Most salon and spa owners think the funding problem starts the moment they walk into a bank or send a pitch to an investor. But the reality is that funding decisions often begin long before that conversation. While access to capital remains a challenge in Nigeria, businesses that understand what investors and banks are looking for stand a much better chance. 

The decision about whether to back a business often begins long before that conversation, in the: 

• Records you keep.
• Clarity with which you understand your own numbers. 
• Systems you run.

More than just evaluating your idea or your services, investors are often asking a quieter, more fundamental question: is this business actually investable?

Funding can open real doors to new locations, better equipment, stronger teams, genuine scale. But getting there starts with getting the business right.

In Season 2, Episode 2 of the Beyond Beauty podcast, Layo Ogunbanwo sits down with Joy Adesanya, Group Managing Director of AJ Skylar, the parent company of The Braiding Vault and Sshhh Lingerie,  to break down exactly what that looks like.

3 things investors look for before they invest

1. USP: Why does your business exist?

Investors see hundreds of businesses. Many of them are good. Some of them are even great. What makes yours worth backing?

That’s the question your USP (Unique Selling Proposition/Point) has to answer, and it goes deeper than listing your services or describing your location. Joy Adesanya puts it plainly, ‘what makes you different, and why did you start?’

Your founder story matters here. Not because investors are looking for something emotional, but because they’re looking for conviction. A founder who can clearly articulate the problem they’re solving, why customers choose them over alternatives, and why they care enough to build this business, is easier to believe in.

If an investor can’t understand what sets your business apart within the first few minutes of a conversation, it becomes much harder for them to get excited about what comes next.

2. Structure: How do you run your operations?

“When an investor is looking at your portfolio, they want to see structure.”

That line from Joy Adesanya is worth sitting with because structure is exactly what most beauty businesses are missing when they go looking for funding.

In many salons and spas, everything runs through the owner. And while that might work when the business is small, it becomes a serious problem when growth is the goal.

An investor looking at that business is seeing a bottleneck instead of a hardworking founder. If the owner steps back, gets sick, or tries to open a second location, what happens then?

What investors want to see is a business that can function beyond one person, complete with: 

• Defined processes. 
• A team that knows its roles. 
• Customer records that are organised and accessible. 
• A booking system that doesn’t rely on memory or WhatsApp threads. 

Tools like Splice help make that structure visible and manageable as you grow.

3. Revenue: Do the numbers make sense

Revenue alone doesn’t tell the full story. What investors actually want to understand is whether the business is profitable and whether the person running it knows the difference.

Joy Adesanya points out that many beauty business owners have a strong grasp of their market. They know there’s demand. They know customers want what they offer. But when it comes to the actual financials, like how much is coming in, how much is going out, and what’s genuinely left after the difference, the picture gets blurry.

This matters more than most owners realise. You can be fully booked every week, making sales every single day, and still be losing money. Revenue and profit are not the same thing, and investors know this well.

• Start tracking your revenue consistently. 
• Track your expenses. 
• Review both every month. 

NOTE: If numbers aren’t your strength, Joy Adesanya advises that you outsource it to an accountant who understands small business. Because if you don’t understand your numbers, investors won’t either.

What can salon & spa owners do right now? 

Before you start looking for funding, sit with three honest questions: 

• What makes my business different? 
• Can it run without me? 
• Do I understand my numbers?

Most beauty businesses get rejected because they aren’t ready for funding.

Investment readiness is built in the daily decisions in keeping proper records, understanding your finances, putting systems in place that give your business structure beyond your own effort.

That’s where tools like Splice come in, helping salon and spa owners build the kind of visibility and operational clarity that makes a business credible, not just busy.

Conclusion 

Banks and investors are looking for businesses that demonstrate clarity, structure, and a genuine understanding of their own finances. 

Before you focus on finding funding, focus on building a business that gives people confidence. Fix the gaps, organise the operations, and earn the numbers. Tell the story clearly.

The businesses most likely to attract investment are the ones that have already done the work to prove they can manage it.