6 Ways To Make More Money

A top trend in 2018? Working smarter, not harder! How? From service ideas to scheduling issues, we’ve got your top six tips to bring in the green this holiday season!

1. Quickie Services Boost Your Business
Clients flock to Jamison Shaw Hairdressers in Atlanta for the 5-minute, $40 color shines at the backbar to brighten up their hues between visits. And while halos of balayage— a salon specialty—may only take 10 minutes, the service nets the salon an easy $80. “Spa cuts” add an extra $20 to an ordinary cut, and men gladly pay $80 for the salon’s “shoe shines”—a foil with bleach that’s “shoe-shined” across the top of the head to produce a healthy, sun-lightening effect.

2. Distribute Demand!
Increase your work efficiency and productivity by evenly distributing the demand. At Christie & Co. in Flushing, N.Y., a different service special is featured daily. “You might put facials on sale on Monday or offer 20 percent off a service with a new stylist you’re promoting on your website,” suggests owner Lois Christie.

Booth renters can also adjust their work schedules to concentrate the workflow. Eric Fisher, best-selling author and owner of two Wichita, Kan., salons and an academy suggests studying your work week for heavy and slow periods, then streamline your schedule accordingly. If you’re not busy on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to noon, but you’re jumping in the evenings, then trade in a day or two for the night shift. Also, remember that Sundays can be very profitable.

3. Give Yourself a Raise
If you haven’t raised your prices in a year, you’re probably overdue. “Kick them up 6 to 10 percent at a minimum,” Eric says. If you’re booked three months in advance, you’re probably not charging enough. Possibly raise your prices the week before Easter, after the holiday bills have come in and when people are looking for a change. If you’re an owner, you might design a tiered pay system to organize your pay structure according to stylists’ proficiency levels. A well-designed price sheet will help communicate your new price structure and give your salon credibility.

Booth renters and employees can post the education they’re receiving to back up a raise, then advertise the changes with attractive signage and a mailing with a small gift, such as a 2 oz. sample of a color-preserving shampoo or a new shine rinse.

4. Create Buzz
When you walk down a street in a new city and you’re looking for a restaurant, are you more likely to go where there are tons of people and a 20-minute wait, or the empty restaurant across the street? People like for you to run a little behind and see the buzz. There’s nothing worse than walking into a salon and seeing a hairdresser sitting in the chair, reading a magazine. Clients like busy energy. They want to be in a circle of organized chaos. If you only have four clients in a day, spend time with those four clients, really showing them how to style their hair and upselling them on services. Keep offering new and changing services and products to surround yourself with exciting energy.

5. Cycle Clients
Schedule clients at different intervals, and you will build a busier book, experience fewer gaps in your day and earn more money. Cycle clients through a four-, six- and eight-week schedule to stagger her chair demand. Every person has a 260-person reach within their circle, comprised of co-workers, family and friends. You can build 50 to 80 people within that circle if you ask every client to send you 10 friends. By crossing over time periods, you’ll stay busier throughout the week. Here’s how it works:

4-Week Cycle: Schedule extremely gray clients, high-maintenance color clients and men.
6-Week Cycle: Schedule less gray clients, teens and children.
8-Week Cycle: Schedule highlights and low-maintenance types.

Incentives can help. For every pre-book, you might offer the client a free entry in a drawing. You can also reward your receptionists for helping you pre-book.

6. Shift Into Double Time
Consider the fact that a typical chair in a salon offers 72 hours of productivity. Yet one stylist won’t typically put in more than 40 hours. So if you’re a salon owner, what are you going to do with the other 32 hours? Let that chair sit, and you lose money. Split the shift, and your space always remains productive. People with kids want early hours. Single young stylists want the late shift. Or, you can take two stylists and say, “Here’s the chair. There are two of you. Work it out,” says Eric, who puts the double shift to work on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

At Christie & Co., hairdressers work a four-day week, though the salon is open seven days and three nights. Different hairdressers, Lois says, attract different clients with specific lifestyle habits. “Some hairdressers attract the mature businesswoman who comes in mornings. Others attract funky, hip types who come in nights. She recommends matching the shift to the client type that each stylist attracts.