I'm seriously thinking about opening my own salon but I have no idea where to start.

[HLG]

I've been grooming for 10 years now. I'm currently employed with a pet based business that has grooming as a side income. ( sorry its very vague I need to as my employer knows I'm active on here.) They said when I started that if I left they would close down the grooming so I may be able to buy the clientele if I could.
My partner and I are looking at opening a salon in the next 5 years to allow us to save properly , find the right location and suchlike. Now I'm not one who likes to jump into anything with out planning. I need to do this the right way.

I already have a couple names in mind and I know the kind of feel I want for the salon.

But I need advice and general info please.

Can I get the grooming business in a box shipped to the UK ? I've seen a whole load of reviews saying its helpful with writing a business plan.

If I can't buy my current clientele , how do you build it up from nothing?
What do/ you look for in location ?
What's the best way to buy your equipment ? Was it to buy start up sets or buy individually?
What advertising did you take advantage of?
What do I need to know about running a business in general?

I'm not worried about working out pricing or what products or equipment I want to get.

Thank you

[1mobilegroomer]

I am mobile but I had to write a business plan to get a private loan used the product you mentioned. It was awesome and pretty easy but takes time. Since they give you samples it makes it way easier.

I had a shop at one time, so here are some brief answers.

You have a billion posts on this board and many you can learn from. Do lots of searches. I would get the book from problems to profits by Ogle. In a location I looked for street traffic visibility. Over half the people I asked how they heard of me was the sign. Then you build up referrals and my mobile is heavily booked by referrals from happy dogs and owners. At a shop I didn't find newspapers or magazines a help at all, you need a website and your FB page. Don't rely only on FB, you want to have a site with great rankings. Managing, that's why I recommended from problems to profits book and the Box. I bought some equipment new and shop used equipment. Look at the used product ads here and craigslist. In the business plan helper you will list in a neat spreadsheet all that you need to buy and it adds it all up, and by the way what you buy is considered putting up money if you get a loan. Is that UK true I don't know but could be. You should listen to the recordings at the box site too, that's how I got started and answered many questions. You have to have savings or keep a part time day job until you build up your business when you start with no clientele.

[Stephen]

Go to www.groomingbusinessinabox.com and it explains international ordering. We have shipped to the UK hundreds of times. Ebook versions are underway but it will be several months until they reach the market, that is business plan helper. Some other ebooks on careers in grooming are coming out first by request so we are tied up with that.

[HoneyandChewiespal]

Good luck!!!!
Glad to see someone looking to the future in a positive way.
If I might offer anything else, check with the projected growth plans for whatever location you plan to purchase your shop in. If they have such things in the U.K., attend planning meetings for the community you are looking at, check out the Council meetings and watch the trending signs before opening a p,ace.
(A quick guide to area growth and e inimical stability is to watch men's barbershops and men's clothing stores. Was advised many years ago that these two are the leading trends in economic up-and-down turns. )

[Ozzy]

Hello, we opened a grooming shop two months ago in Mexico. It is an 957 state of the art attractive looking facility. It is located in an upscale neighborhood with about 60,000 inhabitants and with main competitors being a Petco and smaller clinics and vets. These two months we’ve been doing the plan but I just wanted to double check with experienced peers if my projections are reasonable:

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As you can see we are expecting 300 dogs per month by the 3rd month and 800 by the 6th to reach 1,200 by the 12th. My main doubt is if it is reasonable to expect these kind of volumes provided that we have equipment and personnel to cover them and that so far we have excelled in service and customer experience.

Thank you.