The Case For A Niche: Why Finding a Specialty is a Great Strategy for Independent Stylists
You need to set yourself apart in a crowded market.
Repeat this phrase multiple times because it's gospel and it can help you build a more reliable and loyal clientele who value your expertise as well as your time.
Let's talk about why it matters and how it can give you a HUGE advantage to find a niche and declare a specialty service.
How many other salons or salon suites can you think of in your area alone? Lots, right?
Why should a potential client come and see YOU vs. any of the other stylists in the area?
When you meet potential clients, who are literally EVERYWHERE, what do you tell them about your business? If you answer was "I can do your hair, you should come see me." It's time to step up your game. That is the age old intro anyone who trying to build a clientele uses. You need to set yourself apart in a crowded market.
So, I know a thing or two about finding a niche - I was one of the first curly hair specialists in the country and I built a 6 figure business in only a few years by consciously looking for a specialty to set myself apart from other stylists. I don't have curly hair, and I didn't know much about it, but what I did know was that I lived in one of those most humid climates in the entire country, with a very well represented naturally curly population, and no one else was serving them. WHAT?! I was absolutely in shock no one had gamed this one out from the business standpoint alone.
Finding a speciality doesn't have to be as intensely focused as mine - I not only specialized in naturally curly hair, but then I niched down to certain types of curl - then to only cutting, not even styling. Drilling down like that worked for me because I cut out all of the fat from my business overhead and maximized not only my profit, but the physical strain on my body (my husband and I were rear ended in 2016 and I never worked behind the chair without some level of pain again after that.) By only offering dry cutting, with no wash or style I was able to eliminate backbar, most laundry, and just about any other behind the chair cost other than my studio rent and my shears. I was able to make in FOUR HOURS what I made in a much more grueling day, or sometimes two days, and do it completely by myself without relying on, paying, or training an assistant and without the full weight of weekly or monthly rent, because I was renting studio space by the day.
I could net in one 8 hour day what I used to net in full time week behind the chair.
The only thing I regret about running my business like that is that I didn't do it sooner. It gave me more time to spend with my family, work on other projects, and a level of professional freedom that most people only dream about.
That doesn't sound bad, right? But, like I said, when I say I niched down, I NICHED DOWN - hard. What I want to convey to you is that having a specialty doesn't have to totally define your business, but it is a way to set it apart in a crowded market. As I backed away from the time I was spending behind the chair, I began to refer out my clients to other stylists - I made a list of the ones I trusted most and shared it with my client list in my V.I.P group and also tailored my referrals. Some stylists I knew could do a really awesome pixie cut (I always referred those out, as they were just never something I did), some could do super amazing color corrections, some could do an exceptional high lift blonde, some would do a simple base/gray touch up for a reasonable price, etc.
Using that logic, you probably already have somewhat of a niche, a specialty, or something that sets you apart already.
Here are a few ideas for great niches you can add to your business:
Curly Hair - Devacurl, Ouidad, Cut It Kinky
Gray Coverage/Transitioning to Gray from Color
Precision Cutting Headshape Matters
Balayage & Hair Painting Masters Of Balayage
Wedding/Special Occasion/Editorial/ On Location Services
What is there a need for in your area? What market is underserved but wants to pay, well, for a service that caters to their need or solves their problem?
Finding a way to stand out from the pack is a way to make more money and have better clients who value your expertise.
