Competition is not the only thing you should focus on. Your goal should be
building a strong brand. Think bigger. Hope it helps.

That SCORE website really helped me out. <

Well, Laura, you are a really brave single mother as I think that any business start is rather risky. Although, you seem to have a good experience in salon industry as 20 years is a long term, as for me. I hope you will succeed, besides, you got a number of useful links which may help you to find the financial assistance you are looking for. I really admire you and good luck!

@jim: thanks for the info and link to SCORE, they are proving very helpful and i can use all the mentoring that i can get!

You may want to start with SCORE, they mentor and advise new business start ups and may help you locate start up money. Check for a local office here: http://www.score.org/findscore/index.html Jim

Forget about grants - they just don't work like that. There are many loan options for you from SBA guaranteed bank loans to non-bank lenders. But, all loans are based on amount and purpose (which you don't outline here) - thus, it is hard to point you in the right direction. Your biggest expenses will be lease, equipment and marketing. For equipment, search out a non-bank lender (banks will want two or three years of operations first) - most non-bank lenders have programs for start-up businesses and should be able to help you. For lease and utilities expenses - this is where you really have to negotiate with the landlord - make them win your business - it still remains a lessors market. For marketing or working capital funds - you could look to the SBA guarantee program or find a non-bank lender that will not look at the time you have been in business but at your credit and cash flow.

hi laura, looks like you've got good links to get you started. my cousin owns two tanning salons in st louis. here is his FB page facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000162069992 . i'm sure, he would be glad to give you some pointers on setting up. ---This post was edited to remove a commercial link. Read our discussion policies for more Community best practices.

@marthin - Thanks for jumping in. @Laura1970, Take a look at those links that marthin posted. You make also want to look into the Ultimate Guide to Financing. You may also want to start small. Maybe you could go things at your home for a while to build up business before moving into a salon. JimD

I think this site - http://www.business.gov/financing/loans/ and this tool - http://search.business.gov/startLoans.html will help you for getting details on loans.

Hi Laura, If your start up costs aren't too great you might be best to look at bootstrapping. If you have equity in your home, you might want to consider a cash out refinance or equity loan if you can get one. I don't know what your credit situation is like, but cash out refinancing is often one of the best ways to fund a new business venture - you get access to start up capital at interest rates that are among the lowest you possibly can, and depending on when you took out your mortgage initally you can also take advantage of interest rate drops which can mean that your total interest costs dont necessarily have to change much at all, but you get a cash lump sum to fund your business. Something to consider at least and a much better option than using credit cards or other quick credit options.