If you’re thinking of opening a salon, whether that be hair or beauty focused, it is never too early to think about the key operational functions that will essentially contribute to its growth and success of your business.

As you are likely to know, the hair and beauty business is not a 9-5 kind of industry. With this in mind, your salon’s hours of operation need to be considered carefully to ensure that as many clients as possible can be accommodated during the working day. It is important that from your salon’s initial inception, its reputation is built on the foundations that it’s a flexible and considerate business towards its clients.

Ensuring your salon is accessible for all…

Clients are of course the most important element to consider when thinking about your salon’s hours of operation. It is important to recognise that most clients will visit your salon for a treatment in their available time around work. This means that your business hours need to accommodate this downtime in your client’s day. The hours between 12pm and 2pm (generally considered as lunch hours), as well as early evening between 5pm-7pm, tend to be the busiest operating hours for a salon. This is because clients are available to take the time out of their routines for a salon service such as haircut or beauty treatment.

The general hours of business for a salon…

In metropolitan areas such as large towns and cities, and depending on the size of the salon, most salons operate between the hours of 9am and 9pm, seven days a week. This means that your staff will most likely work to patterned shifts such as 9am-6pm or 12pm-9pm. In smaller areas and communities, the hours of business for your salon may operate on a different time scale, offering services from 10am to 6pm.

As a rule of thumb, Sunday and bank holiday hours operate to the same business hours of the larger department stores and shopping centres, generally opening from midday to 5pm.

Depending on your salon’s specialisms, out of business hours work may need to be completed. For example, if you specialise in weddings or make-up, your salon will need to be flexible to accommodate this. An early Saturday morning start is usually the case and it is a factor to be mindful of. Will it affect the rest of your business operation? Or leave you short of a stylist for the morning?

With all of the above considered, the hours of business that your salon operates is entirely your choice, depending on your location, the size of your salon and the amount of staff that you employ.

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Other posts in the Salon Management series: How to keep a handle on staff turnover |Which roles to hire when opening a salon | Retaining your salon’s clients