Every barber has their own style and expertise. There’s always a certain client that gets you excited when they walk through the door. Curating a clientele that frequents the style you desire can make the day to day in the shop more enjoyable and reinvigorate your passion for your craft.
Here are some quick tips and tricks for finding your niche and building it out to a larger audience.
1) Find your niche
Introspection is important here. Ask yourself, what type of haircuts get you excited? What styles catch your eye on the street? What barbers and stylists are you following whose content you gravitate towards? Maybe a certain celebrity, a musician, or an athlete has captivated you with their style throughout the years.
For practice, check out these barbers and see if you can determine what type of haircuts they attract.
@MartyBlendz - Brownsville, TX
2) Educate yourself
With your niche determined, consider if your current skillset allows you to execute the desired styles. For inspiration and education, look to your favorite barbers and stylists in your Instagram feed. Many hair professionals are hosting short educational bits on their own platforms, or short form Reels that allow you to see their techniques.
Here are some educational shorts to check out
@christiangotfanzz - Creating a design
@seanmoorehair - Hair sectioning techniques
@petergosling_ - Layering vs overdirection
3) Find the right customers
The clients with the perfect head of hair won’t often walk through your door. You have to get out there and find them. Anytime you’re in a public place, keep your eyes open and your business cards on you.
Approaching a stranger can be awkward at times and you may have to offer an incentive to get them in your chair. Have your body of work available to display and consider offering a discount or a free service to start the lasting relationship.
For easy business card design, consider visiting our friends over at Jukebox Print.
4) Capture your work
Now that you have your desired clientele in your chair, it’s important to not only execute the haircut, but to capture your work. The content you’re posting online should coincide with the clientele you want to attract. If your whole feed is sharp lineups, then you’ll get clients looking for that. To allow yourself to create content, book out 10-15 extra minutes if your day to capture video and photos of your work.
5) Utilize word of mouth
Chances are your client has other friends and family with similar interests in style. Ask your client if they have any other friends that are looking for a haircut and consider incentivizing referrals. This could be a $5 off discount for new customers and a $5 off discount to the client that referred them.
Put these strategies into action and watch your target customer base grow!
Make sure to keep us up to date on your progress and let us know how these strategies helped you by reaching out to team@slckr.us. We love hearing from you.