Running your own badass barbershop is your dream—you’ve been thinking about it forever, working toward it, and dreaming of the day you’d make it happen.
You’ve got the skills, you’ve got the know-how, and dang it, you’ve got the determination to make it happen.
Your just missing one thing—a barbershop business plan.
We know, we know—talking about business plans is intimidating. The idea of sitting down and mapping out all the details of your dream business seems lengthy, tedious, and let’s be honest here, intimidating.
But here’s the deal. Creating your perfect business plan doesn’t need to be a foot-dragging, I-don’t-want-to-do-this, terrifying experience. No way.
Building the ultimate business plan for your barbershop is the key to creating the success you desire, but it can also be an enormously fun exercise to help you bring your dream to life.
Let’s face it, business plans are important. They help you articulate your business strategy, assist you in creating logistical timelines, and can outline your financial projections and market analysis.
The good news? We’re here to help.
No, we can’t go all-out write a generalized business plan template for you to follow—everyone’s barbershop is different, so your business plan needs to be unique! But we can help by providing some tried and true business plan writing techniques to kickstart your process.
Like we said, crafting your business plan doesn’t have to be a drag—with a few must-know tips, you can be well on your way to writing up the ultimate plan.
A solid business plan should look like a step-by-step guide that will direct you through each and every stage of starting and managing your business. Your business plan can help you gain new investors, guide you through marketing plans, and even be a road map for your finances.
Do any of those things make you feel even more overwhelmed about writing your business plan? If it does, that’s OK—starting a business can be scary.
Here’s our first tip—knowing the importance of your plan can help you zero in and focus on crafting it, even if that makes you feel more pressure.
Don’t let the anxiety get you down—yes, this is an important piece of starting your business, but it’s nothing you can’t handle.
Before you start crafting your business plan, try reading through these tips to get a feel for what you should do to create a successful business plan for your barbershop.
You’ve probably figured this part out on your own, but just in case you haven’t, we’ll repeat it—don’t create your business plan until you’ve researched your market or target audience.
Ultimately, successful businesses (barbershops included) are designed to reach and attract a specific market—the better they do that, the more successful they end up being.
It makes sense, right? Most businesses can’t survive on the concept of trying to attract any type of consumer who is willing to walk into the door—your brand probably can’t flourish that way.
Knowing your target market can help you identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Further, it can help you start the process of cultivating your brand, identifying who your audience is, and understanding what they’re looking for—all of these are integral elements to your barbershop’s success.
Know who you’re up against.
Understanding your market means recognizing your main competition, understanding them, and analyzing important factors about their business models. Ask and answer questions like, “who are they, and what are their strengths?” or “what kind of weaknesses do these businesses have?”
This type of awareness is crucial when it comes to building your own business.
Why? Because by understanding what your competitors can and cannot offer, you can better understand how to fill the needs and the gaps in the market, ultimately resulting in attracting clients to your shop instead.
When writing down your business plan, it’s possible that one of two things often happen. First, you can be so broad and vague about your business plan that there are no helpful, actionable details in place to further your progress. Or, secondly, you can get too caught up in the nitty-gritty, minute details that you ultimately freak yourself out and get overwhelmed.
Our advice? Don’t let the details get you down.
Good business plans get to the point in a succinct way but they also ensure that your reader has plenty of details in order to understand your purpose, your goals, and your plans.
Yes, it’s important to be detailed and thorough, but remember—you have time and space to add in those details later on. You can sift through intricate details later or you can fill in the blanks.
Your first draft of your business plan is not your final draft—get the ideas out (details or not) and don’t be intimidated.
Take some serious time to think about this part of your business plan. It’s one of the very first steps you’ll take when you begin crafting your plan and it exists in this order for a reason.
The description of your barbershop is the cohesive piece of the puzzle you need to help blend everything together. When thinking about your description, consider logistical necessities like name, location, legal business description, owner names, contact information, etc.
But also, think about your mission statement. Your goals. Your hopes. Your dreams.
Take time to really pour your heart and your soul into this to create an intelligent, informative, but heartfelt description that aptly describes what your barbershop is, what it’s all about, and how you can appeal to your target market.
You don’t need to have every last detail pinned down for this (because marketing is complicated and intricate), but it is important to identify what you’ll provide, how you’ll provide it, and present a few, actionable ways that you plan to attract your target market and retain your clients.
Do some research here. Consider your budget, your team, your expertise in this area, and potential risks. Think about digital marketing versus traditional marketing.
Will your marketing efforts be solely dedicated to digital avenues? Are you thinking of trying out a mix of old-and-new-school marketing? Will you be relying solely on word of mouth.
This is the time and the place to figure out what your main marketing plan is. Obviously, your marketing strategy isn’t static, so it could change over time. But this is a great first start.
If you’re not someone who loves going over financials, this part is probably going to be a headache to get through—but hey, it’s a crucial, and it’s gotta be done.
We highly recommend working with a financial or business advisor if you don’t feel confident in this type of work, but if that’s not in the budget, we suggest coming up with a plan that revolves around:
Say it with us, people—there’s nothing wrong with asking for help.
If you’re not as business savvy as you wish you were (yet) or even if you are, asking for help and review from a business advisor, a mentor, or a friend is a must.
There’s no shame in wanting someone to review and critique something so important! It doesn’t mean that you’re not capable of handling a business yourself, quite the opposite—taking this step means you care so much for your business that you’re willing to do whatever it takes to ensure it’s going to be successful.
Remember, there’s no one, single way to create a busines plan. Sure, there are elements every plan should include, but ultimately, as long as your plan is setting you up for success, you’re doing it right. If you’ve got tips for setting up a successful business plan, share it here with your fellow barbers.
We’re all about learning and growing together—that’s what makes the barbering community so special.
Drop your tips, comments, and questions below in our comment section and share your knowledge with the whole crew.
We hope this blog helped kickstart some business plan motivation. If it did, well, then we did our job right (as usual, right?). If you barbering pros out there loved the info we shared today, we’ve got good news—our NAOB blog is regularly updated with content just like this.
All of it is wholly designed to help you succeed, keep you in the know, and provide you with info that can help you further your career in a pinch. Subscribe to our blog today to stay updated!
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