Is Owning a Barber Shop Profitable? A Guide to Success

Are you a passionate barber who dreams of running a successful business? Before embarking on this exciting journey, it's crucial to ask: Are barber shops profitable? In this post, we'll explore profitability and key success factors specifically for aspiring barber shop owners. Understanding industry intricacies and profit variables can help your business thrive.

Let's dive into what you'll learn: an overview of the sections ahead.

• Barber shop's environment analysis

• Calculate all the expenses of your barber shop

• Determinate your barber shop's revenue streams for better profit margins

• Implementation of Epos Now tech to optimise your barber shop business profitability

Barber shop sector analysis

Recently, the UK barber shop market has seen considerable expansion. It's no wonder that it's such a draw for aspiring owners! The increase in men's grooming and the demand for personalised experiences has led to significant growth in the sector. There were 13,046 barbershops in the UK in 2019, up 64% from 2014. These numbers indicate that the industry is showing promising growth potential. [1]

To run successful barber shops, you need to understand the industry, learn how to market barber shops, and tailor your services to your chosen target audience.

Let's explore how to start a profitable barber shop business based on the following key trends.

Niche focus and targeted customer base

Barber shops focus exclusively on men's grooming needs, distinguishing themselves from traditional hair salons that cater to a broader range of services and customers. This specialised approach allows for tailored services, special experiences, and maximum satisfaction among your target customer base.

Offer unique haircuts, personalised beard grooming, and other specialised grooming services (like eyebrow trimming - which, according to Epos Now data from January - March 2023, is growing in demand), and increase the number of loyal customers that can take your barber shop to new heights!

Promising growth prospects for barber shop owners

The US barber shop market presents promising growth opportunities. As men's grooming evolves, barber shops can capitalise on new trends by diversifying their services. This includes beard grooming, shaves, facials, and more specialised treatments, which can increase customer engagement and revenue.

Influence of barber culture and social media

Grooming is in, and thanks to social media and influencers, men's grooming is at the forefront. Barber shops are capitalising on this trend, providing clients with more than just a haircut - they offer wellness and self-expression too. Barber shop owners who align their businesses with these market trends, especially by using social media, can capitalise on the industry's growth and boost profits

Barber shop expenses that affect profitability

To run a profitable barber shop, you need to manage day-to-day expenses effectively. Let's take a closer look at the key costs that can impact your bottom line.

Barber shop monthly expenses: Rent and overhead costs

To run a barber shop, the biggest expense is renting or leasing a fitting space. This price varies based on the size and location of your own business, as well as market rates. Don't forget to include overhead costs, such as insurance, utilities and maintenance. To keep the finances in check, it's vital to balance rent and overhead expenses with revenue.

Professional licensing and certifications

Barbers and barber shop owners must comply with licensing requirements from their county's business office. This can include getting business licensing, which involves recurring fees. Keep your business license up-to-date to ensure legal compliance and customer trust. Factor expenses into your budget to avoid surprises.

Staff salaries and benefits

To deliver excellent customer service at barber shops, skilled barbers and support staff are essential. Competitive compensation packages that include commissions, paying wages, valued company benefits (such as an annual leave allowance that offers more time off than the legal minimum) and insurance are necessary to attract and retain top talent.

However, if you can’t get the best barbers immediately, as a barber shop owner, you could use a business model working with independent contractors. This means you can charge for the chair service and collect a commission from their services revenue. All while still advertising that you’ve got a talented team to customers.

Strike the right balance between compensation and operational costs to keep expenses under control.

Inventory and supplies

For running a barber shop, keeping a good set of grooming products, hair care items, tools, and barber shop equipment is vital. Managing inventory effectively not only avoids wastage, but also trims expenses and boosts profits. You can optimise by ordering in bulk, negotiating for favourable pricing from suppliers and monitoring inventory levels.

TOP TIP: Epos Now devices can help manage your inventory after each sale - and can give you automatic alerts when your supplies are running low. This can help make sure you never run out of customer favourites or barber shop essentials!

Equipment costs: Maintenance and upgrades

To keep customers satisfied, it’s crucial to have a clean and appealing barber shop. 

Regular maintenance and upgrades, including furniture, decor, and equipment repair, can help maintain your professional image. But did you know it can also help you with controlling costs? By maintaining your barber shop equipment, and knowing when to upgrade, you can plan when you will pay for more expensive items. This helps you with budgeting and not having a crisis when it seems that all your equipment suddenly needs replacing.

Marketing expenses

To draw and keep offering customers great rewards for their support, budgeting for marketing, branding and advertising is crucial. This can involve online ads, social media posts, printed items, signs, branded accessories or gifts, and promos. It’s easy for this to become a big money pit. That’s why it’s so important to measure your barber shop marketing campaigns with data.

Every time you run a marketing campaign, such as making an ad for social media, make sure you measure its success. Look at how much engagement it received vs how many people went ahead to call you or book online. This will help you evaluate what works to gain customer attention. If you can see ads being useful and cost-effective, as you continue to run ads, you can then work to refine your strategy to lower the costs.

Plan ahead and try to target your marketing efforts to maximise gains while minimising expenses.

Other expenses

Don't forget about the little things! Running a barber shop can come with additional expenses, like accounting services, legal fees, software subscriptions, and training for your team. Anticipating these costs and planning accordingly can help to avoid unexpected financial burdens. Keep these miscellaneous expenses in mind to ensure a successful and stress-free operation.

Maintain control over costs to boost your barber shop's profits. Review your expenses often, seek cost-saving opportunities, negotiate with suppliers, and optimise operations. Remember, understanding your expenses is key to making informed financial decisions for long-term success.

Your barber shop's revenue streams and income potential

Boost your barber shop's bottom line by diversifying revenue streams and maximising income potential. Let's explore the different ways to generate revenue and unlock its full potential.

Haircuts and styling services:

Barber shops rely on haircuts and styling services as their most popular income stream. To attract clients, offer popular styles and personalised consultations. Keep customers loyal with exceptional service and stay current with the most recent trends and techniques.

Sell retail products in your barber shop:

Boost your barber shop's bottom line by adding the sale of retail products. Offering an array of grooming products and accessories, like beard oil and pomade, is an easy way to earn extra cash while also becoming a go-to source for all your customers' grooming necessities. Plus, you'll create loyal customers who will appreciate your honest recommendations.

Expand your barber shop services:

Offering more services, such as beard grooming, shaves, facials, and scalp treatments, can enhance your prospects by catering to clients in search of more holistic grooming. Gift certificates for special occasions could also be an additional revenue booster.

Collaborations and partnerships:

Collaborating with complementary businesses can create mutually beneficial opportunities. Joint events, cross-promotion, and shared customer referrals are just a few examples of the benefits. 

Working with local salons, spas, or boutiques can expand your reach, attract new customers, and generate additional revenue streams, making it a smart move for your business.

Membership programs and packages:

Membership programs or discounted packages can make customers regulars, boost their spending, and create loyalty. 

Tiered membership levels or loyalty programs offer perks like priority scheduling, discounts, or free add-ons. These encourage customer retention and increase lifetime value.

Special events and workshops:

Special events and workshops can be an excellent way to boost your barber shop's revenue while also reaching out to new clientele. 

For example, you could start by hosting grooming tutorials, styling workshops, or theme days, you can demonstrate your expertise and engage with your community in fun and exciting ways. 

Not only do these events provide revenue, but they also position your shop as a leading authority in the grooming industry.

To boost profits in your barber shop business, diversify revenue streams, implement effective marketing strategies, optimise operations, and leverage partnerships and events. It's important to evaluate and adapt revenue strategies based on market trends and customer preferences. Stay tuned to your customer's evolving needs and consistently deliver exceptional experiences to position your shop for sustained financial success.

Implementing Epos Now technology that maximises barber shop business profitability

Maximise profits in your barber shop with Epos Now technology. Streamline operations and enhance customer experiences with this tool in today's digital age. Here's how it can help your barber shop business:

Streamlined point of sale (POS) system:

Our barber shop POS systems simplify transactions, inventory management, sales reporting, and more. Our Complete Solution bundle has an intuitive touchscreen and barcode scanning features that allow for quick and accurate payments while reducing wait times for better customer experiences.

Plus, the inventory tools help track sales, monitor stock levels, and identify top sellers to boost sales and reduce waste.

Enhanced reporting and analytics

Epos Now provides real-time insights into your barber shop's performance with enhanced reporting and analytics tools. Analysing sales data, employee productivity, and customer trends has never been easier! 

These instant insights allow you to optimise pricing strategies and tailor services to better meet customer demands, to help improve profitability.

Marketing and loyalty integrations

Epos Now's integrated marketing and loyalty features empower you to drive repeat business and attract new customers.

Use our MailChimp integration to leverage customer data and personalise marketing messages and incentives. Investigate spending patterns, and then offer rewards and discounts with LoyaltyDog to reinforce customer loyalty and drive revenue.

You have a wide choice of options available to you in the Epos Now App Store. These integrations sync seamlessly with any Epos Now software. 

Integrated accounting services

Epos Now integrates seamlessly with popular accounting software like QuickBooks, boosting your barber shop's performance. This connection streamlines financial processes, improves accuracy, and offers real-time visibility into your business's financial health. It automates sales data transfer, expenses, and other financial info to reduce manual data entry and the risk of errors.

Use Epos Now to get online 

Epos Now's website builder empowers barber shops to boost customer satisfaction by offering a user-friendly online platform to book appointments from anywhere, at any time. 

This intuitive scheduler streamlines bookings, reduces phone traffic, and helps minimise missed appointments. Enhance your barber shop's performance with a professional and customisable website, where an efficient scheduling system is just a click away!

Final thoughts on barber shop profitability

In this blog post, we tackled the question of whether owning a barber shop can be profitable. The short answer is: yes (as long as you have a strong plan that you update regularly)!

In a nutshell, to make your barber shop profitable, you need to focus on factors such as location, your target audience, exceptional customer service, and keeping up with trends. Plus, you must understand and control your expenses. These can include common costs such as rent, staff salaries, inventory, marketing, and maintenance.

But we didn't stop there! We delved into the crucial factors that influence the profitability of a barber shop business. These included market size and growth, expenses, revenue streams, and technology. It definitely takes careful planning and execution to succeed in this industry.

We also explored various ideas to generate revenue streams, such as staying on trend with haircut services, products, memberships, and more. We even highlighted how technology such as Epos Now can help optimise and streamline your business operations, such as appointment management and reporting, and actually be a cost-effective measure for your business.

In short, owning a profitable barber shop can be a reality. By leveraging market demand and embracing technology, while focusing on top-notch customer experiences, you can create a thriving barber shop in your community.