We had an idea that could revolutionise the hair industry. The idea is that hair salons can close on Saturdays.

An idea that could boost staff retention, productivity, and job satisfaction to new, unexplored heights. And you know the craziest thing? We tried it. And you know what happened? It worked!

After a few years of massive social and economic change (thanks COVID-19) creating a balance between work and personal life has never been so important. Everyone deserves to have the option to be highly successful in their career, without having to jeopardise the time they spend at home or with family.

“By giving your team the luxury of a full weekend off every week, plus the option of flexible hours during the week, it makes it clear to every salon professional that when you work in our salon, your family life, mental health and career are all equally important to us, and the one doesn’t have to suffer in order to feed the other.”

We’re seeing an industry-wide rise in stylists going freelance, setting up shop at home and opting for single chair rentals in order to maintain a level of work/llife balance. Unfortunately, it’s not solving the problem, but causing different problems such as pay cuts, long hours, extra time covering admin and accounting, in the process. Whilst the industry is continuing to tell stylists they’re better off in a team-based salon, they haven’t changed anything regarding salon operations… until now.

Now that you’ve wrapped your mind around the concept, it’s time to answer the all-important question: Is it possible financially?

Here are our top tips to tackle that all important question:

1. First of all, look at your business profit by days of the week. Saturdays for most is already a reduced hour day and often NOT the biggest profit day. Reviewing these numbers makes “taking the plunge” a little less scary.

2. Strategically extending hours during the week and offering evening appointments allows the salon to operate the same, or even do more hours throughout the week; this makes up for any hours lost on a Saturday. Many salons are closed on Mondays, so why not open? This is an opportunity to jump on by being one of the only salon’s that is open.

3. You have to know your numbers! Really understand how, and fro what, makes up your business revenue, and more importantly, profit. Most salon owners focus on “more service revenue” but more revenue does NOT mean more profit. Decisions need to be made based on profit not revenue.

We also recommend you ask yourself these 4 crucial questions before making your decision to shut your doors on a Saturday.

Do you know how much is costs you to operate/be open?

Do you know how much profit you make for every service you offer?

Do you know which days you make the most profit vs. least profit? (this is NOT the same as revenue)

Do you know how a desired change will affect your profit?

Written by David Barnett

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@highperformancestylist on Instagram

In David & Nicole’s masterclass: This is how you WIN!, they show you how to WIN by giving you the formulas to guaranteed cash flow and profit and become the most talked about stylist/salon in town! Find out more here