Spring is here, and during this time I always start thinking of ways I can clean up my life and work. Spring Cleaning isn’t just about cleaning our homes or cleaning up the physical stuff. It can also be a good time to clean up how we do business, for example, how we charge!

Let’s take a look at ways we can streamline and dust off our pricing

1. Raise prices
This one sounds obvious to some and scary for others. Most of us are undercharging for our services! The cost of rent, color, gas, supplies, you name it go up every year so in order to make a profit, we must raise those prices! If it’s been over a year since you have adjusted your prices, if you have been investing in education, and have a high retention rate, it’s probably time to charge more.

2. Remove Tipping
This one is a polarizing one so it's worth discussing. When establishing our prices, we should remove tipping from the equation to be sure we are being compensated in the way we intended. For example, some of us may set a price that feels comfortable for us and then expect the tip will make up the difference. Remember, not every client tips well, or at all. Set a price and don’t expect a tip.

3. Consider charging hourly
Take a look at your timing and how much you charge. Sometimes that “partial highlight” is going to take longer than expected. A la carte pricing is becoming more difficult, especially with color services, because clients may need multiple techniques to get to their desired outcome. It also puts what we do in a box and makes it hard for the client to know how to budget for their appointment. Hourly pricing makes the pricing process more transparent, and gives us the freedom to use any technique we need within the time booked without having to convince the client of what we need to do with "add-ons".

4. Remove Gender from your pricing menu
Determining a price based on someones gender is not only an old way of doing things, it’s noninclusive, and sexist. Traditionally, salon’s and stylist charge less for a “men’s” cut and more for “women’s” cut. We need to stop charging certain genders less, and others more. Hourly pricing will help you do this! If it takes less time to do a short hair cut and more for a long one, just charge according to time. Price transparency is key to a keeping a loyal client, no matter their gender.

Implementing these changes may not be easy, but in the long run it will help us make the money we desire so much easier.

Rachel Radford
Leadership coach • Salon owner