When it comes to your salon business, it is really important that your branding works just as hard as you do. After all, in an image-led industry, your salon interior and front-facing marketing efforts need to be visually appealing, as well as clear and consistent to attract new clients.
One salon business that has managed to achieve all of the above is the Bronze and Beautyful salon. Having scooped this month’s ‘Salon Design Of The Month‘ feature, we chatted to Lauren, founder of the Newcastle Under Lyme based beauty salon. We discuss how the salon began, the inspiration for the decor, the effect of social media on the industry and much, much more!
Salon design of the month with Bronze & Beautyful…
How did the Bronze & Beautyful business begin?
I decided when I was 21 that I wanted to do beauty, so I trained on an evening around my full-time customer service job. I then converted my spare room into a beauty room offering nails, brows and spray tans on my days off. 5 years later an opportunity came up to rent a space and open a salon.
I got a loan and started my new business venture. I only had around 5 regular customers so in order to pay the bills I had to make it work. I spent hours creating videos for social media, spent spare time delivering leaflets and pushing my business. 5 years later I can say it definitely paid off!
How did you decide upon the aesthetic of the salon?
When I first opened the salon I went with a pink & white theme similar to that of my beauty room. I had a pink glitter wall and pretty flower wall, long before they became fashionable. This was a talking point for customers and helped set the salon apart.
In 2018 I decided we needed a refurb. I noticed that people always seem happy when they are going on holiday or the sun is shining and I love being somewhere tropical so I used this as inspiration when designing the salon. I wanted people to come in and feel happy and have that summer feeling so with the bright bold & tropical decor I definitely achieved this. I continued this theme when I expanded and opened Bronze & Beautyful Hair.
How do you stand out from your competitors?
There are so many beauty salons within our local area and I think we stand out because we are in a semi-rural area surrounded by fields in a converted barn. So it’s a step away from the high street. I like to think I always have a good gut instinct when it comes to trends and products.
I was one of the first people to offer HD Brows in the area 7 years ago and I was then the first beauty salon to bring Dermaplaning – it always seems then that the other salons follow suit. I think this is a good thing as it increases the awareness of some of the best services thus making them more popular. I always try to focus on our salon and making us better which alone sets up apart from the competition as we aren’t trying to copy anyone else.
How do you think social media has influenced our industry?
Social media has massively changed our industry as people see treatments and trends and immediately want them. I think celebrities have a huge impact on trends too through social media. It only takes one popular celebrity posting a nail selfie for everyone to then start asking for that style/colour.
I think Instagram is the biggest platform as it’s purely visual and people like to see nice pretty pictures, they aren’t interested in the other content. For this reason, I think it’s imperative you choose your content carefully and don’t go posting photos/videos that aren’t relevant or visually appealing. We find Instagram stories is the best way of bringing information about services/products to people and giving people a behind the scenes view of the salon.
How do you keep up to date with the latest industry trends?
I still read all the beauty and nail magazines to find out what’s up and coming. Again Instagram is a great source as the content comes from all over the world. You might see someone doing a beauty treatment in Egypt that 6 months later will come to the UK. It very much filters through. I also think knowing your business to the best of your ability helps and listening to what your clients want/need that you don’t currently offer. This way you can research options to bring the latest products and services.
What do you think makes a successful salon?
I think a successful salon comes from great services and products but above all great customer service. We are knowledgable about the services we offer, we can recommend the best products. With this, we can educate clients, help them with problems, continue the service through with professional products. All whilst listening and caring for your clients’ needs. This keeps clients coming back. We all want as many new clients as possible but with fierce competition I feel it’s more effective taking care of the customers you already have. Most of our clients have been with us for years.
What advice can you give to others wanting to open a salon?
The advice I would offer other people wanting to open a salon would be to decide on your demographic. The idea of being the ‘insta’ salon sounds great but I find that’s a very small and young demographic that will only bring you one-stop customers, not regular loyal clients that don’t just follow ‘the gram’.
Offer clients great service, products that aren’t readily available in the area. If you want the younger clientele then you need to be fashion forward and fast paced. The older clientele want perfect & polished so it’s definitely important to know your demographic because you can only successfully be one. Decide on what you want to be and be the best at it.
What are some of your favourite products and tools to use in the salon?
In the beauty salon, our most popular products are always skin care. We sell and use Dermaquest for all of our clinical facials and these offer the clients the amazing results they want for anti ageing and acne. Our most popular new piece of equipment is out Neo Elegance Lumineo LED light therapy machine. This is such a popular all on for facials with a range of options to help skin care problems. In the hair salon, we are always creating beachy waves so our Diva styling wand from Salons Direct is always hot and ready to go!
What can we expect from you in 2019 and beyond?
2019 is going to be our best year yet! We have restructured the salon to offer different treatments and to target the right demographic for our area. We will be recruiting a few staff members over the next few months as well as bringing new services and products. I have been mentored over the years by the amazing Liz Mckeon who has helped me take the right paths for my business. With the continued help and support from my parents, my partner and my amazing dream team of staff, we will continue to succeed and become to be the best salon we can be.
Love the look?
Bronze & Beautyful use our gorgeous Lotus Duvall Styling Chairs in Grey!
Shop beauty salon furniture online at Salons Direct now!
