Any advice on starting a Nail Salon (U?as Sal?n) in Santiago?

c123

New member
Oct 28, 2010
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My esposa is eager to start a u?as sal?n in Santiago - I am considering the proposal. The start up costs will be about 20,000 pesos - mostly for materials and some advertising. She lives in a busy area, hence plans to start for six months from her home. The materials seem expensive, so I am trying to buy the goods in the US and bring with me during my trips.

Has anyone tried to venture in this business?

The clientle she is targeting is lower middle class. So I don't think we need any fancy chairs and stuff. The focus here is that she is a talented artist and her designs will bring in the revenue. My expectation is that after costs, she will profit about 5000 pesos a month. I guess with the average client paying 180 pesos, she needs to see about 12-15 clients a week or 50-60/month. Thus allowing a 40-50% profit margin.

Realistic?

Does anyone know of a cheaper option to purchase supplies in the Santiago area?

Gracias en advance.
 

the gorgon

Platinum
Sep 16, 2010
33,997
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My esposa is eager to start a u?as sal?n in Santiago - I am considering the proposal. The start up costs will be about 20,000 pesos - mostly for materials and some advertising. She lives in a busy area, hence plans to start for six months from her home. The materials seem expensive, so I am trying to buy the goods in the US and bring with me during my trips.

Has anyone tried to venture in this business?

The clientle she is targeting is lower middle class. So I don't think we need any fancy chairs and stuff. The focus here is that she is a talented artist and her designs will bring in the revenue. My expectation is that after costs, she will profit about 5000 pesos a month. I guess with the average client paying 180 pesos, she needs to see about 12-15 clients a week or 50-60/month. Thus allowing a 40-50% profit margin.

Realistic?

Does anyone know of a cheaper option to purchase supplies in the Santiago area?

Gracias en advance.

a nail salon in Santiago. now, there is a novel idea. sorry to be harsh, sir, but there is one in every girl's living room.
 

puryear270

Bronze
Aug 26, 2009
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Wow, a nail salon. Now why hasn't anyone thought of that?
What I think this country really needs is a corner colmado and a banca.
Or a hair salon or barber shop. Or a place to bet on baseball games.

Does anyone ever come up with a creative business plan?

To try not being sarcastic for a change, the next time you are in town, walk around your neighborhood and count the number of nail salons. If you can walk for 15 minutes without finding at least 5 nail salons, then your esposa might be able to recoup your investment.

If she is a talented artist, suggest she paint something other than the same one-dimentional stuff I see on the Conde every week. I would love to find some really good original Dominican artwork to hang in my home.

Or have her take a few classes in fashion design and get her to design some clothing that actually makes some of these naturally beautiful young Dominican women look elegant.

OR, suggest she become a makeup artist. So many beautiful women here could benefit by someone teaching them how to highlight their natural beauty rather than paint over it.
 

Anastacio

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Feb 22, 2010
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Unless you are buying an already established salon that does hair, nails and makeup then forget it. Your girl is stunted in vision for the future if that is the best she can think of. Trying to do what you are considering is quite possibly the most stupid idea for making money I have come across yet, and I have had a few, invested in a few, and failed in a few.
Turn the page and try again. At least send her to college to learn hair and make up, then she can make a crap wage instead of a none existent one.
 

Chip

Platinum
Jul 25, 2007
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Santiago
My esposa is eager to start a u?as sal?n in Santiago - I am considering the proposal. The start up costs will be about 20,000 pesos - mostly for materials and some advertising. She lives in a busy area, hence plans to start for six months from her home. The materials seem expensive, so I am trying to buy the goods in the US and bring with me during my trips.

Has anyone tried to venture in this business?

The clientle she is targeting is lower middle class. So I don't think we need any fancy chairs and stuff. The focus here is that she is a talented artist and her designs will bring in the revenue. My expectation is that after costs, she will profit about 5000 pesos a month. I guess with the average client paying 180 pesos, she needs to see about 12-15 clients a week or 50-60/month. Thus allowing a 40-50% profit margin.

Realistic?

Does anyone know of a cheaper option to purchase supplies in the Santiago area?

Gracias en advance.

Well any business that you can start with such little capital is worth considering, especially given your acceptable conservative monthly returns.

Yes, there are nail salons here in Santiago, mostly in hair salons but I'm sure one more won't saturate the market.

I would recommend you ask you wife to see if she could find a convenient busy hair salon in the area to team up with to save even more on costs.

Finally, getting supplies a couple of times a month from the states should be monetarily justifiable given that you can import a box of goods with a receipt value of less than $200 without paying taxes. Contact Vimenpaq here in Santiago to get an idea of the rates.
 

SKing

Silver
Nov 22, 2007
3,750
183
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My esposa is eager to start a u?as sal?n in Santiago - I am considering the proposal. The start up costs will be about 20,000 pesos - mostly for materials and some advertising. She lives in a busy area, hence plans to start for six months from her home. The materials seem expensive, so I am trying to buy the goods in the US and bring with me during my trips.

Has anyone tried to venture in this business?

The clientle she is targeting is lower middle class. So I don't think we need any fancy chairs and stuff. The focus here is that she is a talented artist and her designs will bring in the revenue. My expectation is that after costs, she will profit about 5000 pesos a month. I guess with the average client paying 180 pesos, she needs to see about 12-15 clients a week or 50-60/month. Thus allowing a 40-50% profit margin.

Realistic?

Does anyone know of a cheaper option to purchase supplies in the Santiago area?

Gracias en advance.
Why not cater to middle and upper middle class??? I scoured Santiago looking for a North American type nail salon, I would've paid NA prices too! I have yet to find one with clean, decent massage chairs and foot tubs attached to the chair. They all have those personal pedicure buckets like I gave my daughter when she turned 15.
For the love of God also.......hot water

SHALENA
 

puryear270

Bronze
Aug 26, 2009
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Why not cater to middle and upper middle class??? I scoured Santiago looking for a North American type nail salon, I would've paid NA prices too! I have yet to find one with clean, decent massage chairs and foot tubs attached to the chair. They all have those personal pedicure buckets like I gave my daughter when she turned 15.
For the love of God also.......hot water

SHALENA

If it is one thing I have learned on DR1, it is that you should listen to Shalena.
I have no idea who the woman is, but she is one very intelligent lady. Definitely take her advice.
 

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
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Fact: Every woman in the DR has to have her nails done once a week.
Fact: There are nearly 5,000,000 women in the DR.
Fact: There are nearly 500,000 women in Santiago.

Fact: A Nail Salon might make a little money if well placed. There are three at the stoplight at Bartolom? Col?n and Estrella Sadhal? (Hach?)....That say's something.

Good luck. For less than 600 $$ you can start the business? Why not. If it works, great! If not, no big deal.

HB
 

JessicaRabbit

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Sep 21, 2009
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Try to offer something new that comes in nail industry, for example good gel nails (she can learn how to make them on youtube etc) instead of acryl, or sell some stuff they dont sell in DR, for example i couldnt find crystal nail file which is best for natural nails, lasts forever and is not expensive in US, like 4$ or even 1$ on ebay, bring a few and she can sell them for 8$, use products they dont use in salons, that look and smell good, keep UV sanitizer in the view of a client and desinfect instruments infront of them, for Christ sake use sharp instruments, not covered in rust. I am manicurist myself and when i went to salon in SD omg i asked the girl to stop doing what she was doing after she did couple of my nails, because she made it look worse then the ones that havnt been touched. Not to mention that instrument was horrible, nail files worn out and seemed they never saw UV lamp or even been washed. And salon was big and crowded. Never again.
 

SKing

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Nov 22, 2007
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If it is one thing I have learned on DR1, it is that you should listen to Shalena.
I have no idea who the woman is, but she is one very intelligent lady. Definitely take her advice.

Don't know if this is sarcasm or no but actually I have been trying to teach this to as many people as possible!!!
:)

SHALENA
 

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
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I also tend to think there's money to be made with a nail salon if done properly. She's not going to get rich, but it will keep her busy, and she should turn a small profit.

All you have to do is visit any of the smaller malls in SD, and most of them have at least one nail salon or more.

The La Sirena Luperon Mall has 3-4 of them, and they're not small either. They wouldn't be there for years if they weren't turning a profit.
She could become 'rich' if she franchises the deal, even if it remains purely Dominican based; but I have a feeling that's not going to happen.

To the OP, try to get connections within the Chinese and Korean communities since they practically own the entire nail salon industry. Having said that, those people are known for cutting costs to levels not many non-Chinese/Korean business owners are willing to cut.

Ask any small Dominican business guy what his biggest fear is, don't be surprised if he responds: "que venga un chino y me haga competencia" or something along those lines.
 

puryear270

Bronze
Aug 26, 2009
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Don't know if this is sarcasm or no but actually I have been trying to teach this to as many people as possible!!!
:)

SHALENA

It was not sarcasm. Perhaps I am way wrong, but: it seems to me that you have not had the easiest life, and you have even made mistakes, but you never felt sorry for yourself or expected sympathy. Instead, you made the best of the situation and learned from the hard knocks.

Being from Kentucky, where we are polite to a fault at times, I have to admit that your New Yorkness sometimes causes me to cringe, but I also realizes it saves much time as you tend to cut through bullsh*t very, very quickly.

And for the record, I think Anastacio has some good points, too. And AZB. And even Chip.
OMG, I've turned into the DR1 Mary Freaking Poppins!!!!!
 

SKing

Silver
Nov 22, 2007
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It was not sarcasm. Perhaps I am way wrong, but: it seems to me that you have not had the easiest life, and you have even made mistakes, but you never felt sorry for yourself or expected sympathy. Instead, you made the best of the situation and learned from the hard knocks.

Being from Kentucky, where we are polite to a fault at times, I have to admit that your New Yorkness sometimes causes me to cringe, but I also realizes it saves much time as you tend to cut through bullsh*t very, very quickly.

And for the record, I think Anastacio has some good points, too. And AZB. And even Chip.
OMG, I've turned into the DR1 Mary Freaking Poppins!!!!!

Thank you and you have hit the nail on the head. I have made plenty of mistakes in my life but every mistake teaches you a lesson and if I sat around with the "woe is me" attitude I wouldn't be as awesome as I am. Yes, I am egotistical because I am the best. I have overcome sh*t people would have committed suicide for. 4 kids and still get confused, when picking up my daughter from high school, as one of the students.
I curse people out because its what they need, if they want kindness they should call their momma. I have firm beliefs and I stick by them. I am dangerous because I don't give f*ck what people think about me. Kind of like cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc :)
If I knew how to attach a video I would of DJ Khaled "All I do is win", because that is my anthem....All I do is win, win, win, no matter what.
(and that my dear, is the real reason I am hated so much)

Enough with my public service announcement....

Back to the thread....ditch the nail salon idea, u ain't gon' make no money.....

SHALENA
 

JessicaRabbit

New member
Sep 21, 2009
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She might make money if she ALREADY have clients, who will bring more clients etc. If she is so good she has to get job in some salon, make clientele, give them her number and then make her salon and get them all there. This is how all beauty workers start their own business.
 

the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
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She might make money if she ALREADY have clients, who will bring more clients etc. If she is so good she has to get job in some salon, make clientele, give them her number and then make her salon and get them all there. This is how all beauty workers start their own business.

Jessica, trust the words of the awesome one above, Shalena. she ain?t gonna make no money. there is a nail salon on every block. this lady cannot compete with the orientals, either. she should try going to school to learn something that will stand the test of time, although i have no idea what that might be.
 

jeviduty

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Jul 1, 2011
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People here seem to be very pessimistic. Im with HB worst case scenario you lose out on $600.00. IMO its a risk worth taking.

JD
 

JessicaRabbit

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Sep 21, 2009
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Jessica, trust the words of the awesome one above, Shalena. she ain?t gonna make no money. there is a nail salon on every block. this lady cannot compete with the orientals, either. she should try going to school to learn something that will stand the test of time, although i have no idea what that might be.

Do you have an experience? I am manicurist and i was working at home and i was making money, even though there were at least 5 salons on my street. I had clients coming to me from other side of the city, because they liked how i did my job. I still could do it if it was not so time consuming and i didnt have other job. It all depends on how good she is in every aspect of this service. If she is beginner or average then of course forget it.