Starting a barbershop as a professional barber?

[Thebarber98]

22 year old barber here. I've been cutting hair for around 4 years now and wanted some advice on starting my barbershop. Do you guys reckon its worth it to start one and generally speaking how much do brick-and-mortar service businesses tend to make in a year (net)? With these type of businesses is £60k a year profit realistic (Im aware miles vary just looking for a general idea of whats a realistic income).

P.S I live in london

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

if you live in London then you should have the best opportunities.

Im thinking of Slider cuts on the Hackney road

 

[Thebarber98]

if you live in London then you should have the best opportunities.

Im thinking of Slider cuts on the Hackney road

That guys pretty much an outlier lol. He has around 200k Instagram alone.

 

[Mark T Jones]

How will you differentiate yourself from all the other barbers?

What business model are you using?

What size premises?

These are a few of the things that will massively affect your profitability

As it, I'd say somewhere between a stonking loss and £250k

 

[Thebarber98]

How will you differentiate yourself from all the other barbers?

What business model are you using?

What size premises?

These are a few of the things that will massively affect your profitability

As it, I'd say somewhere between a stonking loss and £250k

Thanks for the answer. I have been considering if i should start a shop or provide my services doing it mobile. What would you recommend ? If i were to do it mobile my overheads would be much lower

 

[Mark T Jones]

Thanks for the answer. I have been considering if i should start a shop or provide my services doing it mobile. What would you recommend ? If i were to do it mobile my overheads would be much lower

I recommend you think about what you are actually wanting to do

If you just want to cut hair, then you should probably look at renting a chair in an established shop with a suitable passing client base

If you want to go mobile you need to start building a client base - it will take some time to be busy, but is perfectly doable

If you want to build a business, there are a whole load of different questions

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

That guys pretty much an outlier lol. He has around 200k Instagram alone.

This means nothing if you cant park outside

 

[WaveJumper]

I walk up and down one high street at the weekends, it now has over eight barber shops and that’s not counting the lady’s hair salons. In one Essex town (Colchester) near me you would be forgiven for thinking barber establishments have taken over, last count was over twenty with some trading next door to each other. The point being if you are looking for a unit location is going to be the key to your success. Personally, I am at a loss as to how they are all surviving but maybe there is a lot of hair around that needs trimming.

 

[Mark T Jones]

I walk up and down one high street at the weekends, it now has over eight barber shops and that’s not counting the lady’s hair salons. In one Essex town (Colchester) near me you would be forgiven for thinking barber establishments have taken over, last count was over twenty with some trading next door to each other. The point being if you are looking for a unit location is going to be the key to your success. Personally, I am at a loss as to how they are all surviving but maybe there is a lot of hair around that needs trimming.

Similar here.

The last town I lived in (not an especially big town had 6)

Some did well, others struggled and failed. The mist popular - which I used- was a Turkish barber, where they did hit towels and burnt your ears. Pretty much every time I went there was a queue they had 5 stations usually all attended.

One if their barbers left and set up across the road - they had 4 stations, but I never saw more than 2 in use. There was never a queue, people including me continued to go to the busy one.

The old school shop, with Brylcreem in the window was usually quite busy, as was the one ghat targeted 'lads', with free beer and busty blondes

Again, it's all about how you differentiate yourself

 

[Sofia Schulz]

Hi, I think that open a business is not just about "I'm great in doing my job". In fact, open a business require entrepreneur skills and specific business knowledge. My suggestion is to enroll in a business course or business school, and create at least the basis to be ready to open your own shop.

 

[Ryan Paul]

Where have you been cutting hair for 4 years?
Have you served in a barber shop in that time?

I think renting a chair in a shop is a good place to start.
This allows you to get a feel for the high street, trends and build-up a client base. This is real on the job learning and you get to speak to the customer's and find out what they want from their barber shop.
Find an owner who is open to mentoring you.