Salon & barber shop simulator
See what your salon or barber shop would turn over, how many clients you'd win and who you'd lose them to — month by month for two years — before you spend real money.
Chairs, appointments and clients who follow a stylist, not a shop. This one opens as Fresh Cut Studio: A hair salon and barber's with a few chairs, booked by appointment and kept by word of mouth. Rename it, reprice it, or describe your own salon or barber shop and let Nova rewrite it to fit.
What a steady salon ends up with
Played steadily for all two years — quality first, then growth, a fair share of the bank spent each year — a steady salon here ends its last year on $134k of revenue and $1.6k of profit, with 219 clients and 3.4% of the market (#5 of 5).
It starts from nothing: $30k in the bank and you, 50 hours a week, with no clients yet.
People who play it well do better, and a bad plan runs out of money.
Revenue in the last year: $134k
Profit in the last year: $1.6k
Clients at the end: 219
Share of the market: From nothing to 3.4%
Where it finishes: #5 of 5
Years and decisions: 2 years, monthly
What you'll decide each month
Each month you set your rates, how many people are on the books and how many clients each can look after, what you spend on being found, and which areas you cover.
Each decision shows on a forecast before you file it, and every period resolves against the rivals and the economy.
Who your clients are
A local service is booked on trust and lost on a missed appointment. Every client needs somebody's time, so the people you can put on the work are the limit, and word of mouth is the cheapest marketing there is.
8,000 clients in all, across your town, the next town over, the villages around, the county town and out by the ring road.
Regular trims: People who want it done and will not chase you twice. About 4,000 of them, worth $553 a year each.
Colour and styling: More work, higher standards, and recommendations to their friends. About 1,600 of them, worth $1.2k a year each.
Weddings and events: Several properties, regular work, and hard bargaining on price. About 800 of them, worth $1.7k a year each.
Walk-ins: An emergency or a move — found on a search, gone afterwards. About 1,600 of them, worth $293 a year each.
Who you're up against
Three rivals are already in it, and they play to win: they cut prices, spend on marketing and answer what you do. Most of the market is theirs on day one.
The salon everyone's mum goes to: The biggest, and slow to change — it has stopped listening to its smaller customers. Holds about 25% of the market.
The ten-minute barber: Wins on price and little else; its customers leave the moment somebody is better. Holds about 20% of the market.
The stylist who went freelance: Clever and quick, but stretched thin and hard to get hold of. Holds about 10% of the market.
How it works
Free until you start: building and previewing cost nothing, and starting is $10, once.
Build it — free: Press build and you get your own copy of this market: four kinds of client, three rivals and five areas.
Make it yours: Change any number, describe your salon or barber shop in a sentence or two and let Nova fill it in, or upload a profit and loss or a month-by-month sales history to fit it to your real figures.
Preview — free: See what a steady salon ends up with, and every warning worth reading, before you pay anything.
Start — $10: Pay once to start, your seat included. Then run it month by month for two years.
Also for
hair · barber · beauty · nails · stylist · spa · pet grooming · dog grooming
How much does the salon & barber shop simulator cost?
Building and previewing are free: make your own copy of this salon or barber shop market, change anything in it and see what a steady salon ends up with without paying. Starting the simulation is $10, once, and your own seat is included.
Can I make it match my own salon or barber shop?
Yes. Every number can be changed — the clients and what they pay, the rivals, the areas, the costs and the starting cash. Or describe your salon or barber shop in a sentence or two and Nova, SparkTower's AI, fills every section in for one Nova action. If you already trade, upload a profit and loss or a month-by-month sales history and the simulation is fitted to your real numbers, starting from where your business stands today.
Are the numbers realistic for a salon or barber shop?
The template is checked against what real ones do: played steadily, a believable one finishes year two turning over between $80k and $400k, with between 120 and 1,000 clients. This one's preview comes to about $134k and 219. Your own prices, costs and figures change that, which is the point of trying it here first.
Can I use it to test a salon or barber shop business plan?
That is what it is for. Put your plan's prices, costs and starting cash in, play it forward month by month, and see whether the money lasts, how many clients you would need and what a rival's price cut does to you — before you put real money in.
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