6 steps to setting up a hair salon at home

If you're a barber, braider or hair stylist doing hair from home or thinking of setting up an at home hair salon or barbershop, there are a few things you should do to set yourself up properly from the very beginning. 

A lot of hair professionals skip these steps or do them out of order and find themselves correcting it later. Save yourself the headache, time and money by following these steps in the order they are listed:

Step #1: Get a virtual mailing address

I'm not talking about a PO Box. I'm talking about a virtual mailing address that to the naked eye, it looks like a physical office location. You can get one of these at the UPS store, but other places have them too.  

Step #2: Register for an LLC in your state

For those just starting out, I recommend getting an LLC through your state for liability protection. Most states have websites that make registering for an LLC really easy, but if that's not your thing, you can always google "LLC formation" and there will be plenty of 3rd party sites willing to do it for you for a fee. 

Step #3: Register a Trade Name or D.B.A (Doing Business As)

Your LLC does not have to be the public/display name of your business. Your LLC can be a generic name and then you can do business as something completely different. I recommend doing it this way because I've seen people change their mind about their business name and it's much easier to change a DBA or Trade Name than it is to change the LLC information.

Step #4 Register for an E.I.N (Employer Identification Number)

 This 9-digit number is not required for a default LLC business entity, but I always recommend getting one so you can open a business bank account. The banks will not allow you to open a business bank account without it. It takes less than 5 minutes to register and receive this number and you go directly to the IRS website to get it....please don't get "got" by websites charging upwards of $300 for this 9-digit number that's 100% free! Here's the website: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/employer-id-numbers 

Step #5: Open a business bank account

Don't skip this step. Co-mingling funds is a BIG no-no in business. Don't start any bad habits just because you're working from home. Take the steps and open a business bank account, you'll thank yourself later when it's time to file taxes.

Step #6: Sign up for a web-based accounting software

The moment you decided to work for yourself was the moment tracking your income and expenses because mandatory. You'll want to make sure you have a web-based accounting software that will pull in your transactions so you can keep them categorized correctly. Again, you'll thank yourself later when it's time to file your taxes. I recommend QuickBooks Online because when business picks up you'll be able to call me and I can easily take over the accounting part of your business. :)