Opening a barbershop can be the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. You can take your skills and passion as a barber and use them to start and grow your own business. There is no limit to how much you can grow your business once you get it going. The one thing stopping most people from starting a business is the initial investment needed to get started.
Here are some ideas on how you can finance your business.
Get a loan.
The easiest and fastest way to finance your new barbershop is with a small business loan through a lender. Lending Loco is a go-to source when looking for your lending options. A business loan can provide you with the start-up money to buy everything you need to open your business space. While you may not like the idea of starting with debt, it will allow you to open your business without having to take on investors that may have a controlling interest in your company.
Shop for deals on the equipment you need.
While buying equipment is not a means of financing it, how you go about purchasing will help you with how much of an initial investment you need. You want to ensure the equipment you buy for your barbershop is functional, comfortable, and affordable. To accomplish that, you’ll need to take time to shop around for electric barber chairs, facial beds, fixtures, shampoo chairs, and other salon furniture. Before buying supplies, talk to other barbershop owners to get advice on what you will need immediately and what you can wait to buy. Learn what brands and styles they found to be the most effective and popular with their clients. Talk to them about what product brands they use and what they make available in their shop for customers.
Get a business partner.
Another way to help finance your new barbershop is by getting a business partner. This may be another barber also interested in opening a business, a related professional who can provide an additional service for your shop, or a business partner who is not directly involved in the offered services. The upside to having a partner is that you are not alone in your business. However, that may also be the downside of having a partner. They will have a say in the business decisions, so it needs to be someone you can work closely with.
Get an investor.
An investor is different than a partner in that they are generally not involved in the actual business. They provide money to help you get started in exchange for a percentage of ownership. Depending on your investor agreement, that includes a portion of the profits from the shop, as well as a percentage of the profits if you ever sell your business. You can also have the agreement set up so that once they get their investment back plus a certain percentage, you can buy them out so that you go back to being the sole owner of your company.
Needing money to get started should not be a deterrent to opening a barbershop. While it may not be easy, there are several ways you can get the funds you need to get started. In addition to these ideas, you can also bootstrap the business using only the money you’ve saved up. While that is not feasible for many people, it is always an option. Many small businesses start very small until the owner has saved up enough money to expand into the business they want to run. This may mean renting space in another barbershop or getting a loan to buy an existing barbershop that is for sale.
