What to Expect Your First Year as a Hairstylist
Welcome to the Aspiring Stylists Podcast with Tracey Franklin. Where to begin, grow and aspire to become the best stylist you can be. Whether you're thinking about becoming a stylist opening a salon, or developing your skills as an experienced stylist the next step of your beauty career starts here. Each week we'll discuss strategic ways to design, plan and execute on becoming a stylist that excels behind the chair and above the bottom line. Here's your host, Tracey Franklin.
What can you expect your first year as a hairstylist, so you've just graduated Beauty School, congratulations. Now it's time to get busy building your clientele. It will not happen overnight, I repeat, it will not happen overnight. It takes years to build a solid clientele and you're never really done building. It's a career long process because clients are going to drop off and need to be replaced with new ones. But understanding what things might look like for your first year is super important. We have to know what to expect so that we can keep our spirits high and manage our expectations. My first year behind the chair was exciting, but it was also super challenging. I feel the need to remind everyone that this wasn't an era where a lot less information was available. So we were just out here in the streets trying to figure it all out. My first day behind the chair was a quiet one, like pin dropping quiet, I did not have a single client. I was devastated.
The next day, I had one haircut and I was literally questioning everything. What was my life even about. By the time I had wrapped up my first quarter of serving guests, I was averaging eight clients a week, that's not even two clients a day, it wasn't a ton of money, but I was learning a lot and I did enjoy the work. For the most part, some of the things I would do would be rent a special, you know, like just trying to get new people through the door, I was willing to do whatever it took to get my career off the ground. And honestly, that's where a lot of people get it wrong. They are unwilling to do what it takes in the beginning, you have to be willing to do what others won't to live a life that others can't. And that takes some sacrifice. Let me be clear, I'm not advocating working 10 hours a day, seven days a week. But if you can come in a little earlier or stay a little later to get a potential client in then you should do it.
By the end of my first year behind the chair. I was booked about 60% of the time. And I was able to retain about 50% of the clients I saw. I wasn't where I wanted to be, but I was growing and sometimes that just has to be enough. There are a lot of different business structures within the beauty industry. And you know a lot of different business models as we know and I think the type you choose and when you choose it can greatly affect your success, especially early on. I'm not sure everyone is going to agree with me. And that's okay. But an established commission based salon in my opinion is the best first choice that a stylist can make. They typically market more and have more education available. So that sets you up for learning more and more. And also new faces are going to be coming into the salon on a regular basis. This is super important in that first year, you still need to be doing your research when choosing a salon home not all commission salons are created equal. So you need to be asking those questions during your interview, you need to make sure that that salon is going to be a good fit for you and that what they offer is going to be exactly what you need. So you need to be asking what sort of continued education is in place in the salon what sort of growth potential can I expect? Renting a booth or a chair makes you an independent contractor. So keeping yourself educated and your shelves stocked and yourself promoted in the public are all going to fall on you. So this in my opinion, is a platform that is better suited for an established stylist because they will typically have already built their clientele.
Let's talk about your schedule.
I used to work nine to six Tuesday through Saturday, but times have really changed and stylists are now opting to work longer days but less of them.
The type of clients you want to work on should factor into the schedule that you desire to work. I wanted the Boss Babes and the career women so early on I made the shift to stay until 8pm A few nights a week so that I could accommodate their needs and their schedules. But Never be afraid to pivot to create a schedule that best suits you.
You need to be willing to accommodate the guests that you want to serve most. Sometimes that does require a little pivoting during school. I was really hoping that some of the people I worked on would follow me, but most of them didn't. So I was really starting from scratch. And typically a type of client that visits a beauty school is there for a number of reasons, maybe that's what best suits their beauty budget, maybe they just really enjoy the interaction between them and the students. But typically, a academy or school client is going to stay with the school or the Academy. And that's what I also experienced, but I did have a few follow me, building your clientele early on is very much about whatever walks through the door, you know, don't be too picky, because you will limit yourself during a time when you really don't have that luxury.
If I was cutting a man's hair, I made sure I was marketing myself to him about the services that I offer women. I mean, he has a girlfriend or wife, or at least a mom or sister, and she's really who I want to be working on. So I offered incentives and discounts for referrals to encourage people to send me their friends and family. No matter what I was doing or who I was working on. I gave it my all I wanted and needed the clients that I was serving to come back.
So I would rather be doing something than nothing. So repeat clients were always the goal. In the beginning, I ran promotions and I gave discounts and even offered a few freebies as add ons, you will get to a place where that isn't necessary anymore. But the beginning isn't that. Now with social media, attracting clientele is easier than it has ever been. But you still have to put in the effort.
You can't just post a few pics and expect a van full of people to show up and book appointments, you have to stay on top of it. And you have to make sure that your content is making real impact post regularly make good content, post polished looks and definitely videos. And now I really love to see the demonstrations. Get on there and teach your followers something new that they can do with their hair. Show them what you're made of this is where you get to show up and showcase your personality and your abilities. Statistics say that a stylist can expect to make anywhere from $14,000 to$31,000, their first year behind the chair. Now I know that that sounds like a wide range. Well, that's because it is the type of Salon you work in and what you charge for your services and how much you work all play in taxes commission percentages and how many services you actually perform are also huge determining factors. Even an established stylists can experience major fluctuations in their income. So you have to have a budget. If you've just had an especially high performance week, then it's probably a good time to put some of that away for a week that doesn't go so well. Clients cancel people get sick and planning ahead is the only way to make it through the unexpected. So no matter what type of Salon you work at the chances are you will be responsible for your own health insurance and your own retirement. So keep that in mind during your planning and budgeting. Work life balance, is it a myth? Well, it really is in the eye of the beholder, I was and always have been super passionate about my craft. So I work a lot. But I work a lot because I enjoy it. And because I want to, you have to go out and you have to find your own balance. But don't forget in life, the results are directly linked to the amount of effort that you're putting in your first year behind the chair can be challenging in many ways, you're going to be working with a limited skill set so you don't have the experience that seasoned stylists do, you're gonna feel overwhelmed and unsure of how to go about performing new services sometimes. And unfortunately, not every client you work on is going to be patient and understanding while you learn and grow. And that can definitely cause you to feel a bit anxious. Sometimes your self confidence may take a hit and you're going to have to get good at shaking it off and moving past that the physical demands of your job are going to be exhausting. You have to take care of yourself. You have to take your lunch breaks, you have to stay hydrated and honestly I am a huge advocate for making sure that you get the sleep you need to be your best self. Now I know all of this can sound a little bit discouraging and a little bit Doomsday, but I'm here to shoot you straight and I'm here to make you aware of the challenges but also the benefits as hard as you are going to work in this first year of your career. You are also going to grow so much and learn so much and experience so many first. It really is such an exciting time. Keeping yourself up to date on what's happening in our industry is non negotiable. You have to keep fresh ideas for clients on hand.
They look to us and we need to be ready when they are Looking to change things up, that's going to require some additional classes, we have to keep learning surprise, another plug for education, online classes and certifications are going to be the most affordable and the easiest way to access education.
So make sure you do your research and make sure you're setting some money aside. Your clients will be so excited to hear all about what you've learned, and they will definitely be more willing to let you try something new on them when they see that you're taking your continued education seriously. Hair shows are so much fun, and they're inspiring.
And for the price of admittance, you have an entire convention hall full of educators doing demos and offering free advice.
There's no excuse for not staying educated or not evolving with the industry. I share all of this with you because you need to know what to expect and what's normal, and so that you don't feel so alone.
Thank you for joining us on this episode of The Aspiring Stylist Podcast with Tracey Franklin. If you enjoyed listening and you want to hear more, make sure you subscribe on Apple Podcast, Spotify or wherever you find your podcasts. The Aspiring Stylist Podcast with Tracey Franklin is a Morgan Franklin Production. Today's episode was written and produced by Morgan Franklin editing and n by Mike Franklin.Want to find out more about Tracey and the Aspiring Barber and Beauty Academy go to aspirebarberandbeauty.com
