Intro:
Do you feel like you were meant to have a kick-ass career as a hairstylist?
Like you got into this industry to make big things happen?
Maybe you’re struggling to build a solid base and want some stability.
Maybe you know social media is important, but it feels like a waste of time because you weren’t seeing any results.
Maybe you’ve already had some amazing success but are craving more.
Maybe you’re ready to truly enjoy the freedom and flexibility this industry has to offer.
Cutting and coloring skills will only get you so far, but to build a life long career as a wealthy stylist, it takes business skills and a serious marketing strategy.
When you’re ready to quit just working in your business and start working on it, join us here where we share real success stories from real stylists.
I’m Britt Seva, social media and marketing strategist just for hair stylists, and this is the Thriving Stylist Podcast.
Britt:
What is up?
And welcome back to the Thriving Stylist Podcast.
I’m your host, Britt Seva.
And this week, I thought we would talk what it means to be worth it as a stylist.
I had this realization that I’ve been using the phrase worth it a ton over the last four or five months.
And if you enroll in one of my programs or even come to a free training, I talk a lot about what are the things you can do to make your business worth it.
But that being said, if you are not in my trainings, you have no idea, but you keep hearing me to say this phrase.
And even if you have come to a free training, but you’re not in any level of mentorship, you probably only got a high level, broad stroke concept of why it’s important to be worth it.
But then you’re left wondering, OK, yeah, but so how do I do that?
Which is the critical question, right?
It’s the core of everything that we’re doing.
And one of the things I shared most recently in the boot camp I hosted and then the free classes I hosted too, is I talked about how the charge your worth movement was absolutely devastating to our industry.
It’s one of the worst business decisions that I saw a lot of stylists kind of fall into in the last few years.
Because the idea of charging your worth is setting your prices based on emotional needs.
And we all have emotional needs and desires and wants.
I don’t know of anybody, any qualified business coach with like a proven track record whose pricing strategy is decide how much money you need to make and just go for it.
I’m not familiar with that pricing strategy.
I don’t know of anybody who has done that at scale and seen massive success.
I do think that it could be a fleeting strategy that works when a product is hot or a market is hot or there’s something super trendy, then yeah, charge your worth with an emotional value makes sense.
But beyond that, charge your worth is pretty devastating.
And we’re kind of exiting out of this charge your worth era.
I think a lot of people in the last couple of months in particular realized, like, okay, maybe that’s not going to work.
And now we’re stepping into this worth it era, where it’s about whether or not a client perceives you as a stylist or a salon who’s worth it to invest in.
And by the way, if you’re a salon owner, Stylist Today, who are considering working for you, are also asking, is making a move to this salon worth it?
And when we put it even in that context, I think it starts to make more sense.
If you were to leave your salon home and work for another salon or owner, you’d be saying, is this move worth it?
Is this a good idea?
Put yourself in a client’s shoes and they’re asking themselves the same thing.
So let’s talk about why worth it matters and why I’m putting a lot of emphasis on that right now.
In November of 2024, it was reported that the cost of living in the US had increased by 20% since 2021.
I was in a free Facebook group for hair stylists over the weekend, and I saw kind of a rant post about a color line that recently announced they’re raising their prices.
And the stylist was saying, this color line’s prices have increased by 20%.
When you look at the average rate of inflation, it’s only 3% of year.
This salon color line is ripping us off.
Sure, in an average season of life, the average rate of inflation is 3% a year.
But since 2021, we have seen such excessive inflation that when you look at how much prices and cost of living has increased since 2021, it is up by just around and over 20%.
I’ve seen several statistics.
Some say that the cost of living has actually increased by closer to 24%, but I don’t like to over-inflate.
So let’s keep it at 20%, which is the low estimate.
So for all of us, if your income has not increased by 20% or more since 2021, your lifestyle has reduced.
There is no other way about it.
The cost of living, eating, putting a roof over your head, driving your car has gone up.
Now, knowing that the cost of living has gone up, unemployment has actually not gone up.
Average salary is up when you look at statistics.
Money being spent by Americans monthly has not decreased.
Debt is also up, which means people are spending money.
There isn’t a lot of data that backs up this idea that Americans are not spending anymore and that nobody wants personal services.
There’s just not a lot of data to support that.
Now, the other thing that I’ve asked in all of the trainings I’ve hosted in the last several weeks is, how many of you have gotten more particular about where you spend your money and your time in the last 12 months?
And overwhelmingly, everybody says, yes, that’s where clients are at too.
It’s not that they’re not spending money.
It’s that they are being so much more particular about where they spend their time and where they spend their money.
And they’re asking themselves, is this worth it?
And it’s probably what you’re asking yourself too.
Another example I’ve been giving is the reality that right now, we’re in what’s called a client’s market.
So when you think about real estate, there’s a buyer’s market and there’s a seller’s market.
And that means that there’s times when it’s really great time to sell a house and there’s times where it’s a really great time to buy a house.
But usually those two things don’t coexist, right?
If it’s a good time to buy a house, that means that the cost of the house is down.
So to sell a house, you’re not making maybe as much profit or there’s a downside to it versus when it’s a great time to sell a house.
Like the most recent time I can think of with that was coming out of the pandemic.
My neighbor sold her house for probably 30 percent more than what it was actually worth.
But there was such low inventory and demand was so high because interest rates were so low that she was able to make a killing on the sale of her house, right?
That was a seller’s market.
Now, the buyers, my new neighbors have a great low interest rate, but if you ask me, they way overpaid for their home, but they wanted to get in and it was this seller’s market, and now they live in a beautiful home and it’s great and that’s fine.
The same exists within our industry as well.
Sometimes it’s a client’s market and sometimes it’s a stylist’s market.
Right now is not a stylist’s market.
It was a stylist’s market from 2021 to 2023 and a half, like kind of going into 2024.
But midway through 2024, we saw a radical shift and we are now in a client’s market, meaning you can’t say, take it or leave it.
If you don’t like the way I run my business, then scram.
That’s fine, but then they’re not coming.
So that attitude and that energy did work for a few years.
And it was like, you got to be in the driver’s seat and people were lining up to be at a stylist’s chair.
That reality doesn’t exist anymore.
And when I look at stylists who are growing really fast right now, which some stylists are growing crazy fast right now, it’s those who have realized, OK, it’s a client’s market.
I need to get out of my own way for a second here.
And what are the things I need to do to position myself as the clear choice?
Knowing that most stylists are still showing up, thinking that they’re in the driver’s seat and that clients are just going to bend over backwards to work with them, now in this new reality where that’s not what the landscape looks like.
One of the things I’ve been talking about since 2022 is this thing called the Great Divide.
If you’re familiar with it, you’ve heard me say it hundreds of times.
If you’re not familiar with it, I’m going to use different verbiage to explain it right now.
It’s essentially an era of haves and have-nots.
In our industry, there’s always been haves and have-nots.
That piece is not new.
What is new is the massive split between the reality of the haves and the have-nots.
The haves will make more money and have more clients and more demand than we have ever seen historically in the industry.
The have-nots will have this huge crash down from success.
Have-nots will be people who were making good money and did have consistent demand, and felt like they had built a good business, and then are now watching it slowly slide backwards.
That’s not happening to a handful of stylists.
That is happening at scale.
And that’s the big shift.
And that’s the piece that I don’t think most people are talking about publicly because it’s scary.
For some people, it feels embarrassing.
It feels like a freefall.
It feels like, am I going to be able to recover from this?
Because do I have the energy to do so?
Do I even know how to do so?
Did I overprice myself?
Did I price myself out of my market?
Can I save this thing?
And because it is so emotional and heavy and concerning, a lot of stylists don’t want to talk about it and don’t want to admit to it.
So they just keep posting on social media and everything looks great.
And then they slide into my DMs and say, oh my gosh, I’m the stylist you’re talking about.
How do I get out of here?
And I totally get it.
So let’s talk about worth it and how to make sure you’re not one of those stylists whose demand starts to wane and their clientele starts to slide backwards and all those kind of things.
So let’s put you in the seat or in the role of being the customer for a minute.
So take off your stylist hat and let’s just be regular old people, okay?
If you were considering paying somebody to decorate a room in your home, how would you know that you were worth it?
I don’t think any of us would argue against the idea that hiring an interior designer is a luxury.
Like I would love to do that.
If I think about like my bucket list dream things to do, it would be like hiring a house manager, like I have fantasies about that, like having somebody come in and like literally organize my family and get all my groceries for me.
Like that sounds dreamy.
Hiring an interior designer sounds dreamy.
There’s all these things where it’s like, wow, that would be like true luxury.
If I was going to spend money on an interior designer, what would I look for to know that they were worth it?
Now, for those of you who are like, I would never hire an interior designer, no worries.
Okay, let me make another example.
If you were looking for a new doctor, how would you know that new doctor was worth it?
A doctor is somebody all of us will need in this lifetime.
And if you’re somebody who is more particular about your medical care and who serves you and your family, how would you know that that doctor is worth it?
What would be the things that you were screening for?
If you were looking for somebody to do your hair or makeup on your wedding day, for a lot of people, that’s the most important day of their lives, right?
How would you know that that stylist was worth it?
What would be the things you were looking for?
Here’s another extreme example.
If you were looking for somebody to do medical aesthetic work or plastic surgery on your face, that’s something where the risk is relatively high.
How would you know that that person was worth it?
Like somebody messing with your face is really scary, right?
So what are the things you’re looking for?
The reason why I chose categories that were kind of like high stakes and in some case luxury, is that for a lot of your clients, choosing to sit in your chair feels high stakes and or luxury.
Hair is something that’s really personal.
It feels very intimate.
And for some people spending money on hair, nails, lashes, brows, those kind of things, they need it, they want to have it, but it is kind of a discretionary spend.
It’s not like it’s saved for the elite, but when people are trying to pick and choose where they’re spending their money next month, it’s really got to be worth it.
And it’s got to be somebody where it feels like a safe bet.
You know that your investment is going to come out on top.
You know that you’re working with somebody you can trust.
You know you’re working with somebody who has a great track record.
It’s not as scary.
That’s usually what we look for when we say worth it, when we’re looking for someone to do our wedding hair and makeup.
If you were hiring a plastic surgeon, when you’re looking for a regular doctor, if you were hiring an interior designer, things like that, where it does feel like there’s a lot on the line, what are the things that you’re looking for?
So a couple of categories we want to think about.
If you were screening for any of those things, how would you know somebody is worth it before you go in for a visit?
What are the things you’re looking for to determine if they’re worth it before the visit?
So I asked this very recently, and this was the feedback I got from Stylist and Salon Nurse, so it’s probably the same for you.
Pictures of who the person is.
So if we’re going to go see a new doctor, I’d like to see them before I walk into the office.
I think that’s super fair.
I think that’s become kind of industry standard now for the most part for a lot of clinics and clinicians.
So my question to you is, how many pictures of you are on your social media?
How many pictures of you are on your website?
If the answer is only one or two or three, we’re probably missing the mark there.
A very professional website, tons of online reviews like hundreds.
Something that demonstrates they’re actively engaged and excited to grow their business.
That’s a quote from a stylist and I do believe that to be true.
Does their booking or contact process work and make sense for you?
Does it seem like the person actually wants your business?
So think about that.
Think about your current website or lack thereof.
Think about your current contact or booking process.
If somebody were to come across you for the first time, would it look like you actively want their business?
Would it look like you’re somebody who’s looking to connect with people in the community?
Would it look like you’re somebody who’s professional, who has it together?
Do you look like somebody who’s like, hey, shoot me a text and we’ll see what we can do?
I don’t know about you, but if I was looking for a doctor or a lawyer or a plastic surgeon or somebody to be my interior decorator or somebody to install my Invisalign or somebody to do my hair and makeup for my wedding day, and I wanted to book this person and their point of contact was like, yeah, shoot me a text.
Let’s see what we can do.
I mean, if I was looking for a budget option, maybe I would go that direction.
And maybe for your clientele, that’s who you serve as people who are kind of just looking to knock it out and get it done.
In which case that might work.
Totally.
But if you’re looking to build relationships and have connections and have referrals and create a consistent influx of new business, you can see how systems and structures like that might fail you.
How do you feel when you’re looking to make an investment in any kind of business and they don’t have a great website, or there’s no website at all, or you can’t find a picture of them, or the picture of them is grainy, or it looks like they cropped their person out of the photo and it’s just a selfie shot.
It just reduces the credibility and it makes the worth it factor deteriorate pretty quickly.
Then the question becomes, how do you know somebody is worth it once you are working with them?
To me, it comes down to two things.
Does the price point, meaning how much the client has to pay, align with how you perceive the experience?
And this is where I talk about perceived value.
And I think for a lot of people, this is where it starts to get gray.
Like, okay, well, how do we make sure that the price point aligns with the experience?
The answer to that is different for everybody.
This is why in both my free and my paid trainings, I talk about something called market position.
So there’s four different market positions.
There’s economy, premium economy, premium and luxury.
Depending on where you land in that market position, it impacts how your website should look, how long a guest is willing to wait to come in to see you, what amenity package should look like.
And whenever we see amenities, I think people immediately think of things like warming wraps for the hands, a glass of champagne, luxury snacks.
For a lot of clients, they don’t care about that kind of stuff.
And what they’re looking for as far as guest experience is different.
And I actually think a lot of times that we as stylist and salon owners do is instead of actually doing the work on the tangible guest experience pieces clients want, we automate all of that kind of stuff.
And we make all of that kind of stuff light and easy for us because our emotional capacity is super low.
And so we don’t put a ton of effort into the admin.
And the follow-up and the nurture and the human connection side of things.
And instead, we throw a box of chocolates and a ice cold beer at our clients.
And we’re like, see, I have amenities.
When what they were looking for was a stronger connection to you, but they can’t make that connection to you because you have systematized and structured your business in such a way that it’s about things like text messages and book whenever you can and come on in and there’s lots of snacks here.
And we’ve kind of positioned that as a normal.
And I think that when you start stepping back and thinking about like, okay, what would make my clients actually feel super cared for?
This idea of perceived value really starts to change.
Okay.
The other question is, does this business offer something I will not find anywhere else?
And that piece is often not one thing, but almost a series of events, like a series of things that take place when a client chooses to be a part of a clientele or a salon business.
It’s not one thing.
It’s a lot of things.
And it’s a lot of things that add up to a client feeling important, cared for, prioritized, appreciated, nurtured, makes the client feel like the stylist looks forward to seeing them, that they’re not just somebody who’s passing through and swiping a credit card, that they’re an important part of this Stylist Day.
And I think for a lot of us, we’ve kind of lost that.
And a big, big piece of me understands why.
I watched us as a collective become really, really tired in the last five years.
I think that the pandemic was really exhausting for hair stylists.
I think the recovery out of the pandemic was really exhausting.
And I’m watching myself now coaching to what is essentially a third pivot in five years.
And stylists and salon owners are being like, I don’t have it in me.
Like, I can’t, I can’t, this has gotten too hard.
And I get that.
But for every stylist who’s like, I cannot pivot again.
I don’t want to learn something new.
I don’t want to readapt.
I don’t want to change strategy.
I don’t want to shift guest experience.
I like my booking process.
You can keep all those things the same and I will not judge you.
I will completely understand.
For those who do want to adapt forward, the opportunity for you to make a lot of money and have a ton of business has never been greater.
There’s a lot of research that talks about how the best businesses are being built in the gaps.
This is the biggest gap I have ever seen our industry experience.
I joined the industry in 2007.
It is now 2025.
So we’re talking about in 20 years.
This is the biggest gap we’ve ever seen.
I think this gap will be here for probably the next three years.
If you want to seize the day as a stylist, dive in head first.
Now is an incredible time to do so.
But it is going to be about innovation.
Let’s talk about basic things that clients do not look at and say, wow, this is high perceived value.
A stylist who cares about the clients, a great communicator, somebody who offers great consultations, a stylist who remembers you, head massages at the bowl, great formulations, great blonding placement, great cuts, great extension, snacks, and drinks.
The reason why those things don’t count is because most of you listening to this podcast do those things.
When I ask stylists, what makes you special?
And they say things like, well, I really care about my clients.
Most stylists really care about their clients.
I offer great consultations.
Most stylists do offer great consultations.
Most stylists do offer good formulation.
It’s easy enough to learn to be a good colorist, to cut hair well.
And by the way, clients are even willing to pay money for mediocre haircuts if the guest experience is there.
And so I want you to think about how to stand out, in which case the question becomes, how do I stand out when it seems like we’re all doing the same thing?
Five things I think you can lean into.
Great branding and marketing.
People underestimate the power of branding and marketing.
If we were to do a survey of the 100 fastest growing businesses right now, either in our industry or beyond, I promise you that the number one factor in all of those businesses would be branding and marketing.
It would not be how well the product performs.
It just wouldn’t.
It’s not how great business works.
It’s the branding and the marketing.
A more solid reputation.
So when we look at reputation in our industry, it is online reviews and not just having 10 good ones, but having like 100 great ones.
Volume counts a lot.
When you have more engagement on your social media, that leans into reputation.
A lot of people say like, well, my clients love me.
Your clients loving you is what’s called nurture.
That’s not the same as reputation.
Your clients loving you does not do a whole lot to grow your business.
It’s wonderful and it feels great, but that’s not the same as solid reputation.
Number three, an elevated guest experience.
And I’ve seen elevated guest experience done in so many ways.
There’s a stylist I know who is like a fabulous entertainer.
Like you sit in this person’s chair and you sit back and you watch the show.
And I tend to think that this person’s clients come to see them because it’s like sitting front seat in the most incredible show you’ve ever been a part of.
And I don’t think that that person’s clients care about the snacks.
I don’t think they care about the schedule.
I know for a fact that sometimes this stylist runs late or runs long, but does really well because the experience, the show you’re a part of, the way you laugh, the way you cry, the way that this person connects, this person deeply connects with their guests.
I’ve never seen anything quite like it before.
It’s different.
And so when people say, like, I really care about my clients, I almost wish you could see the stylist in action because it probably even makes the people who work alongside her be like, but I don’t care that much.
This person cares so deep that you really feel like you’re a part of something.
When you’re a part of her clientele, it’s really, really special.
That’s what I’m talking about with elevated guest experience.
Now, I see some people do elevated guest experience in a different way.
I’ve seen some amazing methodologies emerge in the last few years.
I have seen incredible guest process develop.
So there’s lots of different ways to do elevated guest experience.
But just checking the boxes and being caring and being a good communicator and doing a head massage and doing good hair likely is not going to be enough.
More support between visits, like really nurturing the relationship and giving a guest a reason to come back.
Good hair today is nice.
You’re going to have to give me something more if you want me to come back in 8 to 12 weeks.
So giving them a reason to want, we’ll leave them wanting more.
You know what I mean?
That’s the long game when it comes to building a clientele.
So what I want you to do listening to this episode on Worth It, is I want you to reflect on your current marketing strategy and your guest experience, because Worth It lives in both of those pieces.
The marketing, the external communication and the guest experience of what a guest gets when they comes in.
One of the things I’ve noticed that’s a huge pitfall is Stylists will be like, Oh my gosh, why do this really cool thing in the salon?
But that really cool thing is not explained on their website.
It’s nowhere on their social media.
It’s like hiding in plain sight.
You do this cool thing, but nobody would ever know that you do it because you’re not talking about it anywhere.
So are you hoping people just guess that you do it?
Or how would anybody know that that’s something special that you offer?
What are the ways you’re hiding in plain sight?
What are the ways you’re not showing up big enough?
And what are the opportunities for you to show up in your marketplace as somebody who really is exceptional and more worth it than the rest?
If you have more additional questions, leave me a rating or review on iTunes.
I’m more than happy to help.
And as I always say, so much love, happy business building and I’ll see you on the next one.
