In a previous post, I mentioned that personal care services, which includes hair, beauty, and nail salon businesses, have seen an overall a year over year increase in demand and sales since the year 2000. So, it’s a good time for those thinking of starting their own hair salon to take the plunge.

If you would like to start your own business in the hair styling industry, you have several options. Which one will be best for you will really depend on what you are looking for, what resources are available to you, and how much risk you want to shoulder.

Here is a brief rundown of four popular options:

• Open a Franchise Salon. The beauty (sorry, I couldn’t resist) of this option is that with a little research and care you will be buying into an established brand and proven business model. This may be a good option if you want to test the waters a bit to see if running a business is for you. The downside, however, is that you will compromise your independence as well as a portion of your revenues. Popular US franchises include, Great Clips and Fantastic Sams.

• Buy a Pre-existing Salon. You can choose to buy an established hair care business directly from the owner. What’s good about this option is that you already have a location set aside, a possible idea of the potential customer base, and even if the space needs renovations, it is nonetheless to still equipped to handle a salon business. The problem with this option is that the previous owner made have given the business a negative reputation through mis-management or the business already has a strong image (even a positive one) that may be hard to break away from.

• Start from Scratch. A third option is to start your own salon literally from the ground up using your own resources and ingenuity. This option comes with a lot of risk, however, since there are many unknowns involved.

• Rent Space in a Communal Salon. With booth rental salons, several independent hair stylists and other personal services care providers essentially rent their own styling station from a common landlord. The renters are considered independent contractors who must stock their own supplies and removable equipment (such as perming rods), set their own schedule, and book their own appointments. The good thing about this option is that it is virtually risk free. You can build your own clientele and again, test the waters, but with minimal investment. And if it doesn’t work out, then you just do not renew the lease.