Opening a hair salon

Hello,

I'd be really grateful for any advice regarding opening a hair salon - can anyone help please?

My partner is the stylist and we would like to open a small salon targeting primarily the (Chinese) student population. Our budget is pretty small hence just a couple of chairs would be fine, but it would definitely be a high quality service as he has over 25 years experience and has trained and taught internationally. I would be managing the salon.

Does anyone know which would be a good area to target? I am aware of some locations, e.g. West Street, Division Street, but also those rents are pretty high! We are stuck between the right location at the right price for our target market. Any advice or other suggestions would be much appreciated - many thanks

I mean this to be constructive, if your partner is definitely be a high quality service as he has over 25 years experience and has trained and taught internationally.

What on earth are you thinking about opening a salon cutting Chinese people's hair, its very basic with those qualifications?

Try London Road.

Surely the Chinese student population will be from more affluent families and should be able to pay a fair price for a fair service (their Fees are much higher than UK students)?

Hi and thank you for your replies. Yes, we are targeting the well off Chinese students who, not only can afford to pay more, but will seek out an Asian hairdresser for their hair type and communication reasons. My partner has worked in London Chinatown and we are looking to move out of London. I am from Lincolnshire, so Sheffield is not too far from home, although I do not know the place very well yet.

We did look at London Road, and was impressed by the number of restaurants, but we didn't see any Chinese students! Although the rents are reasonable here, I wonder if opening a high quality salon here would be a wise move. Or should we go for a higher rent somewhere more central (where?!) Any thoughts? Many thanks!

I second London Road. Give it another look. There is going to be a China Town style massive investment and building works going on at the end of London Road.

Thanks Angrymumtwo - I will give it another look and do some proper research. It may be a way in for us