Referrals from current customers can be the most profitable and the least expensive way to increase your barbering clientele. I’m sure you’ve already thought about the importance of great service and expert haircuts in getting referrals. But have you considered how you could make just coming into your shop more exciting? If your shop is like any other barber shop a potential client goes to, then it’s Boring! You want your shop to have a Unique and Exciting atmosphere. Don’t be boring! Instead, try some of these tips! Make the windows enticing. The windows are like the eyes of your business. Put signage on them that will draw people in, and change it frequently. A flashing neon sign that says “Open” and includes your logo, painting or stenciling on the glass that points out one of your strengths or a new service, something representative of the season of the year—all are ways to get customers to think of your shop as a place that’s interesting and even extraordinary. Greet customers with a smile and a firm handshake. Ensure that no one come through the door without being made to feel welcome, and don’t let them leave without a business card
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Spending too much time on a hair cut for the amount you charge is the Third Deadly Sin committed by too many barbers! Too much dawdling, too many laughs with the customers, even being the least expensive barber in town could mean that you won’t be able to pay your bills and stay in business! Master Barber Tim Hite of the Barber School suggests that you charge at least a dollar a minute for haircuts. Do the math! That means you should be able to give a $20.00 haircut in 20-minutes or less! Can you give an excellent haircut in 20 minutes? Is a $20.00 haircut a competitive price in your location? Will you have to work faster and charge less, or will your customers feel that a more-expensive haircut is worth the time you put into it? What can you do to ensure that you give the best haircuts in the least amount of time and at a price that the market can bear? The first thing to do is some research. What are competitors whose quality of services matches yours charging? Go undercover and get a haircut at one of the more successful shops your customers might go
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If you asked Master Barber Tim Hite what he considers to be his most important barber tool, you might be as surprised as I was! After guessing— “Clippers?” “Shears?” “A Razor?” “The Comb?”—he walked me over to….. The Mirror! At first I was puzzled, until he explained that the best way to see if there are any flaws in the haircut you are giving is to put some distance between yourself and the person whose hair you’re working on. He demonstrated how you could step 3-4 feet back from the chair, walk around the person and see the whole effect clearly, OR you could just look at the person in the mirror, while turning the chair. Duh!! And here I thought the mirror was just for the person getting his or her hair cut! The cliché “Can’t see the forest for the trees” comes to mind. When you’re standing close to your clients and even looking down on their heads, all you can see is what’s right in front of your eyes. You might be focusing on the crown, the sideburns, the neckline or even the length of the hair on the forehead and trying to get each part just
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What Good Barbers and Good Bartenders Have in Common: Listen to your customers’ troubles – leave your negative speech at home! It’s a movie and TV cliché. The customer sits at the bar pouring out his latest hurts and disappointments, while the bartender seems to be listening with rapt attention but rarely says a word. Even though he has a somewhat captive audience, we don’t expect to hear about the negative things going on in his life. People getting a haircut have the same expectations. They sit in the barber’s chair expecting to be pampered, listened to and leave looking and feeling better than when they came in. You may have mastered the skills necessary for giving a good haircut, but your clients might not come back unless they enjoy the whole experience. It order for that to happen, it’s important that you be perceived as an empathetic but not a negative person! How can you ensure that happens? Be a good listener: Your first job is to listen to the client describe how he or she wants their hair cut, but you’re likely to hear a lot more than that! As clients relax under your skillful clippers and shears,
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Grungy fingernails, rancid breath, rumpled clothes, offensive body odor and more—overlooking any of these no-no’s of personal hygiene can determine whether or not a potential client will sit down in your chair, come back for a second cut or head straight for your competition. The first impression you make counts big-time when building up and keeping a barbering clientele. Take a personal inventory! Can you rank yourself as “Professional” in all of these make-or-break-a-relationship areas? I took a shower this morning. Avoid the risk of offensive body odor by showering daily and using deodorant. A little not-too-strong aftershave or cologne might be a plus as long as it’s not used as a cover-up. Don’t forget your hair! Remember, you’re supposed to be the expert on well-groomed hair. My clothes are clean and pressed. It definitely can’t hurt to look better at work than you do when you’re lounging in front of the TV or working in the yard. Launder your clothes frequently—spots or not—and press them, unless they are made of a wonder-fabric that doesn’t need ironing. No rips or tears either, even if you bought something off-the-rack that way! Exceed the dress code in your shop. My nails are
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The routine of Barbering is just that...routine. Each cutting movement must be repeated each time the customer comes in, in order to get consistent results. People expect what they got. Customers want the same experience and haircut the last time that they came in. That is why they are coming back. Consistency means everything to a Barber. It is amazingly simple to do each haircut as a matter of routine without necessarily remembering each step of the haircut. Think of the last time you drove home. Do you remember thinking about each turn as you got closer to home? No. You are familiar with getting home and it just becomes second nature. This becomes a routine. Routines are made up of basic principles. In your mind the haircut is a picture and a plan. Your eye has to visualize the cut in the hair in front of you. Your hands must be able to execute the plan that you have visualized in the hair. This is where a routine is so valuable. A routine is habit force. You do the same process over and over. You are not in unknown territory because you have done the process countless times. Once
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When is the last time you thought big? I mean really big? When I ask individuals what their goals are I usually get the same general answers. “Open my own shop.” “Work for someone” “Build up a clientele”. It is extremely rare that I hear anyone express an idea that is creative or will push the envelope. Few of them provide answers that require much effort or have much innovation. Barbering is an amazing profession with no limits. There are few careers that can be learned in a matter of months that literally has no ceiling on earning potential. Barbers can earn more money than many college graduates with a bachelors and even a master’s degree. Barbers have more opportunity to succeed than ever before. The internet has changed the game. You can market in ways that are extremely effective and best of all these methods are FREE. You can also study the industries best experts all through the internet. Prepare yourself to be more. Your quality of life is directly related to your commitment for excellence. Picture in your mind what successful Barbers look like and live by it. Do more than just have a shop and wait for
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One problem that is found with Barbers that lack experience is dealing with hair that sticks up or these cowlicks. The barber tries to cut the hair to make it fit and correct the problem only to end up cutting the hair too short. You can cut it all day long, but it won’t solve the problem. Anyone can cut hair off. The job of the Barber is to cut just enough. Learn to solve problems. It is not the hair that you cut that matters but rather the hair that is left on the head that is most important. Experience will help you learn how to deal with each unique situation. Many people just "blunder" their way through each situation making tricky situations into problems. Approach each trouble area with caution. Cut a little at a time. Remember less is more. Prior to cutting the hair comb through the hair to identify these trouble spots. Lift up the hair as needed. This process will allow you to find these areas before you cut too much hair off and make a big mistake. Cutting more hair off is not the solution. The growth pattern determines how the hair will lay.
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Many people are looking for that one magic thing that they can do to change their business. The truth of it all is that is comes down to hard work and a few basic principles. Attitude is a critical part of being a Barber. You can be a skilled worker and provide great haircuts. You can have great prices and a fancy shop. However, if you don’t have a good attitude, a desire to serve and please, the customer will be uncomfortable and will not come back. It is very important for the Barber to like the work. If you don’t like the work you won’t fit in. You won’t feel comfortable cutting hair and the clients especially will not feel comfortable around you. Barbering is an independent person’s work. It is not a team work. People will request you individually or go some where else where they can. This means that your level of success depends on you and how you act with clients. Too many people in the world today go to work just for the money. They do not enjoy what they do and they especially are not happy while doing it. Bring value to the client
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The clipper used properly is the main implement in most haircuts. It is fast and allows for smooth technique allowing you to provide a beautiful cut with no lines or gouges. Haircuts come off best when the comb and clipper are used together. The best type of comb is called an “all purpose comb”. It is proper to use the course teeth of the comb and the all purpose comb exclusively. One of the most common complaints of the clipper is that the clippers run hot. This is a sure sign of over use. Over use doesn’t mean that you are cutting too many clients. It means that you are spending too much time on one haircut. The clippers are a good training tool because the clippers tell you when they are not being used correctly. When properly used, clippers do not get hot in the hands of an expert. When the clippers do get hot, you are spending too much time and to move on with the haircut. Another complaint of the clipper is they bog down and stop in heavy hair. This is another great indicator of the clippers. This tells you that you are moving through the
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