You have decided to start your own salon. Great! Whether you've been an employee for an employer or you're taking your first steps directly from a training institute, it's an exciting challenge.

At Salonized, we have years of experience working with entrepreneurs from all areas of the beauty industry. Our service does not stop with offering software, but we are also a helping hand for all beauty professionals.

In this blog we will help you with the basics. From the name of your salon to designing your logo (or having it designed) and identifying your online corporate identity. Start with the basics and work out your plans from there.

On the to-do list: coming up with a name for your salon

A good salon name should carry the identity of your salon and be easy to remember. You can get inspired by throwing your own name into the mix, making it extra personal. Or get creative with words that fit the industry. Here are some ways to come up with the perfect name for your salon.

• Look up beauty terms in another language, oui oui beauty!
• Land a pin on Google Maps; countries, river names and cities may surprise you
• Play around with the location of your salon. Is your region known for something specific?
• Describe it! If you had to describe your salon. What terms would you use?
• Use an abbreviation; in letters (like KLM) or take vowels out of the word
• If you really can't work it out, you can always open the dictionary on any page. This is how many band names were created!

Have you decided on a name that suits you and your salon? Then do a test run and use your new name as your working name. Does it work anywhere? When you answer the phone, can you be understood? And when you share your name with those around you, do you have to repeat it to make yourself clear? A name can often look good on paper, but in practice it may not work as well as you thought.

And before you get attached to your new salon name, check whether it has already been registered by a competitor. Is it unique? If so, register it and create an Instagram page straight away too.

The next step: creating a logo

Are you 100% satisfied with your new name? Then you can take the next step. Designing the logo. You can do this yourself or you can outsource it.

Advantages of designing a salon logo yourself:

1. It's cost effective. This is probably the main reason why you choose to do it yourself.
2. Complete control over your creative process. If you have a specific idea in your head of how it should look and can do it, that's a plus.
3. There are free design tools nowadays that are easy to use, such as Canva.

Disadvantages of designing a salon logo yourself:

1. Point 3 in the list of advantages may work against you. Designing a logo is time-consuming and you need to have a feel for design. There is a lot that distinguishes a logo from a professional one.
2. If designing is not your thing, you limit yourself with possibilities. A designer can broaden your horizon and think along with you.
3. The logo is more than just that one image. It's a matter of combining the right formats, pixels and file types.

Our advice is to outsource this part of setting up your salon. It's not cheap, but the logo is only the beginning of designing your branding. If you take matters into your own hands, there is a chance that your branding will not come across as professional as desired. Look critically at your competitors where part of the budget is spent on the online branding. A good basis for your brand will pay off handsomely in the future.

Last on your list: bringing the corporate identity together

The corporate identity of your salon is intertwined with offline and online. If you know what the salon interior will look like, you have a good basis for your online branding. You can use elements of your interior in your online branding. You can use these elements for your website, social media and any printed media such as flyers and business cards.

For this part of your branding we recommend you to hire the help of an agency (or a local freelancer, support your locals!). A beauty branding kit is a great value. An online beauty branding kit includes:

• The logo
• An icon
• Colour palette
• Fonts
• Social media pack

You can expand the branding kit as desired and have it produced in printed media. You can have price lists, gift vouchers and prepaid cards made in your branding.

If you have a salon name, a beautiful logo and a unique corporate identity, you already have a good basis to build on when starting up your salon.

Looking for more step-by-step plans? On our blog we regularly share step-by-step guides on how to get started with decorating your salon and writing confirmation and reminder mails.

Good luck starting your own salon! 🍀