How much would it cost to start a salon business?

Like many other such questions, the first part of the answer is "depends on where you wish to start it". Upper Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, NY or the strip mall in Bee's Knees, AK? The rent is going to be your single greatest expense if you're hoping to open in a prime market like Manhattan (think 50,000 to 100,000 a month - that's a whole lot of haircutting and manicuring).

Without rent, if you can get an empty shell of a shop, the basic equipment for a salon to host, say, three stylists, a manicurist, and an assistant or two (reception, phone calls, shampoo, assisting the stylists) would probably run about US$ 40,000. That would include mirrors, chairs, counters, dryers of various types, clippers, shampooing sinks, et al. It does not include whatever you decide to spend on decorating. You can paint the whole place flat white for a couple of hundred dollars if you d.i.y., or you can pay a designer thousands or tens of thousands to do it up big.

Unlike opening a diner or souvenir shop, though, you have to count on paying higher salaries. Stylists and manicurists make more than counter help, obviously. You can quite often make deals with talented stylists or manicurists that you'll give them a comfy home and they can service their clients and you keep a portion of the proceeds to offset the overheads. Just what those percentages are, you would negotiate based on the reputation and following of the individual. Once again, depending on where you are located, a decent stylist with a following could run from a low of 30 to a high of 75K.

In short, there's not a single figure to respond with. You have to search real estate ads/agencies for retail property, cost out the equipment (much is available "used" as salons come and go like the characters in Oz), and determine if you're doing this on your own intending to build a clientele or if you plan to hit the ground running and open with some professionals with a reputation and a following.