Salon Management Associate's Degree

Salons have traditionally served the female population as a barbershop equivalent a place where women can get together, feel prettier, and talk about the latest gossip of the day. Salons in many ways function to serve much more than just the outside of customers; they attend to the social needs of clients as well. Of course, this traditional image of elderly women squawking together while their hair is in rollers under a giant heating dryer is doubtlessly outdated. Today's salons are at the cutting edge of cosmetology, providing a diverse array of experiences for customers both male and female. As fashion trends shift and the way we look and feel continues to hold a prominent position in our standards, salons will continuously be at the center of this industry. If you have a passion not just for cosmetics but for the way a salon operates and the way it serves its clients, then becoming a salon manager is exactly what you may be looking for. You can begin earning your Associate's Degree in salon management and find yourself sitting in a unique chair at a salon the boss's.

An Associate's Degree in salon management is a cross between learning about advanced cosmetology skills and applicable business skills. Many individuals simply earn a cosmetology degree and assume they will be hired by someone else. However, you don't have to just depend on working for someone else. With a salon management degree, you will be able to have knowledge of the industry and how to succeed in it, which means that you will be in the drivers seat and hiring other cosmetologists. Instead of just learning about how to style hair and nails, care for skin, and apply make-up, you'll also learn about merchandising, interior design, client loyalty, marketing, leadership, administration, retail, labor laws, and overall business skills.

There are many different options available to students who earn their Associate's Degree in salon management. First, one of the most alluring positions is that of owner and operating of your own salon or spa. In this position, you will have both the privilege and responsibility of being your own boss and the boss of all the employees. Everything that goes right earns you profit, and everything that goes wrong might cost you money. In essence, you will be in the position of a business manager much more than just being a cosmetology expert. You'll need to have a broad range of skills and a drive to succeed to open your own salon. Others don't necessary have personal ownership in a salon, but this degree opens up higher positions of management for them, from being a general manager to in larger businesses being the head of a particular department, such as sales or promotions.

What is especially appealing about many of these skills is that they are not entirely industry specific. This means that while their focus is on a cosmetology application, they can in fact be applied in many different leadership positions in careers.

The salon and spa business is really a business about beauty and relationships. While you are earning your Associate's Degree for salon management, you are earning a degree that makes you both a master with all cosmetology skills as well as all necessary business skills as well. This business is about making clients feel happy, welcome, and more beautiful, and if you are able to consistently accomplish that while producing an environment that appeals to talented employees, then you have the necessary tools in place to run a successful business. Whether you own your own salon or are in a top position managing one, your Associate's Degree will ensure that you have all the required talents to continuously make clients happy and loyal.

AAS Degree in Salon Management

Deciding to open up your own business can be challenging. Not only do you need to be knowledgeable about the salon industry but you need a business background to be successful. Earning your Associate’s Degree in Salon Management from an accredited school is the first step down the road to success. You’ll take business related courses that will help you with accounting, HR, management and even marketing. Some of the main areas you’ll need to master include:

- Finance & Accounting
- Business Marketing
- Small Business Management
- Communications

How to Open Your own Salon

Most graduates of a salon management degree have hopes to manage a salon with the end goal of one day owning their own salon. The below steps are recommended for anyone looking into the owning their own salon.

Step 1: Education – Without much debate the first and probably most important step is you need to receive the proper education so you can understand the business side of salon management. You’ll need to learn how to deal with people which is one of the hardest things about management.

Step 2: Experience – We recommend working for a salon first in order to get a good hands-on approach to how things are ran. If you yourself are a cosmetologist you’ll have a better understanding regarding what your clients want. Being a manager will also give you experience to treat the job as if you own the place and see how complicated things can be without the risk of using your own money.

Step 3: Financing – The hardest thing about opening up your own salon is having enough working capital to fund either renting or building your own business. It takes a lot of upfront money before you can even get in your first paying client. Some entrepreneurs take on partners that have strengths that they don’t have. You could take on a financing partner that might not understand the salon business but has the cash to get you started without going to the bank for a loan.

Step 4: Marketing – Not only do you need to market your salon to customers but often to hair stylist who might want to work for you. Hiring top stylists is a fast way to gain their client list. Some salons rent out spots to stylists where others pay stylists a salary to go work for them. Depending on your market and where you have your store you’ll need to pick the best business model.