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The Aspiring Stylist Podcast is where to begin, grow and aspire to become the best stylist you can be. Whether you’re thinking about becoming a stylist, opening a salon, or developing your skill as an experienced stylist, the next step of your beauty career starts here. Each week we’ll discuss strategic ways to design, plan and execute on becoming a stylist that excels behind the chair and above the bottom line.
Morgan Franklin: Welcome to the
Aspiring Stylists Podcast with
Tracey Franklin. Where to begin,
grow and aspire to become the
best stylist you can be. Whether
you're thinking about becoming a
stylist opening a salon, or
developing your skills as an
experienced stylist the next
step of your beauty career
starts here. Each week we'll
discuss strategic ways to
design, plan and execute on
becoming a stylist that excels
behind the chair and above the
bottom line. Here's your host,
Tracey Franklin.
Tracey Franklin: As a stylist,
your primary sources of income
are going to come from your
service and your product sales.
And hopefully you are building a
generous clientele and are able
to factor in your tips as well.
The two most common business
models are commission or
independent contract. Both of
these are great models, but they
vary greatly in your benefits.
Commission salons are typically
going to train you well and
include continued education down
the road. They also typically
have a strong marketing
structure to attract a lot of
new clients. And based on your
availability as an entry level
stylists this is going to be
very beneficial. And it's really
going to affect your income in
those first few years. Now,
Booth rent allows total
independence, whatever products
you like, whatever services you
believe in, and an established
stylists with a strong
following, I understand how this
can be a very appealing model, I
do recommend doing the math
because you may be surprised if
you're thinking about doing it
for the money. The average
starting salary for a new
hairstylist in the United States
is $32,000. Now, this is the
average and you may hear that
number and think okay, but
remember, this is an average. So
in these calculations are
stylists that make as low as
12,000 mixed in with those that
are making $50,000 a year or
more experience and
specialization are obviously
going to influence your earning
potential. Now experience speaks
for itself, practice makes
better, right? We all know that.
And that's going to appeal to a
potential client. But there are
plenty of people out there who
won't pay for experienced
stylists pricing, they want it
fast, they want it cheap. That's
just how they like it. Having
something you specialize in can
be a big draw, especially if
it's something that not a lot of
people in your area are
offering. And being able to
charge more for something rare
or something you're really
really good at, increase your
earning potential, you're gonna
face financial challenges as a
new stylist, your paychecks for
one thing are going to be all
over the place. One week, it's
$1,000. In the next week, it's
half of that. And it can make
budgeting really difficult. Here
you are, depending on your
people to show up hoping their
kid doesn't get sick or a
snowstorm isn't in the forecast,
or maybe a client that's booked
for a five hours $600 service is
going to leave a hole in your
schedule and in your paycheck.
So there are ways that you can
be strategic about increasing
your service prices right and it
needs to happen over time, your
price increases have to be based
on merit on you being more
valuable somehow, you can't just
give yourself a raise because
you feel like it, you can get
away with small ones for
inflation. But a 10 to 20% Raise
which is standard in our
industry is going to have to be
earned. You need to look at
things like your percentage of
time booked and how many clients
that you have or pre booking and
make sure that your metrics are
supporting your price increase.
So this is a tipping industry.
And I think it's fair to depend
on them. But if you do, this has
to be treated like real money.
If you count on them as part of
your income, how you support
yourself how you pay your bills,
then be careful about blowing
that crisp 50 Just because it's
sitting in your pocket, you may
need it later. There are going
to be typical ongoing expenses
for any stylist. Any stylist at
any time could need to replace a
blow dryer or invest in a new
pair of shears. Maybe there's a
class you'd like to take or a
new gadget you'd like to try.
And these sorts of investments
can cost as little as a couple
100 all the way up to a couple
$1,000. And no matter what
business model you work, you
will likely be responsible for
things like this. As an
independent contractor, you're
going to be purchasing all of
your color, all of your back
bar, all of your everything,
everything will be on you and
with the type of fluctuations
that you're going to have in
this industry. A savings account
is a really good way to say set
aside some money for those weeks
that are more disappointing than
rewarding. So we've got our
booth rental costs and how that
compares to your potential
earnings in a commission based
salon. Well, in the beginning,
and I say this a lot, I find
commission salons will help most
stylists earn more faster, they
will also prepare you and push
you towards success as quickly
as possible, because it's good
for you and for the salon owner
for you to be booked and busy.
Having an M book stylist is very
expensive. I feel like that kind
of leadership. And that kind of
accountability is really
valuable. on down the road, when
you need less of this, when
you're like, Hey, I got this and
you feel like you can earn more
on your own. Maybe that's an
option, and some will and some
won't. If you are a highly
motivated stylist, you might
find yourself slipping, and you
could end up making less. So if
you're not a business person,
you don't understand the
numbers, then trying to manage
your inventory costs for your
products that you sell or you
use can be difficult. I've seen
stylists do this in a few
different ways. Some just saved
tabs off their color boxes, some
keep a list some use of fun
inventory app, I found the
easiest way to know what I need
to put back into the business is
to go by percentages, you
shouldn't be spending more than
7% of your total services on
back bar. And this is going to
include any color or shampoo or
styling products that you're
going to need. So in that sense,
if you did $1,000 worth of
services, your budget or your
products for the following week
would be $70. This is assuming
that you're just replacing right
not totally stocking, if you've
let your inventory get low, then
you're gonna know you're gonna
have to spend more for your
retail it's 50%. So that means
if you sold $500, in retail, you
should be reinvesting $250.
There are lots of hidden cost,
right? Lots of unexpected things
that we might not anticipate, as
a commission stylish, you will
be responsible for very little
the owner is going to handle it.
As an independent, you may not
consider certain things, things
like taxes, insurance, but you
should, you should also be
considering your retirement,
it's never too early and you're
not corporate. So how are you
going to support yourself and
provide for yourself later,
that's not something you want to
have to figure out later. That's
something you need to be
preparing for. Now. There are
lots of little things that are
going to slip your mind like
boil gloves, laundry soap, but
you're going to need them and
they're not cheap. How to taxes
impact your net income,
especially if you're renting a
booth. If you're independent
100% of your federal and Social
Security tax is on you, you need
to make sure you get it paid,
you need to make sure you get
paid on time. Now if you're an
employee, the salon owner is
going to match your Social
Security tax. So that's a huge
savings for you. It is an
expense for the salon owner, but
it's part of the commission
structure, the employer is going
to withhold those from your
check and make sure that they
get turned in properly. We need
to have strategies, we need to
know how we can minimize our
operation costs. And I say hey,
you need to beware of shiny
objects, you're going to be
tempted, you're going to be
tempted to buy all the things
and offer all the things but you
need to make sure it's going to
pay off. Because you might have
equipment and a skill set
sitting around collecting dust,
make sure you're aware when
prices go up and pass that on to
a guest or find some way to
increase your prices. Or you're
going to end up making less
doing the same work. I talk a
lot about having a niche or
specializing in something I do
feel like it's a great way to
increase your earnings, you will
just be better at some things
and you will enjoy certain
services more and getting really
good at that means being able to
charge more for it. But it's not
the only way. Being dedicated to
good service and connection with
your clients will take you
farther than any specialization.
Well, as a salon owner, I fully
understand how important selling
retail is to the overall salon
economy. But individual stylists
may not see it that way. I do
think it significantly boost
your income. And I think it's
for more reasons than you think.
Yes, you get that little
percentage on your paycheck. And
that's great, right? No sweat
off your back and your clients
have great products that they
can use at home. I feel like for
clients selling them the
appropriate products so that
their hair can look better for
longer and so that they're able
to fix their own hair at home
builds a lot of trust and it can
create long term retention with
your guests. I don't see
anything wrong with running
specials and having promotions
to increase your booking and to
help you make more More money, I
would much rather see a stylist
be doing something for a
discount than sitting around for
free, you do have to be careful
about offering these
opportunities too often or
they're going to lose their
appeal. A stylist that has too
many promotions can come off
kind of desperate. So you need
to be strategic. Do you need
more experience at something and
need practice, this is going to
be a great service to offer,
right? Anything that you want to
get better at, or find a service
that doesn't cost too much money
to perform and just added on for
free. A treatment that cost you
$2 to perform and holds a $30
value to guests is a great way
to go and a great way to fill
your book. I think for the most
part working in a high end salon
and an affluent area will impact
what you make. And I feel like
it can be a good strategy for a
stylist. So a $20 service and
Cookeville versus a $50 service
in LA. Let's talk about that.
Let's talk about the cost of
living. So does this mean you
should move to LA probably not
unless it's your dream. I will
say that every community has
areas or establishments that
offer that big city feel. So
you're gonna be working in a
luxury salon in your own
neighborhood and it's going to
impact what you can charge a
haircut at a walk and chain
salons gonna run you about $12
The stylist is good, the
haircuts good, but very little
experience is offered that same
haircut and a high end salon
will cost you $40 The stylist is
still good, the haircut is still
good. But you also get a scalp
massage and a blowout and a well
crafted environment that just
feels luxurious. Planning for
financial stability and a
fluctuating market is mind
boggling. It's hard and even the
best circumstances, it is
manageable when you stay aware
of the areas that you can cut
back. And again, when those
supplies go up, you go up when a
tube of color goes from $10 to
$12. And you don't defer that to
the client. Again, it's like
doing that same work and making
less over time. In a recession
you need to concentrate on the
services that people get no
matter what a woman collecting,
unemployment will still budget
for her gray coverage, trust
that and her husband will still
budget for his haircuts. So it's
really important that we don't
get too big for our britches.
Just because we're an extension
badass doesn't mean that we
shouldn't pivot when it's
necessary. As a hairstylist, no
matter what you're going to need
to make sure that your insurance
needs are covered. A commission
stylists should have some kind
of disability insurance in case
they're injured. A liability
policy isn't a bad idea. But you
will usually fall under the
salon policy umbrella for any
work related instances. Of
course, you need health
insurance. And as of yet, this
isn't really a benefit that I
see in the majority of salons.
Now, if you're independent, you
will need a policy that protects
you that protects the clients
you serve and all of your
equipment. What kind of policy
you need is going to depend on
what sort of Salon you work at.
People ask me a lot like how can
a stylist prepare financially
for slow seasons. And I mean,
life happens and business
fluctuates for any professional
and you have to play unlike
anyone else, you have to pay
attention to the trends. So you
need to keep good records so
that you know what time of year
you're going to slow down so
that you know you need to buckle
down and have some money set
aside. And you also know hey,
maybe this is a good time to
offer a special, some new way of
promoting yourself. I mean, you
just have to be aware awareness
is the magic. A lot of stylists
become educators and brand
ambassadors and I think it's a
great way to pay it forward and
really keep your own skills
sharpened. If you're really good
at it and become a super
successful educator. There's
also a lot of earning potential.
In my opinion, this is really an
act to move. After you've built
a good clientele, you're making
good money and now you're
looking to branch out and try
something new. One of the
biggest assets an educator can
bring is real world experience.
So starting this type of thing
too soon could limit your
impact. Being a brand ambassador
is a lot of fun, and it's a
great way to stay up to date on
all the new products that are
coming out. You know what a big
advocate I am for continuing
education and that's because I
do believe it impacts the
stylists earning potential. A
stylist that learns more, earns
more. A stylist that never
learns anything new doesn't have
anything new to offer their
clients. When you go to shows
and you attend classes, you show
your clients that you take this
seriously. You show them that
they can count on you to bring
something new to the chair and
it's not always going to be the
same ol same ol so why is it
that an Experience, stylists
have so much more opportunity.
Doing something over and over
again is going to make you
better at it. And you're also
going to pick up some speed
along the way. Time is still
money and being able to shave
off 15 minutes here and there is
going to make room for more
opportunities for you. People
like hearing that a stylist has
experience. It's very comforting
for them. The more knowledge you
have, the more in demand you're
probably going to be. When
you're booked out six 812 weeks
at a time you are in high
demand, and it's definitely time
for level up.
Morgan Franklin: Thank you for
joining us on this episode of
anytime soon. The Aspiring
Stylist Podcast with Tracey
Franklin. If you enjoyed
listening and you want to hear
more, make sure you subscribe on
Apple Podcast, Spotify or
wherever you find your podcasts.
The Aspiring Stylist Podcast
with Tracey Franklin is a Morgan
Franklin Production. Today's
episode was written and produced
by Morgan Franklin editing and
post-production by Mike
Franklin. Want to find out more
about Tracey and the Aspiring
Barber and Beauty Academy go to
aspirebarberandbeauty.com