WHY THE PLAN?
The traditional way to describe The Plan is “a salon”. We offer a full menu of hair, skin, and beauty services - but that description alone sells us short.
We are a sustainable, mission-driven beauty company working to help elevate our employees, our customers, our industry, and most importantly our community.
We will be using our business as a force for positive change, starting with helping to revitalize downtown Holyoke. We have leased a space in the Wauregan Building on Dwight Street, and have plans to bring beauty back to this former paper mill with the help of our architect, Noah Modie, from Oxbow Design Build. The Plan is a beauty company that stands 100% behind the idea that beauty is much deeper than a look. We want to be part of not only making people look better, but also feel better. We care about sustainability and want to do our part for a greener future. We have some of the most talented and educated stylists and estheticians in the region, but we promise that The Plan is more than just a salon.
As founders, we are bringing 30 years of combined experience working in the hair and beauty industry, including two years as owners and founders at another salon that grossed $1 million in our first year of business.
Earlier this year we left that salon after deciding we wanted to move in another direction. We are staying true to our vision and our values no matter what it takes. This mindset is how The Plan was born. Although this is a new business, we are bringing extensive experience from running our first business. We learned so many valuable lessons, including the importance of accountability, transparency, relationships with our clients and employees, and the importance of building a strong and consistent culture. We are now clearer than ever on our plan, and we have proved that we have the perseverance, passion, and leadership to not stop working until it’s in place.
MARKET ANALYSIS
The hair salon industry is set to continue growing over the next five years, and is expected to out perform the United States general economy during that time.
Two of the key drivers of success in our industry are an ability to keep up with trends, and having a loyal customer base, two areas of strength for The Plan.
When it comes to competition, we have a unique perspective. We are aware of the other salons that exist in our city and the entire Pioneer Valley, but we are not in the business of competing against them. We believe this approach will actually become a competitive advantage in itself, because this outlook is not the norm in the beauty industry. Our business will thrive on collaboration, even if it means collaborating with another local salon that others may view as a competitor. We know we can better educate ourselves and our team, and more quickly transform the beauty industry, when we bring the talent and passion of all local stylists together.
Key Differentiators: While we aren't trying to compete, we are definitely trying to be different. Below are some of the things that set us apart from your traditional hair salon. We are building a business to fulfill a need that no other salon in the Pioneer Valley has been able to fulfill yet.
Sustainable Beauty: We will utilize sustainable products, energy, and systems wherever possible. This will allow us to attract a new demographic of clients that are searching for a high-quality, eco-friendly salon in Western Massachusetts, while being able to add value for our existing clients at the same time.
We are the only Davines Flagship partner in the Pioneer Valley. Our entire hair product line will be from Davines, a beauty company committed to minimizing their impact on the environment, and doing their part not to compromise the quality or quantity of natural resources. They offer plant based products, with ingredients from farms in Italy, all packaged with recycled materials.
We are one of only two Green Circle Salons in the Pioneer Valley. This partnership will allow us to re-purpose and recover up to 95% of the resources that were once considered waste; materials such as hair, leftover hair color, foils, color tubes, aerosol cans, paper and plastics.
We plan to use Eco-Heads on our sinks, a product that reduces water & energy use by up to 65%
We will offer an in-salon Beauty Counter shop, allowing our clients to conveniently shop for safer skin care and make-up. Beauty Counter creates products that have been sourced sustainably and screened rigorously, ensuring the highest safety for its consumers and the environment.
We will be operating in a city relying on several solar and hydro facilities. In 2017, 95% of the electricity sold was carbon free. Holyoke is on track to be one of the greenest cities in the country by 2019.
Mission Driven: While we will always take the best care of our clients' hair and skin, we have a plan to also do so much more than that.
We want to use our business as a force for good. With that in mind, we will be working from day one to become a Certified B Corporation within 5 years. Certified B Corporations measure success not only by profits, but also based on the impact they have on people, the planet, and contributing towards positive change.
We are committed to the City of Holyoke and our community. When we say this we mean it. We are already giving back and we haven't even opened our doors yet. We have mentored students from Holyoke High School as well as the Holyoke Boys and Girls Club. We will continue to build partnerships with local non-profits in order to continuously help elevate the citizens of Holyoke.
We want to create a movement to redefine the beauty industry. We are breaking down barriers and removing stigma often found within beauty salons. Labor abuse is far too common, and often times cosmetology schools aren't giving students the 21st education they need to excel. We will have a mentoring program setup for our employees that will allow them to develop their skills and learn the salon business, including laws and employee rights, while empowering them to achieve their goals. We also want to advocate to see positive change in the beauty industry as a whole, including changes to the beauty school curriculum.
The Experience: We want to make our clients not just look good, but also feel good. They are more than just a body in a chair, and beauty is defined by more than just looks.
We believe in compassion, self-care, positive thinking, and kindness, and will spread this in our salon every day.
We are authentic and transparent. We believe in doing the right thing always. If something isn't right, we will make it right.
We strive to be an inclusive and completely judgement free space. Everyone will be treated equally and everyone will actually feel welcome when they walk through our doors.
BUSINESS MODEL
The Plan is a new business on paper, but we will be opening our doors with 7 stylists (including owners), and one esthetician, all established and with a following built over the last 15 years.
This combination of an experienced team and a loyal client base will allow us to start quickly generating projected revenue as soon as our doors open.
Key Facts: 90% of The Plan's revenue will come from traditional salon services provided to our clients. The remaining 10% will come from product sales and events. Projected to earn $700k in revenue in year 1 (conservative forecast based off actual figures from our last salon business venture). Our two largest costs are variable costs - commission paid to our stylists and esthetician will be roughly 18% of revenue, and hair color will be about 7.5% of revenue. Our two largest fixed costs are for our lease and wages paid to hourly employees (assistants, receptionist, maintenance/cleaning).
Plans For Expansion: Operations will begin with 7 stylists, but there is room for another 8+ stylists which will help drive growth in our service sales. Year 1's focus will be primarily on sales from service for individual clients, with only $25,000 forecasted to come from special events and parties. By Year 2 we would like to hire an event coordinator who will focus on organizing events and parties, so we can grow that revenue stream through weddings, pop-up shop events, etc. Education will become a focus of The Plan by Year 2. We want to become an education hub for not only our stylists but stylists from any other salon in the country. We will collaborate with top talent to offer training, education, and mentoring at our salon, allowing us to help shape the industry while creating an entirely new revenue stream not included in our current projections.