10 Ways To Start Making More Money 
If you’re looking to make more money in the salon (and we know you are!), sip that morning coffee and keeping scrolling for everything you need to know. We’re dishing out ten tips you can start using behind the chair ASAP to grow your business and your bank account. And it all starts with using the “Work Smarter, Not Harder” mantra, so check out these easy (but not always obvious) ways to get started. 

1. Work Smarter, Not Harder!

Salon owners and booth renters—adjust your work schedules to concentrate the workflow! Eric Fisher, best-selling author and owner of two Wichita, KS, salons and an academy suggests studying your work week for heavy and slow periods, then streamlining your schedule accordingly. If you’re not busy on Tuesdays from 9 a.m.—12 p.m., 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.

Keep clients coming into the salon in between appointments for refreshers! At Jamison Shaw Hairdressers in Atlanta, GA, clients flock for the 5-minute, $40 color shines at the backbar to brighten up their haircolor between visits. And while halos of balayage—a salon specialty—may only take 10 minutes, the service makes 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. If You’re Not Already Social, Get On Instagram

Obviously you should be using Instagram to market yourself. If you aren’t already, you should start now because it’s becoming the only way to grow business efficiently. Need some inspiration? Check out 10 things you should be doing on Instagram right now, Instagram tips to get you noticed and how to use Instagram to make more money.

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. But when is a good time? Eric recommends right before the holidays at the end of November. “People are used to spending more and they’re in a buying mode,” he 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.

4. Slay The Display

Hello, retail sales! Keep your hot spots clean, make them POP and sell like crazy. 

• Create an eye-catching, attractive display that draws attention. Try using signs and bright colors that clearly advertise time-sensitive sales that your clients won’t want to miss out on.
• Place impulse retail next to your best-selling products.
• Keep your displays nice and clean. Yes, that means dusting off your products that have been hanging on the shelves for awhile.
• Hang up signs on the shelves and at your station that advertise a featured product, and spark a conversation with your client about why that product is a salon favorite.

5. Follow the 3-for-1 Rule

There’s an old salesman rule that works whether you’re selling jewelry, shoes or hair products (duh!). Recommend one product, and there’s a good chance the customer will buy it. Recommend two products, and your odds increase. But recommend three products, and there’s an excellent chance they’ll buy at least one, says Eric. 

Follow these easy steps:

1. Hand the client the product.
2. Answer these questions: how, what, when, where and why to use the product.
3. Walk it up to the front desk for them and place it on the counter.

6. Show, Don’t Tell Retail

Putting the product in your client’s hands gives them a sense of ownership and allows them to open the top, smell it and read the label. Dispense the amount of product your client should use in their hands, then show them how to apply it to their own hair. Hand them the hairspray and talk them through how you recommend applying it. Not only are you passing on your professional expertise—which is invaluable—but you’re also giving her a chance to really experiment with your retail offerings.

7. Develop A Customer Loyalty Program & Reward Repeat Customers

• For example, if a client purchases five services, they can have the sixth one for a discounted price.
• Or, try a subscriber program. Here’s how it works: Customers pay a monthly fee to have access to a specific number of services offered at a discounted rate. This will help retain loyal customers and keep a steady flow of revenue.

8. Offer Fast and Easy Add-Ons

Here’s a quick and easy tip: remove some of the chairs in the waiting area, and watch the movement buzz around your retail. “If clients sit and pick up a magazine, then you’ve lost them,” Eric says. “You have to encourage them to smell, look and feel the products.” Make it easy by bringing fast-and-easy add-ons to waiting clients. At Eric Fisher Salons, stylists and assistants are trained in eyebrow arching to upsell the ticket while keeping waiting guests happy.

9. Recycle Clients

Cycle your 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.

10. Dress for Success

Your clients are coming to you for fashion and beauty advice, so consider how your personal style can shape their perception of your skills and taste. Dress to impress and consider this: If you’re wearing a name-brand belt, you could snag a better tip. The client can’t see the label in your shirt, pants or shoes, but if they see you wearing a Gucci or Burberry belt, they’re going to see your standards are higher. An investment in your work “uniform” is an investment in yourself and your business.