google page should always be kept up to date. It’s free and very popular, so make the most of it.

Once you’ve opened, you’ll need to get positive reviews. This will be a daily battle that you must not neglect! Always respond. Some brands will allow you to be listed on their site and generate traffic for you. Find out more!

Before opening, remember to communicate with your target audience.

  • Paper routing
  • Door to door
  • Flyer / Vouchers in local shops / professions
  • Introduce yourself and talk to everyone. You need a network to keep an institute running… and it’s so much easier to explain what you’re offering in person.
  • Don’t neglect social networks!

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Declare your activity / Administrative procedures

  • Register with the appropriate CFE (Centre de Formalités des Entreprises).
  • Register with the Chamber of Trades.
  • Make a declaration to the tax authorities.
  • Publish a legal notice.
  • Take out public liability insurance.

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Openness and loyalty

This is the beginning of another chapter, but it’s important to plan ahead, because you don’t want to lose the first customers who come to the institute. To prepare for your opening, choose the right treatment, offer a loyalty card, propose cures, offer samples and think about sponsorship. Remember, word-of-mouth will be your best ally if you do things right.

And don’t forget to call Oxalia®, the small, up-and-coming natural and organic cosmetics brand… that listens to its customers. We figured it wouldn’t be polite to share our advice with you without introducing ourselves, so here goes…

  • Natural and organic products
  • Made in France in a small village near Montpellier, between the garrigue and the Mediterranean Sea.
  • Effective, pleasant care
  • Technical protocols
  • Sales staff at your service
  • A booming training center
  • 250 account opening fee
  • 250 € carriage paid
  • No annual sales targets
  • 1300 institutes and home beauticians in France
  • Year-round promotions (4+1 free for resale formats)
  • Seasonal offers with new products 2-3 times a year.

Put all the odds on your side and good luck in opening your own beauty salon!

By Stéphane Bridot, co-manager of Oxalia®.