The Importance of Niche Hairstyling & How to Find Yours.

The key word to this post will absolutely be "Specialist!"

We all have an idea or an understanding of exactly what that means. In fact it's more than likely that we all have experienced one!

But the question here is, have you ever thought of yourself as one?
Well guess what? YOU ARE!

Not buying that yet? Well think about this.... We all get the question: what do you love to do the most? or what are you best at? yada yada yada... you get the idea.

Well if you can answer that question in any shape or form then you are on the right track to reaching your niche market and that is exactly what we are after; your specialty and how to place your self within that Niche market.

So do you have the answer to that question?? Great! Let's go with that.
Maybe you've said Colorist, Cutter, Up-do's, Etc...

At this point it's not enough to be a broad or a "general" specialist. We need to dig deeper. What do I mean? Well the more niche you go with your market the easier it is to build a stronger presence within this market.

In other words it's always going to be your goal to be a BIG FISH in a SMALL POND.

So how do we dig deeper? Well that's easy too!

The next question we need to ask is, within that category of what you love to do or what your are great at doing, what specifically do you love to do?

For instance, if you are great at color, what type of color are you great at? Blondes? Reds? Highlights? Brunettes? Are you a Cutter? Maybe specifically long hair? short hair? bob haircuts?

I think you get the idea!?

So, now that you are heading in the right direction, lets discuss why this is important and what it means to your business.

Lets start by personalizing it. When we are need for something for our home, specifically a new toilet, where do we go? The Home Depot maybe? They are home specialists, however that's not enough right? When we get to The Home Depot we naturally go to see a specialist who understands exactly what we are looking for, in this case the toilet section of The Home Depot!

Why do we do this? The million dollar question and answer! We want our needs met! Bingo that's it!

Now does this mean that if we were just a "Hair Specialist" that we would not be able to meet the needs of lets say a Blonde looking to have her Blonde color look the best it has ever looked? Well of course not, we know our skill level! But that's our ego talking if that's what we are telling ourselves!

The reality is that if you are that Blonde client looking to have your hair done, you are going to seek out the stylist that positions themselves as the Blonde Specialist. The only thing that Blonde client knows is what she is told by the stylist who positions themselves as a Hair Stylist or a Blonde Hair Specialist. Naturally they will go to whom best suits their needs the Blonde Hair Specialist.

You tell me... what would you do?

The same reason when you are looking for a new toilet, you go and see the Toilet Specialist!

OK, so we can all agree the importance of a niche market!

[Looking For Some Great Reading Material? Check out Riches in Niches. A great book to increase your specialty awareness and the importance of growing in a niche market.]

Here is a quick list of some different ways that you can position yourself as a specialist within your Niche. I don't want to babble on anymore :) so I am going to do this in a list form to make it easy and accurate. Before I do this though I want to leave you with one last, very important point!!

JUST BECAUSE YOU BECOME A SPECIALIST IN A PARTICULAR AREA DOES NOT MEAN YOU STOP PROMOTING YOURSELF AS AN ALL AROUND AMAZING HAIRSTYLIST!!

This will never change. This is about growth and how to position yourself as an amazing talent to a particular type of person.



So...... Here you go:

1. You need to build credentials, it's not enough to just call your self a specialist. So here are a few options:
a. Attend any advanced courses that you can get your hands on and document everything.
b. Use the documentation to promote the skills you have earned to classify yourself as a specialist.
c. Practice and create as much as you can to build documentation for credentials, using things such as mannequins and models. Make sure to take lots of pictures!

2. Make your new found niche seem as if it is a promotion. Your current clientele needs to know about this! Anything you can do to put your name in their mouth in conversation to their friends is the greatest thing you can do for your business.
a. Use your social media sources to promote your promotion.
b. Use your email marketing to promote your promotion.

3. Offer incentives to your current clients to send you a specific type of client. For instance, (lets use our blonde hair guest as an example again) tell your guests that if they send you a blonde hair client you will give them a 20 dollar credit towards their next service.
a. You can do this by using a client referring card.
b. A gift certificate that is made out to a specific person, if they bring it back their name will be on the back so you know who gets the credit.

and lastly

4. Promote yourself as a specialist on your business cards. Make sure all of your business cards state that you are in fact a "[Blonde Hair] Specialist."


...... Thanks for reading :)

Salon Business Monday! How To Get Connected Online

Time for another addition of Salon Business Monday!

Over the next few weeks we are going to give you a few ideas on how to connect with your guests via the internet.

This is not an option this is a necessity so Salon Owners if you have not incorporated new media into your salon's business strategy, we highly recommend you start today!

We will start today with the virtual business card a.k.a. your website.

Salon owners, do you have a website? If yes, well you will just have to wait until next week when we discuss what content is necessary for your website.

During this installment you will learn a few great ways to get a site and the means to which it is operated.

So, for those of you who do not have a website for your salon and feel like it is either WAY

to expensive or you are completely website making illiterate, do we have news for you! It can and is sooooo simple.

Making a website can be fun and simple and the best part is you don't need to know how to make a website. It can be as easy as doing a Facebook page! and I know we all know how to do that.

Our first step then of this week is going to require you to do a little research to find what method best suites your needs, however we will put you in the right direction.

There are many options to ways that you can create a site for your business and still keep the expense in the minimum.

First lets look at the do it yourself option:

There are tons of wonderful do it your self website based companies on the web that ma

ke it so simple to create your site, it's like updating a Facebook page. We recommend you check out

Salon Builder!

Salon Builder will give you all the necessary tools to get started, make it simple and the cost is on a monthly basis that includes everything you need.

You absolutely need to look into all options of companies in this method. We just happen to like salon builder because it is industry specific.

Now of course there are a few down sides to doing this method as a opposed to using a web design based company, for instance the simplicity and uniqueness of the site. However, I think it is important to over look these things and take control of them. By maintaing your sense of brand through the "structured" site building system, you are still able to portray your message and have a site that you can manage and showcase to current and future business.

Make sure everything that you load into this site that is both visual and verbal properly

portrays your image and message of what your salon is all about!

Verdict: This is a great option. If you are looking for no hassle and ease I would go with this option. You will find as we continue on with this topic in the monday's to come you will be limited to some of the options with a website platform such as this. But, if time and effort are not something you have a lot of this is a great way to go and a wonderful way to get started!

Now lets look at the "let them do it" option:

I am not going to lie. If you have the money, time and lets say patience to work with a design company, I highly recommend it.

There are hundreds and thousands of graphical design based companies which can be sc

ary! So we are going to give you a list of 3, that are all great and all different.

1. Lucky Stone Media - A small bases website/graphical design based company with a strong knowledge in almost anything web design related.

Thoughts on this: Well this one is obvious because they designed The Hair Stylist Blog. It is a wonderful web/graphic design based company. Due to the fact of their size they have less clients and more opportunity to spend working one on one with you. Another great thing about Lucky Stone Media is the cost factor would be likely under average due to it being a smaller based company. Also the visual arts they create are very modern and relevant to your brand!

Verdict: Great Buy! If you have time to spend and not tons of money to blow, consider lucky stone. Biggest down side would be the time issue. You will have to work very much one on one for updates to the site, which often times can cost additional depending on the plan you have set up

2. Salon Templete - This is kind of like a hybrid in a sense it allows you to create a template so half the work is done and you can work with their graphic arts team to create a more customized site based on your needs and the template that was chosen.

Thoughts on this: It's great because you have a clear vision of what your site is going to look like before its finished, which keeps the guessing game to a minimum. This method can get rather expensive and very hard for you to up date once it is finished.

Verdict: Hold out on this unless you have a good understanding of general web design.

3. Studio AKT - A medium to large based web/graphic design company. AKT specializes more

in alternative based musical acts. This can be a big bonus depending on the image of the salon. If your are looking to bring an edge to your salon, their design team might be just what your looking for. A very plus side of AKT is the updating is just like updating Facebook or a do it your self site. The only difference is the lay out will be completely customizable. Being that they are larger, there will be less intimacy with a company like this and more than likely much more expensive.

Verdict: Very Expensive but if you can afford it GO FOR IT! Why? 2 reasons, it is completely customizable (if you can dream it you can probably get it) and 2 its as easy to update as it is a Facebook page.

Last but not least Barter!!:

Find a local web based designer via advertisements, craig s list, etc. and work with them on a bartering based system.

We are in one of the few industries that can take advantage of bartering so do it. This would by far be my #1 suggestion. However, only get involved with someone you feel comfortable with and that you know does a great job. In what we do, time is money and it doesn't make sense to have a bogus site and just because you bartered it "isn't a big deal." The time you spend doing their hair could be used doing something productive!

So that concludes today but we are far from done.

EXPLORE YOUR OPTIONS

But get a site!!! It is beyond important, it is your new business card!

Next week we explore what to put on your website or better known as the CONTENT!

Until next time...........

Hairstylists: Get more clients in your chair and make them happy!

One of the best and greatest tips I can give a fellow stylist looking to grow their clientele is to create a referral program for their existing clients. Now I am sure a lot of your already know this or heard this 10000 times, but are you doing it? Are you making sure that every guest that visits you, is putting your name in their mouth?

Well here are 3 great tips to make sure that happens and every guest is helping you grow and feeling happy to do it with out any effort.

1. Use referral cards, this is not a business card, however you can use your business card if necessary. The key is to design a card that rewards your guests for referring their family and friends. For example at my salon we have created a $15 dollar referral card, so for every guest that my current guest refers they both get $15 dollars towards any service. Here is an example of the card we created for our skin care department.

2. Explain to your guest's how and when to use the refer cards. In essence explain to them how to refer guests to you with these cards, so they know exactly how, when and why they have these referral cards. This way the cards are with them all the time and they know that by having them, its like cash in their pockets. It even helps to explain to them that the value of this card is actually $30 and you get to share that with someone special to them.

3. This is very important. Make sure your guest's hair is looking great outside of the salon, not just when you style it. ALWAYS recommend the proper products to your guests so they know how to replicate their style at home. Also make sure your giving them the proper styling tools and techniques to use to achieve the look they want. Product is such a must! So make sure they have the essentials and then teach them the skills.

Later on down the line I will be sharing more great! techniques on how to build and grow your business behind the chair!

Like always please contact us via email: info@thehairstylistblog.com FOR ANYTHING!

Leave comments and suggestions or other great ideas you might have on growing your business and for those of you non professionals taking the time to read this, we would LOVE to hear your ideas as well. ALWAYS.