Are you often exhausted from being on your feet all day? Love hair so much you want to learn more but don’t think you have time? I hear you. Im here for you! The focus, detail and time hairstyling takes often becomes so consuming you lose track of time. One day you’re detangling and by the time you look up, you’ve been styling for years on the same repetitive cycle. Lucky for you, the hair industry is always expanding so It’s never too late to break that cycle.

Needless to say, life happens. Things out of our control that force us to change our plans. Realistically, you can’t be behind the chair forever, but that doesn’t have to mean you’ll be out of touch. Theres so many ways to spend less time behind the chair without losing the business you built and profits you worked for.

The Breakdown

 For example, per https://saltsocietyeducation.com/blogs/news/hair-salon-industry-statistics “10 Hair Salon Industry Stats That Will Blow Your Mind”  article, Salon retail sales often yield much higher profit margins than styling services. That means you’re more likely to profit greatly from products and services you provide separate from your physical work behind the chair. So how do you spend less time behind the chair? Offer something besides what you can do as far as styling. Especially during this pandemic with at-home hair care is at an all time high, give your clients something they can do for themselves when you can’t.

Retail products aren’t the only way you can wiggle from behind the chair. As a hairstylist, your clients are paying you because of your knowledge, skill and experience. All things that come directly from you, meaning YOU are your brand more than anything. You can capitalize on that. Really reflect on what you know and can provide other than hairstyling. Once you figure that out all that’s left to do it is sell it! Don’t be shy to put yourself out there. The same strategies that lead your clients to buying into your styling services can apply to their buying into whatever other services you begin to offer. (I.e. technique classes)

Other Options
With the industry being expected to grow at least 4% over the next 3 years, there are tons of other things you can do to separate from the chair, without divorcing the industry. These include:

▪selling hair extensions
▪develop a take-home haircare line/recipe
▪offer consulting to upcoming stylists
▪rent your salon booth/chair
▪teach cosmetology or any skills you found pertinent to your business

The options are limitless and so are the opportunities for your growth, whether you wanna spend 30 or 3 hours behind the chair! For further help on getting started, sign up for Hair Theories, the business building course by Ebony S. Nelson.