5 Shifts Salon Owners Are Making To Double Their Income Without Working Any Additional Hours

6 Minute read

Five steps to making $8,000 to $13,000 per month consistently as a salon owner. If you want to put that in yearly terms we’re talking about how you can have a $100,000 – $156,000 + per year coming in with your salon business. So let’s take a look at the salon economy and how things are going right now, and then we’ll dive into what the difference is today versus a couple of years ago. So, that you can tap into these changes and set yourself apart by being able to adapt to the way that you get customers in a way that’s dramatically different from what everyone else is doing, and of course that’s going to be the key to success. That’s going to be how you’re going to be able to scale your business to $8,000 to $13,000 per month consistently and I’m going to show you the five steps that you need to take to get there.

The Salon Economy

Salons are dying, that’s basically the state of the salon economy right now. There’s absolutely no question that the salon industry is booming and has massive market share, but for most salon owners this is not translating into a high-value business for them. We’re going to be looking at exactly why that is, and what you can do about it.

So, let’s take a quick look at the Salon economy so as of January 2019.

The vast majority of salon owners are earning low rates.
The salaries of Hair Salon Owners in the US range from $14,441 to $385,332
The average Hair Salon Owner in the US makes less than $60,000
Haircut prices for women average about $43, while a man’s haircut averages $28.
Small salons will charge about $10-$15 for a cut depending if it is a male or female.
On average 30% of first-time customers will return to the same salon. While 70% will go somewhere else.

If you look at the statistics for the example I pulled together the reports that Compare, Forbes, Salon Today, and Phorest have published. It shows the vast majority of people who own salons are earning very low rates. I tried to isolate my research to people who are owners of salons and not franchises or corporations. When you put it all together you see the average hourly pay is $10-$30 per hour with haircuts being $10- $43. Let’s drive into why this is.

“The Old Approach “

Some of the old approaches I see salons doing today

Relying on customers to walk in
Posting on social media and hoping for the best
Offering a free service to gain a new customer
Offering every service to attract as many people as you can

Along with-

Passing out flyers to people walking by.

Hoping customers will spread the word about the salon.

Putting a sign right outside to help attract nearby customers.

Let’s talk about these. Relying on customers just to walk in has been the approach for many companies. You used to be able to have your company name and logo on the front of your store and people would know who and what you do. Now, with so many companies the signs have turned to a beacon for customers who have already looked up the store, and seeking directions.

Offering to give a discount/ free service to gain a new customer. Everywhere I read, or watch people are saying you need to give away your services to gain traction. In hopes that the new client will tell their friends and family about your business because they had an awesome experience, but with only 30% on average coming back.

What’s Different Today?

There are so many salons that offer low-cost hairstyles and cuts.

Free promotions are easier to access.

Everyone is looking online for the new next best option.

So how can you win in today’s economy? What do the winners know that nobody else knows? The winners have stopped offering free/ discounted services and started selling customer service while being known as a specialist.

Once you make this shift

You will have a business that will constantly generate $8,000-$13,000 in profit per month.

You won’t be chasing low paying clients who never intend to return to your salon. It all starts with step one.

Step 1

Knowing Your Customer Will Bring In More Business While Making More Per Client.

The first thing a customer will do when researching if you’re the next Salon they want to visit is, look up the services you offer. What the customer will see is a general salon that offers every service possible. Why? Because they don’t want to miss out on any customer possible. Let’s use this example.

Would you go to a general practicing doctor for a broken bone or would you rather go to a specialist? They choose the specialist because they know they will be taken care of because that’s what they deal with.

The salon side of things is no different. People want to know that their image will be taken care of. This is one reason why most salons aren’t able to get recurring high paying clients. You look just the same as everyone else. You truly are different and offer a better service. Time to stand out, offer something unique to your customers and show them you are different from everyone else.

Step 2

Don’t Lose The Customer

This one can be kind of a touchy subject. Everyone believes that they are offering the best service out there but with these statistics of having 70% of customers not returning after the first visit means most clients are not getting the experience, they were looking for. Most of the time it was because they weren’t paired with the right hairstylist. Customers shouldn’t be given the choice of who styles their hair.

Wow! What did you just say? The customer should always get to choose who styles their hair.

Wrong, I’ll show you why. Tabatha Coffey is coming to your salon and want the best hairstylist for the hairstyle she wants. Are you going to list a bunch of hairstylists and let them choose, or are you going to pick the best hairstylist for their needs?

Every day clients are just the same. Don’t Leave the choice to the customer because that’s leaving your business up for chance.

Step 3

Building Social Proof And Your Credibility

When hearing Social proof people think they need to have social media accounts with a few posts of the services they can offer. Better yet that you should post all your hairstyles you’ve done. You want to show others that you know how to do hair better than anyone else. Let me put it this way. If you say my salon is awesome at styling hair vs a client who said they did a fabulous job. People will listen to the client more than the salon because they don’t have anything invested by saying the salon was great. Instead, use social proof to build your company’s credibility. I’m talking about the word of mouth on the internet. We all use it.

Who do you think will get the first phone call? Salon Sally with no reviews or Salon Shara with 15 + 5-star reviews? We all do it when we shop online. Check the reviews and see what others are saying about the service they provided. 91% of customers will check a companies reputation before calling or visiting. Building your social proof will tell the client you are worth the price you are asking.

Step 4

Increase Retail Product Sales And The Customers Will Be Thanking You For It.

This goes back to knowing your customer because when you offer lower Hairstyles you tend to attract a cheaper customer. They spend the minimum amount on hair products. The other problem is most people who don’t buy a product believe it won’t solve their own hair problems. So how do you start to offer more products when everything today is an on-demand delivery? Start by pairing the product to the customer before they show up for their appointment. Tailor your products to your customers. They will be confident in the product and won’t be able to say no. Which will increase your sales and the customers will be thanking you for it. It all starts when the clients are looking to book an appointment.

Step 5

Let Your Customers Do The Work & Get More Money For It

One of the most powerful tools you can have is a referral source. Here are some stats on how having a formal referral program will help increase sales.

Referral customer converts 30% better than leads generated from other marketing channels.

83% of consumers are willing to refer after a positive experience—yet only 29% actually do.

Only 30% of companies surveyed have a formalized referral program. Only 22% effectively scale their programs

When referral tools are used, companies are 3x more likely to accelerate referral generation and conversion.

Yet with all these stats, companies continue to neglect a formal referral program. Saying to a customer we pay for referrals you send our way isn’t a formal program. Which most companies do. Having the right referral program in place can help incentivize others to do your marketing for you and make your sales process streamlined. Your referral system doesn’t just need to be with customers that you help either. Establishing partnerships with local communities will secure higher-paying clients.

Are you looking to grow your salon and income to a profitable 6 figure income?

Are you looking for help building a referral network to attract more customers and have the same ones keep coming back?

Do you want help pairing the right hairstylist with the customer before the appointment?

Would you like someone to help you generate a steady flow of the right customers?

Are you wondering what the best ways are to differentiate yourself from the low-budget salons out there?

If you’re answering yes to these questions, you don’t have to be working with me, but you should definitely be working with someone.

If this resonates with you, I’m making myself available for a free 30-minute conversation in the next 48 hours to show you how you can start implementing these concepts into your business.

On this call, you’ll come away with three things.

We’ll develop a powerful strategy for uncovering new clients.
How to pre-qualify those clients to make sure they are paired with the correct stylist.
You’ll come away with new approaches for how to sell more retail products