Choosing a Location and Planning the Salon Space

Assess customer access, comfort, water, electricity and workflow before committing to a room.

Part 2 of 10 | Starting and Running a Hair Salon in The Gambia

Learning goals

Compare possible locations using the needs of the salon rather than appearance alone. Plan a space where customers, staff, clean tools and used materials move sensibly. Prepare an interruption plan for the actual water and electricity conditions at the premises. These are operational checks; this lesson does not cover registration, applications or other administrative procedures.

Before you begin

Use your three-service opening menu. A salon concentrating on braiding has different equipment demands from one offering frequent washing and blow-drying. Inspect possible premises at more than one time of day if practical. Do not assume a room beside a busy road automatically produces customers, or that a lower rent remains cheaper once transport, water and power arrangements are included.

Step 1 Check the customer's journey

Walk the route from a recognisable landmark or transport stop to the entrance. Consider visibility, safe access, steps, evening lighting and whether customers can wait comfortably. Ask how someone unfamiliar with the area would find you. A useful location description includes clear landmarks and a contact route, without requiring a customer to guess which building or doorway you mean.

Observe conditions during ordinary working hours and after rain where possible. Check drainage, leaks, dust entry and how hot the room becomes. These are site-specific observations, not assumptions that every Gambian location has the same problems. Think about customer privacy and whether a person can have a consultation without everyone outside hearing it. Convenience includes comfort as well as distance.

Step 2 Test the essential services

Check the water supply, drainage, handwashing provision and practical method for cleaning equipment and laundering towels. If supply is interrupted, know whether you can maintain necessary hygiene. Stored water needs suitable clean covered containers and hygienic handling; do not repeatedly reuse client wash water. Pause services that cannot be completed safely with the available supply rather than pretending a full menu remains possible.

Have a qualified person assess electrical condition and the loads of the actual appliances. Do not assume several dryers, heaters and extension leads can run from one outlet. Keep water away from electrical equipment and prevent cables crossing walking routes. Select any backup system with competent advice; batteries, inverters and generators have different capacities and maintenance needs. This course does not provide wiring instructions.

Step 3 Plan safe backup power

If considering a fuel-powered generator, include a genuinely safe outdoor operating location in the decision. CDC NIOSH advises keeping gasoline-powered engines outside and at least twenty feet, about six metres, from building openings. Exhaust must be directed away from occupied spaces. An open salon door or a fan does not make an indoor or partly enclosed generator safe.

Follow the manufacturer's instructions and obtain competent installation advice. If the site cannot support safe operation, choose another backup approach or adjust the service schedule. A backup purchase is not automatically justified: first estimate which essential equipment must run and what interruptions cost. Never continue a chemical service unless required rinsing and other safety provisions can be maintained under the product instructions.

Step 4 Arrange the room around the work

Sketch reception or waiting space, styling stations, washing area, clean storage, used-tool collection and waste. Keep clean items away from hair clippings and damp used towels. Leave room for a stylist to move without repeatedly leaning over the client or blocking another worker. Good lighting should reveal hair and scalp condition without excessive glare in the mirror.

Prioritise a stable chair, safe working surfaces and accessible storage before decorative purchases. Set aside a place for bags and customer belongings that does not obstruct movement. Keep products away from heat and sunlight according to their labels. Plan cleaning access around furniture; a beautiful arrangement that traps hair and prevents proper cleaning creates daily extra work.

Guided exercise

1. Compare two possible locations on access, visibility, comfort, water, electricity, drainage and total operating expense. Use observations and quotations rather than invented local prices.

2. Draw a simple floor plan with a customer path and separate positions for clean and used tools. Check where staff might collide or stretch awkwardly.

3. List the appliances needed for the opening menu and ask what competent electrical assessment is required. Do not calculate installation capacity from plug shape alone.

4. Describe what happens if water stops or power fails during each service. Identify which appointments must be postponed and how customers will be informed.

5. Choose a preferred location or record why neither is suitable. A decision to keep looking is better than overlooking an essential operational weakness.

Knowledge check

1. Does a low rent guarantee a low operating cost?

2. Is a generator beside an open salon door an acceptable backup plan?

3. Why separate clean and used equipment locations?

Answer guide

1. No. Utilities, access, repairs and other operating needs affect the total.

2. No. Exhaust needs safe outdoor separation from building openings.

3. Separation reduces avoidable cross-contamination and makes the next service easier to prepare.

Completion standard

Complete the location comparison, layout and interruption plan. Identify unresolved utility or equipment questions before committing to the space. The chosen room must support the actual service menu and safe daily work, not merely provide an attractive background for photographs.

Sources and verification notes

CDC NIOSH carbon monoxide hazards at work. Checked 17 September 2026. Generator exhaust safety. This is safety guidance, not electrical installation instruction or a Gambian tariff source.