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Barber shop prices

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simon goldring

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Mar 5, 2015
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Hi I have a barber shop which I've been operating for 3 years. I charge 9 pounds for all haircuts except under 16's which i do for 6. I average 650 pounds per week 70 people per week 30k per annum.

I was talking to a guy about his barber shop in a different town with the same population and he says he has accounts showing he grosses 77000. I do not know his pricing structure exactly but he is cheaper in all Areas than me 5.50 for a gents cut.

I obviously would like to double my income, do you guys think reducing my prices is the way forwards? If not what can I do
 
I live in Edinburgh, my price is £8. We changed barbers from the £5 one because my current one was better with kids and had a box of toys that my son could play with while I got mine done.
The kids thing always beats price for me, if you can keep my son happy i'm more than happy to pay an extra couple of quid. I never by add on's from my barber so wouldn't know if thats a route to explore.
Plus I never trust accounts, one of my old bosses used to get his accountant to write a different set depending on who was viewing them.
 
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You are probably already doing this but having hair products with your own brand name (shop name) on them could help. The barbers I go to charge about £10 for a tub of that wax stuff. When I was last in there a guy travelled 7 miles down the motorway (from where he lived) just to buy another tub of the wax, didn't have his hair cut. The thing is when it's got your own name on it then you cannot just go to a shop and buy another tub as only that barber has it.

As you should know, people travel a long way to see a good barber, so getting them used to your brand of products will not only increase your sales but it will also keep them coming back to you as having a different barber means having to try a new hair product and most men are creatures of habit.


Chris.
 
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Thanks for that. I do all that too, i have lots of happy customers i would just like more :-). I do not have add ons I would not like to push products on to customers, I get them if they ask me for them. I am the dearest in town but consider myself worth it. Any ideas how to increase the business would be great
 
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My barber charges 6 quid although i usually give him 7.

I used to go to one barber that charged variable figures, :D, usually £9.50 sometimes £10. But i didn't hold it against him.

If my barber was to up his prices from 6 quid, i would think his older clients, and pensioners, would jump ship. Some people do anything to save a pound.

I think my barber is probably lucky if he clears £200 a week after bills, so it's minimum wage for him.

I guess it would't hurt to sell gel and maybe even mens shampoo but i think your best bet would be to market yourself better. Maybe set up a primitive website and get it ranking on google so when people type 'barber in area' you show up and give yourself better earning potential.
 
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I must add that the barbers products are excellent quality compared to all the Bryl cream type products you see in the shops. Put bluntly, I've never seen the barbers quality products available from any of the major brand names in the shops. I have however seen another barbers selling the same style of tubs but with their brand names on them, so they must all get supplied by a company that badges them up for them.

It's really good stuff though so most people buy a tub. They have different tubs for different styles / lengths and the barber recommends which tub to use depending on the cut. It's not a pushy sell either, it just seems to make sense, you get your hair cut, you like it, you then buy the product that the barber used for your hair, it must be good as the barber knows best. I think that's why it's an easy sell.

Their must be an industry barbers magazine out there so I'd get an annual subscription to that and that will probably have a whole host of ideas in there along with suppliers of the hair products as well as news about the latest trends.

Another thing I noticed is that at Christmas time they sell products to buy for wives / girlfriends as presents. I don't know how successful that is but I thought it was a good idea.

I think a barbers near me offers a free beer with every cut and that's a good idea as it puts you in a good mood and are more likely to buy more and tip more.

Chris.
 
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How about more traditional hot towel shaves and other premium services?

What about installing something else like a vending machine for people to get a soft drink/tea/coffee while they wait ?
 
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I am looking into a coffee machine and a TV also. I took the business over 3 years ago and I think it had a pretty stuffy reputation. I have kept most customers and got some new ones I've never announced myself as being there stupid I know but do you think its too late for that
 
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What is your location like? How large are the premises? How many seats?

It could be worth hiring out any additional seats or taking someone else on if you can get busy enough and have the space.

Just don't forget about VAT if you do great as it can have an impact on your bottom line, although there are also benefits of being VAT registered.
 
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S Isaac said:
What is your location like? How large are the premises? How many seats?

It could be worth hiring out any additional seats or taking someone else on if you can get busy enough and have the space.

Just don't forget about VAT if you do great as it can have an impact on your bottom line, although there are also benefits of being VAT registered.
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The location is good I'm in the centre of the town at the main junction but there are at least 4 others in town but all cheaper than and that's without the ladies hairdressers. That's why I wondered about dropping the prices to match the others in the town? How will it work with someone else if there is not enough business they will not earn!
 
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How many people in your town? Lots of footfall/passing trade? How busy are you? Do people just walk in and wait, do they book? Do you turn people away? How many seats do you have?

I'd avoid dropping your prices if at all possible. All it would mean is you are going to end up doing more work for less.
 
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Depending on where you are situated and If you're good, raise your standards and prices to attract a wealthier clientele, upsell grooming products and maybe wet shaves etc etc. Cheap prices generally attract price conscious customers
 
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S Isaac said:
How many people in your town? Lots of footfall/passing trade? How busy are you? Do people just walk in and wait, do they book? Do you turn people away? How many seats do you have?

I'd avoid dropping your prices if at all possible. All it would mean is you are going to end up doing more work for less.
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Yes its trad8tional sit and wait there is a population of 10000. I dont 5urn people away I can cope easily on my ôwn doing 12+ a day and 20+ on a Saturday. I only have my seat and 5 for the customers. It is quite a poor area though land and factory workers
 
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Silly question but how busy are you? How many customers can you cut in an hour?

Do some sums, assume that if you reduce prices you will get more customers, then work out how many more you will need to cut to be better off at different price points

Then work out see if you think this is likely/feasible

Offer loyalty card? Like a McDonald's coffee stamp card?

Do you take bookings or just walk in off the street? Maybes you could advertise that on one given day of the week bookings only at X price?
 
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swankypants69 said:
Silly question but how busy are you? How many customers can you cut in an hour?

Do some sums, assume that if you reduce prices you will get more customers, then work out how many more you will need to cut to be better off at different price points


Then work out see if you think this is likely/feasible

Offer loyalty card? Like a McDonald's coffee stamp card?

Do you take bookings or just walk in off the street? Maybes you could advertise that on one given day of the week bookings only at X price?
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Optimum is 4 per hour i have thought about the things your3 saying but theres no guarantee more would come for 6 or 7 instead of 9 pounds how can I work out the likely hood. If I do it and it does not 2ork how do I go back to the original prices:-$
 
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I pay £11.50 for mine but I hate paying so much. I pay for convenience because there is parking and it's close to home, also they do a decent job most of the time.
They are always rammed and have about 4 stylists working at anyone time. They open at 8.45am and I can get there at 9am and find a couple of people in front of me, I hate waiting.

My daughter loves the place cos they give her a small bag of Haribos after even though she just waits for me.
 
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I'd imagine the reason the other barber is making so much extra is down to throughput.

Our local barber (London) charges about £9 for my kids hair...but he spends a bit of time (10 minutes, sprays their hair to give a semi-wet cut). We were in North Yorkshire the other week....we used a hairdresser to cut my kids hair....she charged £7.00 (dry cut) but took much time/care my London barber takes (about 4-5 minutes)....you can guess who makes the most money per annum!

Selling related hair care products is definitely the way to go...you've a captive audience for quite a while (waiting/cutting).....sell 'em stuff!

To the OP....70 people per week doesn't sound that much ...assuming a 6 day week, that's only 11 people per day, assuming one hour for lunch that one head every 1.5hrs...for a Barbers?

Is that because you aren't alwys full? In your shoes, I'd drop your price to be the lowest in the area, put a big sign up in the window saying so...then spend less time on each head...end result...more heads....a lot more profit (even at the reduced price). or try & fill those slow/off peak days "£2.00 off OAPS haircuts on Wednesday mornings" "kids haircuts only £7 on Monday afternoons) blah blah

Likewise, I hate paying so much for my hair...it's one of my pet hates. While I'm waiting, I find myself calculating how much my barber is on (you know, £10 per cut, 7 cuts per hour etc etc) & start getting quite miffed!
 
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I suppose what I'm saying is work out if the potential exists

Ie if you drop to £7 per cut and then do 4 an hour for 8 hours a day are you better off or not?

You could do a four week promo and advertise it as such so your existing customers are aware that your price is dropping temporarily and that it will go back to normal, then you could see if perhaps by the end of the 4th week you are sufficiently busy to make it your permanent price etc
 
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I'm just trying to understand your figures. If you can do 12 a day 5 days a week and 20 on a Saturday, that's 80 a week. Even if all were adults, 80x £9 = £720. You say you're averaging £650 a week. Are you pretty much flat out already then? Could you cope with more?

I'd still try and stay away from dropping prices as you'll end up competing on price instead of service & standard.

Everybody would prefer stuff cheaper, it's natural. But you want the customers that are willing to pay a little more.

It may be that you town due to it's size and lower income levels might not be able to support much more than you're already doing. How often do your customers come in i.e. every x weeks?

10k people, 50% female, leaves 5k guys. Across 5 (you and at least another 4 as you say) is 1k each Assuming they're all the same size (one seat). 80 people a week over 52 weeks is 4,160 cuts. So 'you're share' of those 1k must be coming in every three months.

Or you have less customers who come in more often (which would be my guess).

Just trying to work out if there is much more you can do. Because if the population can't support the number of barbers you'll either all end up completing with each other on price or one or more will end up closing down.

Sorry, not trying to be doom and gloom here, just trying to get a better understanding of it. I've no idea what your clientele is like so no idea how often they come in. They could be young and want the keep up with trends, they could be bolding and only need the rare cut.
 
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Pish_Pash said:
I'd imagine the reason the other barber is making so much extra is down to throughput.

Our local barber (London) charges about £9 for my kids hair...but he spends a bit of time (10 minutes, sprays their hair to give a semi-wet cut). We were in North Yorkshire the other week....we used a hairdresser to cut my kids hair....she charged £7.00 (dry cut) but took much time/care my London barber takes (about 4-5 minutes)....you can guess who makes the most money per annum!

Selling related hair care products is definitely the way to go...you've a captive audience for quite a while (waiting/cutting).....sell 'em stuff!

Likewise, I hate paying so much for my hair...it's one of my pet hates. While I'm waiting, I find myself calculating how much my barber is on (you know, £10 per cut, 7 cuts per hour etc etc) & start getting quite miffed![/Q
Thanks these are helpful thoughts dont think all barbers are raking it in ione hour the not see anyone for 2 hrs
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The discount for OAP's and the odd promo (for your usually slow day?) might be an idea, but I'd steer clear of just dropping your price across the board (even for a short trial run). It's easy to drop price and bring people in, much harder to put them up and keep/attract more people!
 
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Unless you cut hair better than the cheaper barbers they are always going to win.

No OAP discount.:eek:
 
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S Isaac said:
I'm just trying to understand your figures. If you can do 12 a day 5 days a week and 20 on a Saturday, that's 80 a week. Even if all were adults, 80x £9 = £720. You say you're averaging £650 a week. Are you pretty much flat out already then? Could you cope with more?

I'd still try and stay away from dropping prices as you'll end up competing on price instead of service & standard.

Everybody would prefer stuff cheaper, it's natural. But you want the customers that are willing to pay a little more.

It may be that you town due to it's size and lower income levels might not be able to support much more than you're already doing. How often do your customers come in i.e. every x weeks?

10k people, 50% female, leaves 5k guys. Across 5 (you and at least another 4 as you say) is 1k each Assuming they're all the same size (one seat). 80 people a week over 52 weeks is 4,160 cuts. So 'you're share' of those 1k must be coming in every three months.

Or you have less customers who come in more often (which would be my guess).

Just trying to work out if there is much more you can do. Because if the population can't support the number of barbers you'll either all end up completing with each other on price or one or more will end up closing down.

Sorry, not trying to be doom and gloom here, just trying to get a better understanding of it. I've no idea what your clientele is like so no idea how often they come in. They could be young and want the keep up with trends, they could be bolding and only need the rare cut.
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This is 3xactly what I need someone who understands the figures. I average that every week im 42 and seem to have the wealthier clientel through the previous owner. This suits me they are nice people. There are lots of youngsters who go to a bigger cheaper shop who employ young girls! I do not get many of those. My customers come in 4-6 weeks
 
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simon goldring said:
I know I feel bad about this but I don't know what a reasonable discount is in comparison
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If you usually charge £9.00...do an oap special for £7 ...that's a good discount.....OAPs typically have less hair (so should take you less time anyway!) ...indeed I was behind in the queue for a 'semi' slaphead OAP the other day...IMHO the barber was panning it out to justify his price! You are then creating £7.00 out of nothing...that chair would be empty otherwise & we can't have that.

Keeping that chair full is the key to you doubling your income....think easyjet price modelling. Charge top whack on Fridays & Saturdays...and then discount other 'slots'.

Plenty of comics for the kids, a TV on for those in the queue (my pet hate is waiting in a mind numbing queue with nothing to do), free wi-fi (everyone has a mobile but not everybody want to use up their 3G bandwidth).....a few toys in the corner...a lollipop for each & every kid at the end of a haircut blah blah, cross sell at every opportunity - e.g. use a nice smelling product on clients hair have the same product on display & clearly priced (nobody wants to ask a price & then be embarrassed to say "ok, thanks I'll pass"....
 
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Pish_Pash said:
If you usually charge £9.00...do an oap special for £7 ...that's a good discount.....OAPs typically have less hair (so should take you less time anyway!) ...indeed I was behind in the queue for a 'semi' slaphead OAP the other day...IMHO the barber was panning it out to justify his price!

Keeping that chair full is the key to you doubling your income....think easyjet price modelling. Charge top whack on Fridays & Saturdays...and then discount other 'slots'.

Plenty of comics for the kids, a TV on for those in the queue (my pet hate is waiting in a mind numbing queue with nothing to do).....a few toys in the corner...a lollipop for each & every kid at the end of a haircut blah blah, cross sell at every opportunity - e.g. use a nice smelling product on clients hair have the same product on display & clearly priced (nobody wants to ask a price & then be embarrassed to say "ok, thanks I'll pass"....
Click to expand...
You're right great ideas thanks a lot pish
 
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How shall I advertise these ideas
Pish_Pash said:
If you usually charge £9.00...do an oap special for £7 ...that's a good discount.....OAPs typically have less hair (so should take you less time anyway!) ...indeed I was behind in the queue for a 'semi' slaphead OAP the other day...IMHO the barber was panning it out to justify his price! You are then creating £7.00 out of nothing...that chair would be empty otherwise & we can't have that.

Keeping that chair full is the key to you doubling your income....think easyjet price modelling. Charge top whack on Fridays & Saturdays...and then discount other 'slots'.

Plenty of comics for the kids, a TV on for those in the queue (my pet hate is waiting in a mind numbing queue with nothing to do), free wi-fi (everyone has a mobile but not everybody want to use up their 3G bandwidth).....a few toys in the corner...a lollipop for each & every kid at the end of a haircut blah blah, cross sell at every opportunity - e.g. use a nice smelling product on clients hair have the same product on display & clearly priced (nobody wants to ask a price & then be embarrassed to say "ok, thanks I'll pass"....
Click to expand...
How do I advertise these ideas
 
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Another one....have a loyalty card with 6 squares - they collect a stamp after each hair cut...after the card is full they get a free hair cut. Many will lose the card, for those that don't price is obviously a key driver & will keep them coming (vs using a competitors)...for the free haircut, do it quicker(!)....have a clause that the free haircut is only available at off peak times....etc etc

Off topic...beats me why barbers don't have a webcam in their shop showing the queue 'in play' ...I want to see the queue before I decide whether to put my coat on & go for a haircut!
 
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simon goldring said:
How shall I advertise these ideas

How do I advertise these ideas
Click to expand...

Straight off the bat....

You've a huge window? (put some posters in it...consider getting on of those scrolling LEDS signs (so people passing in their cars can see it)

get a Facebook page....put your offers on there.

Take out an advert in a free newspaper.

Hand out slips of paper with everyone's change.

Get some flyers printed ...have your family push them through letterboxes.

Word of mouth

Put a flyer under windscreen wipers
 
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S Isaac said:
I wouldn't go to a barber if I was going to be on a web-cam..................
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Fair point...that said, I'm not sure why some are so sensitive to this kind of thing ...there are security cameras/webcameras all around us (to try & duck/avoid them all you'd need to be an aggro-phobe), a webcam is just another camera...it's not like I'm going to have an affair, do a drug deal or launder money in the barbers - no, I do all of these things in a secure environment ;-)
 
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Yes, cctv is everywhere. And usually only monitored by the owner of the place or police etc, not broadcast to any random person.

What if someone has a hair cut fetish and is getting their jollies from watching everything at the barber?
 
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