SALONPRENEUR, a free online support network for self-employed salon professionals, was set up by Roz Colthart who runs salon suite rental company Salon Studios. The platform aims to help salon professionals navigate their way back to a profitable business after coronavirus with social media checklists, pre-made social media templates consultation forms, marketing and business plans.

Name: Roz Colthart

Age: 47

Position: Founder

WHAT IS THE BUSINESS CALLED?

Salonpreneur/Salon Studios

WHERE IS IT BASED?

Edinburgh

WHY DID YOU SET UP THE BUSINESS?

I SET up Salon Studios to provide a better option for the growing population of self-employed salon professionals who are used to renting either a chair or room in a salon or working mobile. With Salon Studios they can access a self-contained studio and manage the business their way – choosing their own hours, products and enjoying the pride of seeing their name above the door.

I help “salonpreneurs” with marketing and business planning and quickly identified this is another under-served market.

I launched thesalonpreneur.co.uk during lockdown and it has quickly grown with members from all over the world.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

SALON Studios’ first location is based in Edinburgh – we have six studios rented by hairdressers, nail technicians, an aesthetician, fat loss specialist and a beautician.

The model is very simple – our salonpreneurs pay a weekly fee with no hidden extras. Salon Studios takes care of all the overheads – music licences, waste collection, electricity, internet, which makes it very easy for the salonpreneurs to budget.

The Salonpreneur membership offers a range of marketing and planning tools as well as templates and advice on social media.

WHAT IS YOUR TARGET MARKET?

OUR target market is ambitious self-employed salon professionals. We have a focus on community over competition and although everybody is self-employed, they do feel that they are part of a team.

The model itself is perfect for so many different people regardless of which point they are at in their career – our first salonpreneur joined us with two clients and quickly built a client base of 300 clients.

Alternatively it works well for hair or beauty professionals who are ready to retire or no longer want the hassles of running their own salon (managing staff, overheads, dramas, etc) and just want to look after their loyal client base.

It’s also a great starter for people who wish to start their own salon but either don’t have the money or knowledge of where to start.

HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM COMPETING BUSINESSES?

THERE are no other businesses in the UK that do this. Saying that, of course there is always competition (at this time I consider our competition traditional salon chair rental) but my focus is on refining the Salon Studios model so that it offers much more than working in a traditional salon.

I saw this concept in the US and immediately knew that I wanted to launch it in the UK. Salon Studios provides move-in ready salons with lots of opportunity for the salonpreneurs to add their own personal touch and a community environment working alongside other like-minded salon professionals – they may be in business for themselves but not by themselves. As it is a one-salon-one-client experience it is a very safe option during coronavirus, in fact, all of our salons offer dedicated ventilation so the air is not re-circulated or shared amongst the other salons. Clients who have anxiety around coronavirus have found this very reassuring.

IS SCOTLAND A GOOD PLACE FOR THIS TYPE OF BUSINESS?

ABSOLUTELY! Scotland is a hub for many great start up concepts and as I am originally from Edinburgh, it was an obvious place to start. The great thing about this model is that it truly is Amazon and recession proof – during recessions we have historically seen consumers book less hair and beauty treatments but they still need to do them and that’s something Siri will never be able to do!

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN RUNNING THE BUSINESS?

THE challenge is that when you bring anything new to the market it takes a lot of education and as this is a new model I’ve found people asking me what the catch is! They think it is too good to be true. The first location is full now and we are reaping the benefits of the research and planning we put in before launch.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT RUNNING THE BUSINESS?

I LOVE meeting and helping people, my background is in luxury hospitality so this comes naturally to me. Our first Salonpreneur took the plunge after being made redundant but with the industry discounts and memberships we negotiated for our salonpreneurs, we helped her go from from two clients to 300 in six months then she started her own salon – although I was sad to lose her I really see this is a success story and was delighted to play such an important part in her journey.

WHERE DO YOU HOPE THE BUSINESS WILL BE IN THE NEXT 10 YEARS?

FOR Salon Studios, my vision has always been to build a national company with many locations across the UK and Europe, so that will include franchising the model. In terms of the Salonpreneur, I am looking to support the growing market of self-employed salon professionals (54% of salon professionals are self-employed and this is growing).

I am planning to introduce podcasts, a magazine as well as more building on the business planning guides and tools. Ultimately I would like to do awards ceremonies to recognise this important sector… all in good time!