Business Old School By Mario Fallace

Welcome to the second in a 4-part series highlighting some of the finer aspects of running a successful barber business. Here we will be treated to some invaluable advice, tips, and insights on how to run your barber business to ensure your business is around for years to come.

Mario Fallace, a 36-year industry veteran and owner of New York Barbers, 2021 AMBA winner of both Best Barber Business and Best Design categories will be our author, guide, and host. Mario has seen it all, he started when Barbering was not even recognised as hairdressings poor cousin, it just wasn’t rated as a skill or trade at all. Nowadays, we get treated like Rock Stars and go straight to the front of the que. It’s a recognised profession and respected... but what about business knowledge to make sure your business’ is kicking it and payin’ da bills, not just now, but for years to come. Button your shirt up, sit up straight, clear your desks, push your chairs in and pay attention! School is session:

RUNNING A SUSTAINABLE AND PROFITABLE BUSINESS 101

Your barbershop’s pricing and margins have a direct impact on your business’s sustainability. It is a very important factor to pay attention to and may be what is holding your business back.

We need to ensure that we are charging the correct prices in our barbershops, as well as paying attention to often overlooked factors such as timing of services and consistency.

HAIRCUTS & TIMING

The haircut that brought barbering back on the map, is the same haircut that can in fact be some barber shops demise - the Skin fade. In the context of profitability and running a sustainable barber business, it is becoming a ‘problem’ haircut. Not because we can’t do them - the quality of skin fades some barbers can produce is amazing. The problem comes from the fact that it is the most time-consuming haircut to do, requiring the most skill and effort to produce.

It is for this reason, that if not approached in a sustainable way, can single handedly affect your bottom line in your barbershop. We must pay attention to how long we take to do these haircuts, and how our expenses - wages, rent, outgoings, etc. stack up against this.

In terms of timing, and this will depend on if your barbershop is walk-in only, or appointment based, on average an experienced & qualified barber should aim to be able to do a skin fade in 30 minutes, with a standard haircut around the 20-minute mark. So, around 2-3 haircuts per hour. Keeping in mind some barbershops running off appointments that block out a certain amount of time for this haircut, may take longer - as long as you are charging for this time and maintaining profits, then you are still sustainable.

PRICING

It is very important to be charging your worth, but also ensure your prices for services meet the expenses of your business.

How much you charge can be influenced by a variety of factors. Location, quality of environment, and the barbers you have on board, as well as your consistent ability to provide your services.

In terms of a skin fade, most barbershops will find themselves needing to charge at least $40 nowadays, and in most cases more than this. In a nutshell, don’t allow the haircut that has brought barbering back to the forefront, be the one that closes your doors for good because you don’t charge enough and/or take too long to do it.

A TEAM EFFORT

We have found at New York Barbers that sustainability cannot be achieved with having only 1 or 2 barbers from your team able to perform the work. You want the whole team to be able to look after all customers, and provide the same, consistent service and end result. If you can work towards having customers being happy to see any barber, it ensures not only a select few are being lumbered with the work.

RETAIL IS YOUR FRIEND

profit margins, as you only have the cost associated with purchasing the product. Let’s say an average styling product retails around $28.95. That automatically is extra revenue. In fact, you can even look at it as almost an extra haircut being sold, without having to physically do the extra haircut! It is one thing to just use products to style, but another to recommend to clients what is best for them to recreate the look at home. This will all add to your bottom line and profit margins. Work hard but work smart as well!

WAGES

One of, if not the biggest expense we have is wages. Therefore, it is super important to pay close attention to how much we are paying barbers vs the revenue they generate for the barbershop. They must be profitable, otherwise the business won’t be able to cover the rest of its expenses and stay sustainable. If you are going to pay barbers more money, especially with the staff shortages we have at the moment - make sure they produce the results, otherwise you will just be chasing your tail.

In closing, paying attention to all of these factors will keep you on the path to running a sustainable barbershop that can keep running for years to come. It will even increase your customer satisfaction by paying attention to how long services are taking and providing these services consistently each time they visit.

@newyorkbarbers