Standing out in a competitive world can be a difficult process as a barber. You have your unique skills and abilities that offer your ideal clients every time they sit in your chair. Don’t lose that specialty, learn to stand out among the rest! Hello friends! Patrick the Groomsmith here, your master barber and hairstylist with over 25 years of experience. Did you know that I’m also a licensed cosmetology instructor and that I offer pain-free and non-surgical hair replacement services with Hill Hair Systems? Anything you need and anything you’re looking for, you’ll be able to find it in my shop. Even if you aren’t sure what you’re looking for, you can schedule a free consultation with me right here on my website! Springtime in the Lowcountry and right here in Summerville is already going by so quickly, and summertime is right around the corner! I want to help you get a look that will make you feel and look your best in some of the most beautiful months of the year! Always know that no matter what you come in for, you will always leave looking and feeling your best! Today, I am very excited to take a break from my barber chair to sit down in my writer’s chair this week and talk with you about how to stand out among the rest when starting up your own barbershop!
When you become a barber, I know how exciting it is to start working towards owning your own shop. You are fresh-faced, excited, and ready to get started. However, once you walk out of the door and into the professional world all on your own, reality has a hard way of coming up and putting you in your place. It’s hard to get that start, to work towards your own shop, and once you do, it’s hard to get the word out there about who you are. As a teacher and educator in the industry, I know there is so much more to teaching an upcoming barber than just styling techniques, how to use your tools, and the secrets to some of the best products out there. The business itself of being a barber is on a whole other level of your education, and one that you’ll need to learn as you go through your professional career.
One hard thing to realize is that there are other barbers out there, many of them, that you will be competing against every day. There will always be someone better than you and someone worse than you, but no matter what you’re doing as a professional, you will need to find a consistent voice so your ideal clients will find you and keep coming back to you. Loving your shop and what you do every day is the key. It will make the hard days worth the struggle and the best days feel like you aren’t even working. I know you can do that! Its taken me years to get to where I am today, and I am thankful for everything I have learned. If you follow me on social media and when you come into my shop, you will notice that my style and the unique services I offer make me unique. This is who I am, and this is how I stand out. What are some things that you can do in this industry to stand out in your own unique ways?
Our industry keeps growing and changing, and while you need to stay on top of that, it’s very important to stand out as the world continues to move forward! No matter if you’re just starting or you want to take your current shop to the next level, take these ideas to heart. You know that what you offer is unique and one in a million, and you have the confidence to be where you are today. You know and support your customers and they do the same for you, but how do you keep up with this daily grind?
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One of the first recommendations I’ll always give is to never let your social media go cold and put it on the back burner. No matter if you love it or hate doing it and have no time for it, there is no doubt that to stay ahead of your competition, you have to utilize and use social media. It needs to be consistently posted on, updated, and you need to respond to comments and messages in a very quick turnaround period. You need to have excellent graphics, excellent customer service, and all of it must be easy to navigate. Your online image, just like the one you’ve created in real life, matters. Social media is sometimes the first place many future customers will turn to see who you are, what you offer, what your values are, and what makes you stand out.
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Don’t forget that you are in the service industry, along with offering the very best in what you do, your whole overall customer service from the moment a client walks in until they leave needs to be amazing. How you treat your customers will always speak louder than any of your skills and abilities.
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Think about your brand and what your shop looks like. Is the aesthetic, its unique look, and your overall branding all the same? Does it all match? Are you always consistent with it from your social media to your business card to the look of your shop? Being all over the place and inconsistent with your brand will make you look unorganized and unappealing to your current and future clients. It will be stressful to be around. Having a consistent look and brand will make you instantly recognizable and unforgettable. While doing all of this, stay true to who you are and remain authentic.
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You need to be aware of what other barbers and your competition are doing. Don’t ignore what’s going on in the world and industry around you. This will never mean that you should be copying them, but take what they’re doing and add your style to it. Do it better than how they’re doing it! Trends and industry growth are important guidelines in the direction your shop should be going over the years. While you don’t have to follow this route perfectly, it’ll help motivate and give you the passion to keep going. Saying “we’ve always done it this way” is the most dangerous phrase in business.
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If you have a shop with other employees outside of yourself, you need to make sure they’re happy, respected, and taken care of. They are working for you and representing you! Your staff will be the driving and delivering force of your services and your brand, and you want them to spread a happy positive message to all the clients that come in.
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Take a moment to step out of your owner and manager’s shoes and take a walk through your shop, your website, and your social media as a customer. What do you find? Do you need to make some changes or additions? What could make the overall experience that much more enjoyable?
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Make sure everything in your shop is up to date and comfortable. From your future to your equipment, you want your shop to look good and be appealing in the eye of anyone who walks in!
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Maybe think of adding a theme to your shop to stand out. Don’t just randomly pick a theme because you think it’ll help you get more business, pick something that resonates with you, something you know about, and something that still can help you market and promote as a unique and individual shop.
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Take advantage of your online resources and your website! First of all, make it incredibly easy for your customers to find you and make sure you’re on Google Maps, and make it very easy to book an appointment with you. You will need to have an easy-to-navigate booking system on your website, but once you do, you’ll be able to connect this to every social media platform you have.
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Don’t be shy to showcase your portfolio! You’ll need to spend the time to create your style and establish your portfolio, but once you’ve done that you need to share it. You’ve worked too hard on it not to!
You’ve worked very hard to get to where you are today as a professional barber. You’re unique, you’re talented, and you deserve your ideal clients to walk through your doors every day. Take these tips and suggestions and apply them to where you are now and watch your business soar! Until next time, I am Patrick the Groomsmith and I am here with the best barbershop in Summerville, the best nonsurgical hair restoration in Summerville, and more.
