How to open a hairdressing salon?

Before opening a hairdressing salon, you must already have the necessary diploma. You have to choose your legal status and proceed with the registration of the hairdressing salon and building an effective barbershop business plan.

1st step: Obtain a diploma

The hairdressing salon must be placed under the effective and permanent control of a person proving a professional qualification.

This person (who can be the manager of the company, one of its employees, a collaborating or partner spouse) must have:

• The professional hairdressing certificate (BP),
• The hairdressing master's certificate (BM),

The diploma or title registered or registered in the national directory of professional certification in the same field as the professional hairdressing certificate and equal or higher.

A qualification exemption for men's hairdressers is granted if the practice of hairdressing is carried out on an ancillary basis or in addition to another profession and a municipality of fewer than 2,000 inhabitants.

2nd step: Find a network of hairdressing franchises to integrate

Franchised hairdressing salons represent around 10% of total salons, but they alone capture 1/3 of the clientele.

Creating a franchised hairdressing salon allows a very rapid start-up of activity, brand, and products being already known to the general public. The show will benefit from its notoriety and benefit from its advertising campaigns on the national territory.

There are more and more franchise networks specializing in hairdressing salons (147 in 2020). 4 networks share most of the market share: the Provalliance group, followed by the Dessange group (Dessange and Camille Albane), the Vog group (Tchip, Vog, Exclusif Coiffure) and the Nova group.

The chosen brand is required to provide the future franchisee with several information by providing him with a pre-contractual information document at least 20 days before the signing of the franchise contract.

3rd step: Choose the legal status of the hairdressing salon

Alone or with others?

The best option for getting into hairdressing is generally to opt for the auto-entrepreneur scheme, even if it means changing legal status when the activity develops.

However, the benefit of the self-employed person's scheme is subject to compliance with a maximum turnover limit set at $ 176,200 for the sale of goods and $ 72,600 to provide services.

When the entrepreneur plans to exceed the ceilings of the self-employed in the first year, he must opt ​​for the classic sole proprietorship or create a company ( EURL, SASU ...).

And when he wishes to associate, he must necessarily turn to society, particularly SAS or SARL.

What is most important for the entrepreneur?

The choice of the legal status of a hairdressing salon must also be motivated by:

• The importance of the investments required to open the show;
• The concern to protect the personal assets of the entrepreneur;
• The possibility of passing on the hairdressing salon;
• The number of profits likely to be made;
• The complexity of the operating rules.

The importance of the necessary investments

When the provisional accounts show that the company is in danger of lacking financial means, the use of investors may prove to be essential.

To accommodate them, creating a company is necessary, and the share capital can be divided into different parts.

The sole proprietorship is not intended to accommodate other people.

The concern to protect his heritage

When the main concern of the entrepreneur is the protection of his assets, he has every interest in creating a company.

Indeed, unless the manager has stood surety for the loan taken out by the company, the company's creditors will only be able to seize the professional assets in the event of unpaid debts.

The possibility of passing on the hairdressing salon

A sole proprietorship can perfectly well be passed on to children or employees. But since it constitutes a "whole", composed of intangible elements (customers, right to the lease, trade name, sign, patent, etc.) and tangible (tools, equipment, etc.), it can only be given in its totality.

On the other hand, the shares or shares of a company have the advantage of being able to be transferred gradually. This is why it is generally recommended to first transform your sole proprietorship into a company before transferring it.

The number of profits likely to be made

In general, the more the profits are redistributed to the entrepreneur, the more favorable the income tax system (sole proprietorship, EURL).

The more they are reused for the activity of the company, the more the corporation tax is indicated (SARL, SA, SAS);

The complexity of the operating rules

In the sole proprietorship, the rules are kept to a minimum. The manager makes all the decisions and takes responsibility for any errors.

In the company, the manager must observe a certain formalism for each of his decisions, this one being only the company's agent. For all important acts, he must also obtain the approval of the other partners.