If considering this segment is it best to go it alone or join a franchise system? -

• As with McDonalds, the best marketer will win. Marketing = imagination and money. It's our opinion that mom and pop kids salons will someday be a thing of the past and the franchise system that masters marketing and customer service will take over.
• Payroll is the largest expense that a kids salon will have and careful management is a MUST. Some franchises have systems in place to help with this while others do not - of course at Shear Madness we do!
• Demographics and location are key to success. If you have no experience in this area - this is HARD. Shear Madness has over 14 years of operating history - lots of good and bad decisions in our past to share with you!
• As you can learn the ins and outs of managing a salon, product offerings, software management, website managing, scheduling, hiring and managing stylists yourself, to do it most efficiently you can save thousands of dollars on that learning curve and make up your franchise fee quickly in efficiency savings in a system with great training and ongoing support.
• Research and Development should be ongoing in any business operation, a franchisor who is constantly upgrading the salon software systems, new ad campaigns, communication systems, is a real asset as it is a full time job to keep up on these things. A royalty may be very inexpensive compared to the cost of doing all this yourself.
• As word of a good franchise system spreads, word about your business spreads as well. Group advertising pays off! As clients move around they will look for you because of a fellow franchisee store.
• As with any business endeavor it is best to have a coach. With a franchise you have a built in business coach.