Starting a Home Hairdressing Business
If you know how to dress hair and have the space in your home, it could be a lucrative endeavor to open your own home hairdressing business. However, there are some financial considerations unique to hairdressing businesses that do not apply to most other home businesses, such as the need to purchase expensive equipment like barber's chairs, hair dryers, and sinks suitable and comfortable for washing hair. Additionally, while any business requires proper licensing by state and local governments, hairdressing may require additional permits or inspections by government agencies to ensure your home meets safety requirements, which you must take into consideration before starting a home hairdressing business.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Obtain a state license. This may be called by different names in different states (i.e., hairdresser's license, barber's license, cosmetician's license), but ensure that the license you have applied for allows you to perform all of the functions of a hairdresser before beginning. Note that while all states will require you to pass an exam, the educational or professional training requirements will vary from state to state.
-
2
Determine what kind of business you wish to open, such as a sole proprietorship or a partnership. Although a sole proprietorship is most appropriate for home-based businesses, it is possible to form other types of businesses that operate from your home. For example, if you and a licensed colleague wish to open a partnership, you can still dress hair from your home-based location.
-
-
3
Choose an area of your home to be utilized for your business. Because hairdressing often uses combustible or hazardous chemicals (i.e., hair spray, permanent solutions, dyes) and heating agents (i.e., hair dryers, curling irons) many localities require owners of home hairdressing businesses to designate a specific area of the home that will be used only for business and that is equipped with proper ventilation, clean-up areas in case of chemical spills and fire safety equipment.
-
4
Develop a basic business plan that outlines where in your home you will place your equipment and operate your business, as well as where clients will enter your home. Consider who your target customers will be and if you will be comfortable inviting strangers into your home. List what beauty or hair care products you will use and how and where you will obtain them. Finally, your business plan should include how you will handle financial transactions and evaluate your start-up costs, such as equipment purchases and available funding sources.
-
5
Apply for a business license with your local county government (and city government, where applicable), as well as any special operating permits you may need. Some locations may require hairdressing businesses to pass an inspection by the Department of Public Health or a similar agency before licensure. If this is required, you will be notified when you apply for your licenses and permits and will have a specified amount of time to set up your location in compliance with regulations.
-
6
Register your business with your state's Department of Revenue for tax purposes. Carefully review the sales and use tax laws in your state to determine how much sales tax you must charge, as well as what the tax regulations may be regarding the resale of hair care products you have purchased from wholesale vendors.
-
7
Begin advertising and conducting your business. Be sure to maintain compliance with safety and/or health regulations, and keep current on all of your licenses, permits and inspections as many of these will require an annual or bi-annual renewal. Since your business will be operating from your home and hairdressing sometimes carries the risk of injuries, such as chemical or heat burns, consider obtaining liability insurance that will cover your business as well as your home in the event of an accident or fire.
-
1
References
- Photo Credit hairdresser's image by Aleksandr Lobanov from Fotolia.com
