I am continually astounded and inspired by stories of the ingenuity of Australians to find a gap in the market and to give it a go to start their own business to fill that gap. Hair Force 10 is one of those stories.
Find The Gap
Hair Force 10 is all about filling a gap in the market. It is about budget hair cuts. Hair cuts can be very expensive these days. Especially if you are on the pension or have a family to clothe and feed. This is where there was a need that begged to be serviced and the Client saw it. By finding your niche that is an inch wide and a mile deep ensures that you have little competition.
Model For Success
To be able to offer cheap $10 hair cuts required getting the many factors involved in running a successful business right.
Location & Demographics
Firstly the location and demographics needed to work. Hair Force 10, which has just opened its doors yesterday is located in Tweed Heads Shopping Centre. It has great passing traffic and the demographics is lower social economic low income families and pensioners.
Cost Cutting
Secondly the set up cost and ongoing rental must be affordable. The fitout was done on a very tight budget without compromising the design of the brand and the rent is affordable. The fact that unlike a traditional hair salon, they don’t offer colouring your hair and wet treatments eliminate the need for costly plumbing works.
Systemisation
Thirdly, the business needed to be systemised so that large volumes of customers could be serviced in the quickest and most efficient manner. The vending system where staff don’t handle payment is one crucial element that saves time but also eliminates staff theft. The signage instructs customers in three simple steps the procedure:
one – pay your $10 into the vending machine.
two – take a seat and wait. The long bench along one wall lets customers know that they are part of an efficient production line.
three – get your hair cut. Within moments you are in and out of the chair.
Other time saving innovations include a built-in vacuum cleaner in each work station that vacuums up any hair off the customers and also the floor, saving having to sweep in busy periods.
It is all about volume and speed. Customers not only save money but the express service ensures that they can spend time doing other things.
Duplication
Lastly, all the above factors ensure that the business can be easily be duplicated, thus making it a low cost start up, low overheads, and with the potential for great profit.
Team Spirit
We were very pleased to receive a call from the Client beaming with the result of the design and fit out. When the Client is ready to start his next Hair Force 10 budget hair salon he will have his crack team of designer and shop fitter on hand to help make the design and fitout as quick and efficient as possible just like the hair cuts.
Cheap & Cheerful
We designed and branded the business to be ‘cheap and cheerful’ in a good way. Bright colours and a simple layout and design ensure efficiency and also visibility. The branding also lend itself to be easily recognisable as the business expands into other shopping centres.
Very Niche
This is just one of many businesses that we are approached on a regular basis to assist in the design and fit out of their idea. The secret to a great business is to find a gap in the market rather than enter a market that is already saturated with ‘me-too’s’ trying to catch up to the innovators.
Yo Good/No Good
One of these ‘me-too’ business ideas was frozen yoghurt. As soon as it arrived, this fad started to leave. It came like a train at one hundred kilometres an hour, rattling on the tracks and horn tooting loudly, and as it passed you at great speed you almost lost your footing with the wind it left in its wake.
Inch Wide Mile Deep
The world is full of great ideas. The secret to transforming to a great business is to find out if you are filling a need and if others are filling that customer need how can you do that differently and better then they can? Finding your niche is the difference that has great competition and one that is a blue ocean.
Dream Makers
At The Design Creative we see ourselves as much more than retail designers. We are ‘dream makers’. Our services help to transform an idea into reality. Opening up shop can be a daunting task. There are so many aspects that need to come together and we can help you to bring them all together. Retail design is just one piece of the puzzle. When all the puzzles come together in the correct order following a tried an true process your idea is transformed into the physical.
If you have an idea and need help to transform your dream into reality, contact us, and we can make it happen.