Seasoned stylist/salon owner asking for ideas on luxury add-ons
Hey guys!
I am a 15 year stylist/ salon owner in a small Southern town.
I have really been thinking lately about what I can do to increase my income. I know that it’s a hard time economically to do so, but frankly I am tired of undercharging, and seeing my younger stylists charging more than me and people paying it with little issue. I know this is completely my fault, but I am always so nervous to raise my prices.
For context, I work 4 days a week, roughly 33-40+ hours per week. I made roughly $62,000 last year before deductions, but as we all know, with supplies increasing the way they are, I have no doubt I spent at least $5k-$10k on supplies, color, etc.
I guess I can just see that if something doesn’t change, my income will continue to dwindle. I’m also to a point where I feel like I would love to rebrand myself and my salon to something more luxury. I have always been a “cheaper” stylist in what I charge, but I feel I have the skills to be able to move into a more luxury vibe. I rarely double book clients and I like spending time with everyone individually, so it wouldn’t be a huge stretch for me to have more add-ons to elevate my clients’ experience.
My questions are, for the stylists that have been in the game for a long time and have full books, have you ever done something like this? How was it received by your clients? How much did your prices increase for the added luxuries, and what did you add on? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I know the main thing for me to do would be to do a price increase, but I’m looking to possibly go in a different direction entirely with rebranding, so I would rather get settled on that before I up my prices. I will also put what I have been charging for various services, but please keep in mind that I live in a small southern town of roughly 15k people.
Full color:$105+
Highlights and haircut:$125+
Women’s haircut:$45
Men’s haircut:$25
Color with highlights:$145+
ETA: I have a full book/clientele. I am not necessarily looking for advice in growing my clientele, I honestly am very lucky that I am at a point where I have to turn people away fairly regularly. I’m mostly looking for advice on if anyone has changed the vibe/structure of their salon to be more “luxury” when you already had established clientele. Did you keep them? Did you end up having to rebuild your clientele? And also, what extras did you add?
Also want to note that I have an existing head spa room in my salon as well, so I don’t think I want to add a scalp service to my regular menu because it might hurt my head spa business.