can hair stylists make LOTS OF MONEY - how to CHARGE for hair services
hey beauty activists, welcome! today I'm going to be talking about ‘how much money hairstylists make’, and also about ‘how to charge accordingly as a hairstylist’. it is a very important topic that we get asked about often, “how are you guys picking your prices?”
pricing is a formulated process. once you learn the process, it'll be easy for you to figure out how much to charge as a hairstylist and from there you can easily calculate how much money you'll be making.
-------have you tried our PREMIUM, HIGH PERFORMANCE hair products yet?
they are made from HIGH QUALITY NATURAL INGREDIENTS that work amazing in your hair. nvenn offers “professional hairstylist accounts” for those of you that would like to retail our products. nvenn hair care is EASY TO STOCK, and EASY TO SELL! these products are great for finishing your clients, as well as help you to GROW an EXTRA REVENUE STREAM in your business!
reach out to us by sending us an email at info@nvenn.com and we can get you set up with your own PRO ACCOUNT! we are to GROW your salon chair business.
why are prices important?
it is important to set and choose your prices properly! this will help you to ensure that your clients know exactly what they're being charged for during their visit with you. having a set PRICE MENU also ensures that your pricing is consistent across the board; for example, the price for highlights will be the same from one client to the next.
GETTING PAID YOUR WORTH. i know it’s common for people within the beauty industry to not charge their worth. you have to understand that YOU ARE A TRAINED PROFESSIONAL. you know how much education you’ve taken and the time you’ve invested to train yourself to be able to deliver the level of service that you can today. Your TIME and EFFORT is worth a certain dollar value and it’s your job to figure out what that amount is.
it's no different than going to the dentist. i don't go to the dentist and haggle with the dentist to figure out what the price is going to be nor do i try to negotiate what my rate will be. they have their prices set and we pay that amount.
something i want you to ALWAYS remember is, “PEOPLE ONLY VALUE SOMETHING AS MUCH AS YOU DO.” if you are a stylist that is constantly dealing with people wanting a deal or free services, chances are that YOU TAUGHT THEM TO BE THAT WAY WITH YOU.
this blog will walk you through all the things that you need to consider while you’re coming up with your pricing structure. to watch this veronica explain it, you can check out the video here.
the TWO things you need to focus on
you're going to need to know two things before you start working on your pricing; you need to understand your time and your cost.
TIME
your time is how long it’ll actually take you to COMPLETE THE SERVICE? will it take one hour? two? three? five?
COSTS OF SERVICE
your “costs” are ANYTHING that costs You money to PROVIDE THAT SERVICE. you’d include things such as drinks / snacks (or anything that you're providing for your client), products that you're using for backbar (shampoo, conditioner, styling products), and supplies involved with providing the service (this would include your color, developer, foils, etc.).
figuring out PRICES
once you sort out HOW LONG A SERVICE WILL TAKE YOU and your “COSTS of SERVICE” are, then you can use that to create a full pricing structure. let’s walk you through a few examples of our highest requested services.
example 1 : haircuts
a quality haircut would probably take you about an hour. how much should that hour cost?
your haircut price should be based on what's COMPETITIVE in your area for your EXPERIENCE level so start by getting a feel for what the standard prices are (in your local area). there is usually a different price point for apprentices, junior stylists, senior stylists, master stylists etc.
PRO TIP: if you're brand new to the industry, you’ll likely be charging a lot less than someone that is a master stylist (a hairstylist that has been doing it for 10+ years). there is a formula for knowing when it’s time to GIVE YOURSELF A RAISE.
once you figure out your haircut price, that will be your HOURLY RATE that you base your pricing off of (since you’re likely booking a haircut in an hourly time slot).
EXAMPLE: let's say that you charge $100/ haircut (just for simple for math).
---if your haircut is $100 & it takes you 1 hour to complete, then Your target hourly rate is $100/ hour.
example 2 : pricing out HIGHLIGHTS
let's price out highlights now! we're going to use our HOURLY RATE from our hair cut price and we're going to work out what we would charge for highlights.
let's price out a set of highlights (keep in mind that you need to factor in ‘time costs’ AND ‘service costs’) the following is JUST AN EXAMPLE, you’ll need to do the math to figure out your own numbers.
STEP 1 : TIME
lets say that you book 1.5 hours when you are booking highlights. if your haircut price/ hourly rate is $100 then you would multiply 1.5 hours by $100 so your price for your highlights is $150.
STEP 2 : COST
think about HOW MUCH COSTS ARE INVOLVED with completing that service. you will need to consider the lightener/ color that you use, your developer, foils, and any back bar supplies etc.
once you figure out how much product costs are involved with that service, you're going to ADD that to the TIME COSTS.
for example) let's say your “total service costs” end up being $20. you would add the $20 service costs to your $150 time cost --> your highlight service would cost your client a $170 to complete that service.
charging for extra PRODUCT use
EXTRA PRODUCT USAGE. the amount of product you will need for each client will vary a little. every service should include a standard OR average amount of product that you would need to complete the service. if you end up using more time or product on a client, you will need to account for it.
let's take a solid color (regrowth) application as an example. on average, i need about 30 grams of color to complete this service. the cost of that 30 grams of color, is what i’ll use in my calculations for figuring out my “pricing structure.”
however, some clients may need to use more than 30 grams of color for the same service. this is when you would add on an EXTRA PRODUCT CHARGE so that you aren’t paying out of pocket because they have thicker hair than the average person.
for example: let's say they end up using 90 grams of color rather than the standard 30 grams of color. if my product charge is calculated based on 30gram applications, then i would add 2 EXTRA PRODUCT CHARGES. let’s go back to the example from above! let’s say my extra color charge is $10/ application. if my highlights are $170, and i have 2 extra color charges, my client would be charged $190 + tax for that highlight service.
PRO TIP: you should have a PREDETERMINED or SET EXTRA PRODUCT COST to add onto your client’s invoices so that there are no surprises when you go to square up the service with your client. (below i will break down how to figure out additional costs such as products costs and travel costs)
a la cart pricing
TRANSPARENCY.
PRO TIP: people don’t mind paying for things that they value and they understand so it’s your job to make yourself valuable and make sure that they understand.
there is basically 2 pricing models you can use; a la cart pricing or you could have a set hourly price (billing for the time that the client is in your chair, regardless of what you are doing).
we prefer to use an “a la cart pricing model” where your client’s bills are determined by the INDIVIDUAL services that you complete. using the example above, if they get a cut and highlights they would pay $100 + $190 for their service = $290 total
you can “package services together” to make them more affordable or enticing for clients to get more than one service but we don’t do that. we just like to keep it simple.
sorting out your pricing structure WILL make your life SOOOOOO much EASIER. NO GUESSWORK, or randomly picking prices.
figuring out PRODUCT COSTS for your backbar
all products cost money and if your client isn't covering those costs, YOU ARE. the ‘cost of backbar’ for one client might not be that significant BUT if you added those costs up over the lifetime of your career, you may think otherwise!
your BACKBAR costs will include your; shampoo, conditioner, foils and the styling products you use.
to do this, consider how quickly you go through a bottle.
for example: if a bottle of shampoo washes about 100 heads, then divide your cost of that bottle of shampoo by 100 and that is your cost.
this number does not have to be exact. you just need a rough estimate to ensure that you aren’t losing money and have an accurate amount of money that you are walking home with at the end of each work day!
PRO TIP: product costs are something that you just need to figure out one time. once you have the number, you can use it for a number of years. we do RECOMMEND revisiting your pricing structure every few years so that you can make any adjustments that are needed. INFLATION is a real thing and your costs WILL GO UP!
another cost to consider - TRAVEL costs
PRO TIP: only agree to travel if it’s worth your time! i’ll only agree to travel if there will be “X number of services” guaranteed and that my travel costs are covered! it doesn’t make sense for me to take time off work to do something that will make me way less money than if i spent the day doing hair in the salon. if your “service minimum” is met, you can always waive your travel fee. do whatever feels right and ALWAYS CHARGE YOUR WORTH.
to figure out your travel costs, you will add your hourly rate together with any expenses you will incur, such as gas. or, you could add a FLAT RATE travel fee. choose what is best for your salon.
anytime there is “travel involved, i ALWAYS RECOMMEND requesting a SERVICE MINIMUM.
-- if i'm going to travel outside of the salon, i need make sure that i would make AT LEAST the same amount that i would if i worked behind the chair that day. FIGURE OUT HOW MUCH YOU WOULD MAKE ON AN AVERAGE DAY behind the chair. take that number and divide it by the number of “updo’s” you would need to figure out your “SERVICE MINIMUM”.
for example: if you usually charge $100/ updo and you usually make $1000/ day. if a client wanted to book you for the day, they would need to GUARANTEE a bridal party of at least 10 people to make it worth it for me to be out of the salon for a day.
using these pricing methods is a great way for you to figure out just how much you can make as a HAIRSTYLIST. once you have your pricing structure set, you can easily calculate how much your pay check will be by looking at what’s in your schedule.
if you want to make more money you will need to fill your schedule! filling your schedule is also how you will GIVE YOURSELF A RAISE!
WORKING BACKWARDS from your goal income.
for example, let’s say your goal is to make $10,000 a month and you work 5 days per week. you would then divide that $10,000 a month by 20 (the number of days you would work in the average month). this means, i would need to take home at least $500/ day. if i plan on working 8 hours a day, i would need to make $62.50 an hour.
keep your GOAL INCOME while you are pricing out your services. OBVIOUSLY, you can only charge what you are worth. if you are a junior stylist, most people wouldn’t likely see you if you were charging “master level prices”. BUT at least you know where you are at and what you need to work towards to hit your GOAL INCOME.
REMEMBER : cost of time + cost of service + any additional costs = YOUR SERVICE PRICE!
conclusion
our formula for figuring out how much to charge as a hairstylist! go ahead and try it out for yourself.
list all the services you provide, figure out your hourly rate, figure out how much time it takes you to complete that service and how much product you use to complete that service.
you're not guessing! you're not picking numbers out of thin air - just FOLLOW THE FORMULA..
REMEMBER YOUR WORTH! you offer a POWERFUL service. we believe, here at nvenn, that we can and you can touch people’s lives in ways that others can’t. make sure that you value yourself enough that you can continue to do this for people. the last thing we need is for our industries quality service providers to switch professions because THEY WEREN’T MAKING ENOUGH MONEY!
if you have any questions just leave us a comment below.
NEW YOUTUBE LIVES: we are going to be doing business focused youtube lives every second thursday. most of our youtube videos are focused around developing your techniques and skills. it's important to build your business knowledge and your mindset as well too.
nvenn hair care is EASY TO STOCK, and EASY TO SELL! these products are great for finishing your clients, as well as help you to GROW an EXTRA REVENUE STREAM in your business!
reach out to us by sending us an email at info@nvenn.com and we can get you set up with your own PRO ACCOUNT! we are to GROW your salon chair business.
have a great day!
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