Barber shop business plan doc

Marketing Plan

Hair salons, female beauty parlor, and feminine beauty supply have dominated the beauty supply industry for years. Today, the industry has noted a higher demand for men's hair and beauty products. Because of the rapidly increasing demand for men's hair and skin products, there is rapid growth in the barber salon industry. Earlier, men could go for hair care needs in places like Supercuts or go to their wife's salon to overpay for a haircut that is not different from what they can get at the Supercuts. Men have changed their perspective that masculinity is diminished by the way they take care of their hair and skin. Barber shops are booming across the United States with more than 147,406 shops. The business is expected to grow significantly, with men being considered the niche for the entire beauty industry. An increase in population for younger generations as well as green and organic movements are the factors helping to revitalize the barber industry.

The business plan will cover a barber shop business. There is potential growth in the barber industry across the U.S. More so, there are different trends in the industry that can help differentiate competitors from one another. My business will be situated in a high traffic area in New York City between 4th Avenue and 5th Avenue. The company will offer services such as haircuts and shave, brow and ear waxing, beard and mustache trim, straight razor shave, and a buzz cut. Creative Cuts and Styles will be my business name, offering the best and customized cuts in the town. With an increase in the number of haircuts and styles available in social media, customers will get haircuts and shaves tailored to their best choice. In the market plan, I will develop the company's mission statement, state the goals of the business and conduct environmental, SWOT, and need analysis for a barbershop business.

Mission Statement

A mission statement is essential to define what the business does to its customers, employees, and owners. Developing a mission statement allows a company to establish its goals, culture, ethics, and norms for decision-making. A mission statement helps employees to remember the purpose of the business when conducting their daily activities. Creative Cuts and Styles' goal is to offer customers innovative and customized hairstyles that fit customer's needs. Creativity will be a critical aspect of the business. More so, the company will design new hairstyles that are cool and appropriate, especially for young generation customers. The mission statement for Creative Cuts and Style will be as follows, "Creative Cuts and Styles is focused on advancing haircuts and styles experience for every man's hair grooming to fit personal needs. Our barbers are committed to customizing your hair grooming to fit your choice of style and cuts and finish it with fresh organic care for aftershave services.

Main Goals for the Business

Goals and objectives determine the purpose of a business. Business grows by making short-and long-term goals. The short-term goals are the steps suitable to attain long-term goals. Goals can relate to areas such as advertising and revenue. In my business, I have several goals that I would design to ensure success and growth. Among the primary short-term goals that I would like to achieve is to contract an advertising consultant for the next three months to help understand and capitalize on my customers' trends of buying. The advertising consultant will help in understanding the market and the best methods to advertise the business. Also, I will require to learn my competitors in the first two months and brainstorm on how to offer differentiated products. Understanding primary competitors will help design a new marketing program and campaign, highlighting the unique nature of my services. Secondly, I will develop a customer research process about their feedback about the services such as incentives and questionnaires (Le, 2018). For positive feedback, I will utilize offering services at discounted prices on customers who take the time to give their input.

Furthermore, I would develop an employee's award system within the first year to ensure continuous creative input. I will also conduct short training sessions to help employees create exclusive skills and enhance creativity. More so, I will provide all the necessary equipment are available and in good condition for employees to have a conducive and friendly environment to perform their duties. To inform the community about the business, I will partner with three high-profile charity events within the area within the first year. Lastly, I will find other media of advertising my company, such as billboards, sponsoring college games, and recreational activities as well as parties and concerts. Short-term goals are made to support long-term objectives and contribute to successful business growth.

Short-term goals are suitable to sustain the momentum of long-term objectives. For the sustainability and continuous growth of my business, I will set various goals. Firstly, I will have a fully equipped shop with adequate employees. Besides, I will have to implement mobile barbering to increase my market reach capability (Houman et al., 2019). The current generation values convenience on how services in terms of accessibility to services. More so, I will ensure I have achieved 80% positive customer feedback. It will be my goal to have acquired five competent and skilled fulltime barbers with quality barbering skills. Besides, I will ensure the Creative Cuts and Styles can sponsor one charity program in a year and organize one college event and games in different colleges every year. In addition, I would ensure the business has developed a website and increased website traffic by 50 percent. Lastly, I will work towards achieving three times revenue by the end of the fifth year and be in a position to open a new shop in Houston.

Environmental Analysis

The market keeps on changing every day with new things being developed. The environment that surrounds it also affects businesses as well as the situational factors that the company finds itself in. Therefore, companies should be on the lookout to analyze the environment within which it operates. The barber industry is affected by different environmental factors such as competition, technology, legal requirements, political factors, economic, and socio-cultural forces.

Competitors

Firstly, many competitors are influencing how barber business is conducted in Houston City. For example, The Argyle League in Houston is a crucial competitor for my business. The Argyle League has been in the market for a long time; hence, it has attained a better share in the market. According to the research I have conducted, the salon décor offers a fine selection of good whiskey free to the customer. This is a unique marketing strategy for the company that helps it to attain a competitive advantage. More so, the services offered at Argyle League are almost the same as what my business will offer. However, the market is broad and allows my business to provide services to a large population base for professional customers and the younger generation. Besides, Creative Cuts and Styles offers customized services to customers. Customers will have their cuts and shave according to their style of choice. My barbers will develop new haircuts and techniques that are unique in the market, hence acquiring a competitive advantage. Lastly, with the innovation creativity of our services offered at friendly prices, more male customers and the young generation will choose to visit my business for quality services.

Technology

Technology is essential in today's businesses, and customers prefer companies with advanced technology equipment. Creative Cuts and Styles will sell high-quality products with the latest development in the barbershop industry. The computer systems in the business will incorporate the latest and most advanced software and hardware to manage database, email capabilities, historical data, market research and development, transaction history, accounts receivable, and payroll (Le, 2018). A back system will be performed on a daily basis to monitor and evaluate operations in the business. More so, frequent clients will be emailed about new products and new haircuts that fit their needs. Clients will also be able to book an appointment in advance. Lastly, Creative Cuts and Styles will incorporate wireless networks such as Wi-Fi connection within the business facility. This technology will provide services to customers who need access to the internet while waiting to be served or receiving activities in the facility.

Economic Factors

Population growth is increasing in Houston and the high traffic flow of customers. Houston is the home of a thriving business economy in areas such as medical research, health care, medical research, and professional services. There is also a high flow of younger generations studying in the area. The city is friendly and attractive to entrepreneurs. Considering these factors, the city is rapidly growing economically. Therefore, there is a ready market for my business and a chance of developing due to the increasing demand. Increased number of younger generations in the community who will be among the primary customers for the business. The number of the younger age is expected to grow rapidly over the years hence ensuring the sustainability of the company. As noted above, there increased the number of professional workers in the area provides a potential market for my business. My business focuses mostly on professional males and the young generation population.

Political and Legal Factors

The safety of the products that customers use is an essential topic in the United States. In the barber industry, the issue is necessary because the product is designed for skin-to-skin conduct. The federal government has set several regulations through FDA to ensure businesses comply with the Personal Care Product Safety Act to ensure all products are safe (Hall & Pokharel, 2016). All products sold or used in the beauty and barber industry are required to comply with legislative and legal requirements. FDA examines all products entering the country from foreign countries to ensure they meet legal and political requirement standards. The agency is committed to providing cosmetic shops; barber shops and beauty salons products comply with standards required by the federal government.

Socio-cultural Factors

Men have a cultural belief that beauty and making hair diminishes masculinity. This perspective is a contributing factor in the buying behavior of men, which are our primary customers. The view of men not supposed to be concerned about skin and hair care will limit my customers from trying new hair care products as well as modern styles (Barber, 2016). Through advertising campaign and promotional programs as well as social media to create awareness for men to change that perspective. However, that mentality is changing, especially among the younger generation, who recognize the need to look neat and stylish (Houman et al., 2019).

. Besides, celebrities and social media are exposing younger men to new styles, which they want to try for them to look fresh and classic. Beards are also experiencing a renaissance, modifying men's thinking about keeping up appearances.

SWOT Analysis

With the current age of social media, hipster, and selfies culture, men have begun to care about their appearance. Modern society, people are judged by how they look, dress, and carry their selves. Grooming is an essential factor to be considered when hiring employees. Proper grooming helps people making more money than less appealing people do. The current beards trend has impacted the masculinity and is the contributing factor to the increasing number of barber shops (Houman et al., 2019).

There are various strengths favoring barbershop businesses as well as the whole beauty industry. Firstly, the company is targeted only towards men and can be designed to meet men's needs. In areas where only men are found, they feel comfortable, and they can spend more in a male-friendly environment. Secondly, in my business, I will have highly skilled staff who will offer quality and good haircuts. I will ensure all my employees have competent skills that exceed the capabilities of cosmetologists working in a unisex salon trained mainly to focus mostly on women's style. The location of my business has a high population due to the presence of professional workplaces and medical care centers, as well as education centers. Men can get their haircuts even on work breaks and enable the business to attract new customers.

Weaknesses of the business include the high prices that I will charge compared to other regular Supercuts barbershops. However, this will depend on whether my business attracts only single men who have no financial constraints or family men who have other responsibilities to cater for. The income of my business will depend on the number of customers working in the shop and the number of customers attending the shop. The number of barbers and clients need to be high to cover expenses that I incurred investing and still make profits. Lack of professional and customer-centric approach to the client will be a weakness at the start of the business. Employees will take time before learning the art of dealing with customers.

The business will utilize opportunities such as introducing Uber barbering to the market. This is a new business strategy, mostly practiced in Europe. More so, with the increased use of social media, I will be able to advertise new haircuts and styles as well as new products to customers (Nisar et al., 2016). The current customers will also help promote the business to new customers through social media, expanding the market share. The changing trends in the barbershop industry provide opportunities for growth (Barber, 2016). On the other hand, the business faces a threat of stiff competition from regular salons in the market. They have dominated the market for a long time; hence, it might be hard to penetrate the market. Lastly, there is a threat of dreadlocks trend in the market where some men prefer to keep their hair long and attend unisex salons or beauty salons for retouch and waxing.

References

Nisar, N., Sattar, M. M., Memon, U., & Raza, A. (2016). New Wella Salon: Exploring Growth Opportunities (A). Case Studies in Business and Management, 3(2), 112-121.

Houman, J. J., Eleswarapu, S. V., & Mills, J. N. (2019). Current and future trends in men’s health clinics. Translational Andrology and Urology.

Le, P. P. (2018). Business plan for a barbershop and hairdressing salon in Lappeenranta.

Hall, J. C., & Pokharel, S. B. (2016). Barber licensure and the supply of barber shops: evidence from US States. Cato J., 36, 647.

Barber, K. (2016). Styling masculinity: Gender, class, and inequality in the men's grooming industry. Rutgers University Press.