Hola amigos!

It’s been a week since my partner and I took our 8 day vacation to Spain. Yes, we’re sad to be back in the states where the 2-week vacation is the norm. Why haven’t we learned something from our friends in Australia where 4 weeks comes standard? It’s truly mind boggling. While abroad, we squeezed out 15,000 mighty steps fueled with $2 Cafe con Leches, and to be frank I didn’t think much about hair.

Now that I’m home, I realize I have a lot to be grateful for. Unfortunately, many stylists in the US don’t have access to paid time off. In part, I attribute that to the mysterious and many employment options available on the market. (I’m talking under-the-table, 1099, commission, etc) Some legal, and some dubiously decepetive. Regardless where you find yourself, here are the factors that allow me to take a trip to Europe and still make an exceptional income.

First of all, I work with an amazing employer who is kind, empathetic and who treats people well by offering benefits like paid time off. Second, I work in an employee-based commission salon. I am an employee (I clock-in, out and my taxes are withheld from my pay) and this means I receive benefits employees are entitled to. Third, I live in the great state of New York where lawmakers passed legislation requiring all employers of a certain size to offer paid time off for sick and personal reasons. My employer has offered these benefits since before they were law, major props to her.

Not everyone has access to these opportunities. I get that. I mention them to give credit where credit is due, and because we can intelligently plan our lives to receive the best benefits possible for our situations when we are intentional about it. Today’s post isn’t just about the uncontrollable environments we find ourselves in.

It’s about what we can do in any salon environment to earn the lifestyle we dream. First, here’s what my first week back at the salon looked like. (It was an easy 3-day week)

BTC results 10/15 – 10/21

I worked 27 hours behind the chair
I generated $2545 in services
I sold $178 in retail
I earned $479 in tips

$2545 times a 41% (commission rate) = $1006.14
+ $479 in tips = $1485.14
times 52 weeks a year = $77,227.28 a year

If you want to know how I make 60-75k a year working 3 days a week, or 100k working a 4 day week then read on:

Step 1. Track your Day

I keep a paper journal. Apps are for suckers. At the end of every day I make a note of who I saw, what services I performed and how many dollars were spent on services and retail. It takes about 15 minutes to do this at the end of my day.

After I add together all of my guests purchases for Service and Retail (separately) I can figure out exactly what I earned. You’re going to be doing this consistently for the rest of your career, so invest in a journal that will keep you on track.

Here is where I lose 80% of readers who say “I don’t have an extra 15 minutes a day” or “math is for nerds”, listen to The Hair Strategist. This is the first, and most important step. This is a step-by-step proven method to be a six-figure stylist. Any builder worthy their salt knows you need a strong foundation to build on, this my friends is the foundation. Everything builds on this. As you become practiced, and your muscles grow, you will begin to see yourself earning $200-$300 more every day. As mere humans, we believe what we see with our own eyes! As you start to see the transformation it will fill you with the motivation to do crazy things that will propel you into a new income bracket.

Step 2. Make Service and Retail Offers

Now that you have valuable information such as your average daily sales, Your average ticket, and your retail to service percentage, you can work the Hair Strategist Philosophy which can be summarized as:

Clients buy looks, not services. This is a radical change from how the normie stylist views their clientele. A Hair Strategist recognizes that each one of their guests has an individual style, a look they are trying to achieve. Our job isn’t merely to perform a service, but to guide our guests to the hairstyle that will best suit them and their overall aesthetic.

Now that they have agreed to a look, I offer the services that will create their look. I only ever offer services that I believe will benefit the guest and only after the guest and I come into consensus about what they want their hair to look like. To not heed my warning will turn your guests off, as you will appear to only care about making offers and not about their goals or desires.

Services come in 2 flavors: Ones that take additional time, and ones that do not. Knowing the difference is key my success. An example of a service that takes additional time is a color gloss added to a haircut client (because that color gloss takes time to apply and process.) But if that guest were receiving already scheduled for a root retouch, now that color gloss takes a negligible amount of time to apply and because the root retouch already needs to process I have added money to my day without adding additional time.

A Hair Strategist is keenly aware of which services will create the best look for their guest and how much time they have available during their day. Experienced and very busy stylists should focus on adding services which do not add time, while those who have time on the schedule to fill should focus on the other.

Step 3. Filter

Lastly, not all guests are equal. While everyone has intrinsic and equal value as a human beings who deserve kindness and respect, not everyone is equal in deserving of your time. This is crucially important to internalize if you are going to jump your income 20-40k a year.

Because we’ve tracked our days in step 1, we know what our average client spends during their visit. I just take the total service dollar sales for a day and divide it by the number of clients seen. We’ll call this number the Average Ticket. With this information we can sort each guest into a below-average or above-average bucket based on how much they pay us.

Above-average ticket guests typically agree to more additional services and buy more retail, while below-average ticket guests are usually looking to take up more of your time but only pay the same or less. If I am going to earn 100k or more a year, Iwill need to learn to filter out the guests who aren’t willing to pay more. One method of doing this is to:

Identify below-average guests and,

  • Offer additional services to them. I have been completely surprised by the 180 transformations some clients undergo when I’ve stepped up as the professional. Many guests are waiting for you to take the lead, let’s give them the opportunity to follow.
  • No longer discount their services. Many of these guests become our friends. Maybe you raised your price for a haircut 5 years ago but they’re still paying 2016 prices. End the practice of receiving less than you deserve now.
  • Shorten their service times by 15 minutes. Some guests simply pay more and we need time available to serve them. This could mean adjusting services timings, when possible to be more efficient. Although their time in your chair may be shorter, I am diligent about still providing a great experience and quality service they have come to expect.
  • If these methods have failed after 2-3 visits, the guests will be feeling a bit of tension from your new professional approach. They eventually realize you will always offer them a partial highlight, or you show them product to buy before they reach the door. Many come to the conclusion that you are not the stylist for them anymore. Clients can self-filter. In my book this is a great thing! You now have more time to serve someone who will pay you what you’re worth.

Summary

By no means is today’s blog a comprehensive plan. For every step there are multiple layers to unravel. Many angles to explore. My intention is to empower you to make the paradigm shift in the quickest way possible. I know anyone who practices these simple steps will make dramatic changes to their earning potential.

Implement the habits of tracking, offering and filtering every day and soon you will be on the path to extraordinary income. Remember, Hair Strategists think about ourselves differently. We do different things that the normie stylist think are CRAZY, and consequently we earn 2x – 3x more than our peers. Money you can use to save for your future plans, upgrade your lifestyle or finance a trip to Europe. It sure is tough being different.

Hasta pronto!