You’d think everyone would want to earn more money, and in this business it’s an often repeated saying that you’re the only one who can give yourself a raise. But a lot of stylists are afraid to raise prices. They add another year or two of experience, learn new techniques through
continuing education classes and mentor younger coworkers—and after all that they still fear that a price hike will send clients away in droves.
Does that fear come true? It depends on two things: 1) your relationship with your clients at the point of your price increase, and 2) how you inform them of the change. If your clients come to you because it would be a big pain to have a new stylist figure out their color formula, a higher price could make them think the pain is worth the gain. But if they come to you more because of your personality than your skills, and if you show them at every single visit how much you value them, they are not likely to leave just because you’re raising prices the same way every other professional does periodically.
That’s the salon industry: your success in raising prices hinges upon the level of customer service that you provide. People can get a pretty good hair cut a lot of places. What they can’t get anywhere else is you. So are you worth a few extra bucks? Next time I’ll offer some guidelines in how to convince clients that you are.