Make More Money: 10 Reasons Top Stylists Love Short Hair

1.  Short hair is the big secret to success as a professional hair cutter. Short hair will make you more money faster and build more business in less time than any other focus in the hair business. The math and mystery of short hair and its business benefits can be explained and explored.

2.  Short hair comes back faster – The typical salon visit interval for ladies hair these days is 6 ½ weeks between visits. In a down economy clients even tend to stretch this out a bit more. Short hair cycles faster. A focus on short hair can tighten this interval up to as short as 3 weeks. Clients coming back in sooner = more revenue with fewer active client. You get busier, faster.

3.  Short hair is easier to cut and style – Short haircuts are generally easier to deliver. Sectioning is cleaner and simpler. In many cases you can eliminate the use of sectioning clips as hair can be parted and put were you want it without clipping. Once you know how to build a few basic shapes you can create many looks with a small group of skills.

4.  Short hair takes less time in the chair – Less hair is less work from a time standpoint. Short hair dries faster. Every aspect of servicing a short haired client is shorter and faster than it would be if the client had more hair to spend time on. Time is money. Short hair can be booked tighter. You can see many more heads in a day with a focus on short hair. With the chair turning faster it is easier to run on time and it is easier to catch up when you do not.

5.  Short hair gets noticed – People notice great short hair shapes and styles. Seldom do folks spot long hair from the back pew in church and point it out to each other; “look honey, it is straight’. Not interesting. Not likely. Graduated shapes create visual interest. Activated textures draw attention. Disconnection imparts movement and shows off dimensional hair coloring work. Asymmetry in hair cut shapes makes a fashion statement. These are all powerful artistic elements that show off the talent, creativity and ability of a hair cutter to execute with style.

6.  Short hair sends more new client referrals – Once that great short hair has been noticed conversation starts. Place any two women in a room alone for a few minutes and the conversation turns to hair. It happens every time. If one of the women has a great short haircut she will be offering up the name and an enthusiastic endorsement of her favorite hair cutter. Frequent haircuts have committed the cutters phone number to memory. She also likely carries a few extra business cards form her cutter in her purse or wallet. That is just the way short haircut passion works and fuels the business.

7.  Short hair stays with their hair cutter longer – Passion for their hair cutter comes from a number of elements. They love their short haircut. They love the attention their short haircut generates. Great short hair cutting is unquestionably a stylist specialty. When you find your great short haircutter you stick with him or her for years.

8.  Short hair uses and buys more take home hair care products – A short hair client must do their do every day. Replicating a look every day requires high quality, high performance hair care products. Most short looks require more than just one product. Frequent changes in looks and textures make most short haired clients product junkies. They understand different products better. They are excited to try new products. They like to experiment with cocktailing products. They also use less hair styling product per day to create their look. They understand product concentration and the added value of the notion that a little goes a long way.

9.  Short hair purchases more chemical services – Perms and colors are cut off as fast as you can apply them. Long hair coloring is about keeping up with the roots. Short hair color is about keeping up with the ends. Short hair chemical services are performed more often. The additional upside is they use less raw materials and they take less time to execute. Less hair just goes faster.

10.  Short hair changes it up more often – The road to hair cutter boredom and burn out is paved with same-old, same-old. Cutters like to shake things up to keep a client interesting and interested. New looks create opportunities to discuss new products, color changes and styling variations. Short hair plays into and supports this conversation. Short haircuts can change sooner and more easily since shapes grow out faster. Adding ½” to a short cut is a big change. It is time to recreate again. No one even notices an additional 1” on a long look.

What do you need to rock Awesome Short Hair?

Here is my list of hair cutter must-haves to make the most of the short hair opportunity that the beauty business offers us.

All the short hair tools… Clipper, trimmer, long shears, short shears, blending shears, cutting razor, Specialty texture shears…

All the short hair cutting techniques… Clipper-over-comb, shear-over-comb, snap-on guard cutting (skip guard tapering), blending shear cutting, razor texturizing and razor layering…

All the short hair styling liquid tools… Primer, gel, wax, pomade, spray, mousse

All the short hair marketing skills and information

Clients, Clients, Clients

Passion for going short

What is the number one way to fill your salon styling chair with short haired clients? –CUT YOUR HAIR OFF. Lead by example. If you go short, within 8 weeks 80% of your clients will have gone shorter. You set the pace, the tone and the example. Clients look to you for suggestion, guidance and inspiration. You take the lead and they will follow. Share what you do and how and why you do it and the clients will follow.