Start Charging What You’re Worth With These 5 Tips

Start Charging What You’re Worth With These 5 Tips

You know it’s important to charge what you’re worth…but how do you actually determine your prices? Enter BTC Team Member Ryan Weeden (@ryan.weeden/@mastersofbalayage). Whether you work for yourself or for someone else, he’s sharing his top five tips for setting your prices. Keep reading to see what he shared!

1. Establish a baseline price per hour.

First, consider what you’re worth per hour. Whether you are working for yourself or for someone else, your per hour cost should be consistent. Here’s how Ryan breaks it down: 

• You’re normally booked out 45 minutes to an hour. 

• If a haircut is $65 an hour, then you should at least expect to earn $65 per hour for your time, regardless of whether you receive only a percentage in a commission salon environment.

• If you have an assistant and are often double-booked, then double this number.

2. Look at your competition. 

While prices vary depending on location, Ryan says it’s important to look at what the competition is doing. Are your baseline prices similar? Or are you way off the mark, charging way more or much less? Although it’s not necessary to charge the same as everyone else, it’s crucial to be competitive if you want to build your clientele.

3. Charge more if you are an expert or specialist.

If you excel in specific areas like balayage or color correction and people often find you through Yelp or Instagram, then your dollar value needs to go up. “For instance, my speciality is balayage and because it’s my specialty, I charge significantly more for those services than I do for a simple root touch-up or foil,” shares Ryan.

4. Charge more if you have a waitlist.

Simply put, there’s no better time than this to give yourself a raise. “If you have clients lining up outside your salon, chomping at the bit for an appointment, now is the time to raise your prices,” advises Ryan.

Think of it this way—you are a wanted professional and you deserve to be paid more because of it. You may lose clients who can’t afford the new price, but in return you’ll have a batch of new clients paying a higher ticket.

5. Stop giving discounts.

Stay with us here. Discounts are a great way to bring new clients in, but this also creates a culture that treats you as second rate. (And these clients probably won’t come back because there’s no discount.) Want longevity in this industry? Ryan says to hold strong to your prices and back yourself up by delivering exceptional work that clients appreciate and will pay for.

“If you want a little enticement to get the ball rolling, throw in a complimentary haircut or take-home product, but never ‘discount’ your professional time,” says Ryan.

Watch how Ryan refreshes a balayage in just 10 minutes!