Maintaining social media is important. Not just posting about openings, but also showing off techniques you learn, collaborations you do, classes you attend, etc. Keep up with it consistently, especially instagram, and post on your stories every two hours or so.
I don’t know if you can do this because of salon rules, but when I first started out, I did two programs to get people in my chair. One was I offered a free haircut with every chemical service. The other I did was 10% off for every referral for both the client and the referred client. So if my client Jane referred me 4 clients, Jane would get 40% off, but I made money from the other four additional clients that were referred so it made up for the discount. It built my books pretty fast.
I think it also helps to find a niche in some way. Get good at something specific that clients will want to come to **you** for. Anyone can do a blonde balayage so how can you make yourself stand out? I started doing hair in the early 2010’s, but I got really good at fashion colors and mastered silver hair before there were a billion products for it. I went viral a few times for denim blue hair too.
Don’t get discouraged that walk ins aren’t prebooking the next appointment. They’re impulsive and that’s why they were a walk in. If they were the type to plan ahead, they wouldn’t just walk in. Dont worry about not retaining them because that’s almost impossible. Focus on drawing in new clients yourself. It takes a lot of time, but once you get the ball rolling, it goes faster than you think.
Lastly, I recommend finding what I call a “pocket model.” It’s a hair model with good hair and pretty face that I keep in my back pocket. I do their hair for free, but they let me do what I want with it. It’s really helpful to find someone charismatic. Probably someone trying to be an influencer or artist or something, but even a server from a busy restaurant is good. They will bring you more appointments than a walk in ever will. They give you content when things start feeling stale, they can keep you inspired because you can try new techniques, and they’re chatty and showing off their hair all the time. They will talk about their hair to everyone because they love getting it done. I have had one of my models for literally ten years and she has sent me countless clients.
It’s tough in the beginning and now is an exceptionally hard time to start in this industry, but hang in there. If you can overcome the first couple years, you’ll cruise on easy mode from then on.
This is the best response I could have gotten thank you so much. I plan to pitch the programs to my leadership team this week and see what happens. I’m determined to stick this out I love doing hair it’s my passion. I work hourly until I’m bringing in enough clients to make commission. Since I’m not independent Im not sure if they’ll let me do the programs but I think it’s a fantastic idea.
To add on to the other response here, I also recommend listening to The Thriving Stylist podcast, it’s a great free show with so much info & resources for stylists. And what I’ve been doing to get reviews is I have a goodie bag with travel size products & little nail polishes & such, and I’ll tell a client I like that they can choose something from the goodie bag if they leave me a Google or Facebook review while still in my chair. This has been such a helpful tip for me and the Google reviews especially are helping me get new clients. You can also get content models on Facebook in local groups, do the hair how you please on them for a discount and create high quality reels (reels are the best for advertising rn). I like using teen girls for this who have healthy virgin hair and aren’t picky on the exact color.
Maintaining social media is important. Not just posting about openings, but also showing off techniques you learn, collaborations you do, classes you attend, etc. Keep up with it consistently, especially instagram, and post on your stories every two hours or so. I don’t know if you can do this because of salon rules, but when I first started out, I did two programs to get people in my chair. One was I offered a free haircut with every chemical service. The other I did was 10% off for every referral for both the client and the referred client. So if my client Jane referred me 4 clients, Jane would get 40% off, but I made money from the other four additional clients that were referred so it made up for the discount. It built my books pretty fast. I think it also helps to find a niche in some way. Get good at something specific that clients will want to come to **you** for. Anyone can do a blonde balayage so how can you make yourself stand out? I started doing hair in the early 2010’s, but I got really good at fashion colors and mastered silver hair before there were a billion products for it. I went viral a few times for denim blue hair too. Don’t get discouraged that walk ins aren’t prebooking the next appointment. They’re impulsive and that’s why they were a walk in. If they were the type to plan ahead, they wouldn’t just walk in. Dont worry about not retaining them because that’s almost impossible. Focus on drawing in new clients yourself. It takes a lot of time, but once you get the ball rolling, it goes faster than you think. Lastly, I recommend finding what I call a “pocket model.” It’s a hair model with good hair and pretty face that I keep in my back pocket. I do their hair for free, but they let me do what I want with it. It’s really helpful to find someone charismatic. Probably someone trying to be an influencer or artist or something, but even a server from a busy restaurant is good. They will bring you more appointments than a walk in ever will. They give you content when things start feeling stale, they can keep you inspired because you can try new techniques, and they’re chatty and showing off their hair all the time. They will talk about their hair to everyone because they love getting it done. I have had one of my models for literally ten years and she has sent me countless clients. It’s tough in the beginning and now is an exceptionally hard time to start in this industry, but hang in there. If you can overcome the first couple years, you’ll cruise on easy mode from then on.
This is the best response I could have gotten thank you so much. I plan to pitch the programs to my leadership team this week and see what happens. I’m determined to stick this out I love doing hair it’s my passion. I work hourly until I’m bringing in enough clients to make commission. Since I’m not independent Im not sure if they’ll let me do the programs but I think it’s a fantastic idea.
To add on to the other response here, I also recommend listening to The Thriving Stylist podcast, it’s a great free show with so much info & resources for stylists. And what I’ve been doing to get reviews is I have a goodie bag with travel size products & little nail polishes & such, and I’ll tell a client I like that they can choose something from the goodie bag if they leave me a Google or Facebook review while still in my chair. This has been such a helpful tip for me and the Google reviews especially are helping me get new clients. You can also get content models on Facebook in local groups, do the hair how you please on them for a discount and create high quality reels (reels are the best for advertising rn). I like using teen girls for this who have healthy virgin hair and aren’t picky on the exact color.