Holiday Season (Part 1): How to Maximize Profit Without Working More (RE-AIR)

Hello, friend. Welcome back to the Modern Hairstylist Podcast. Ooh, girl. I don't know when this is gonna be released, but I think it's gonna be released in November, I believe.

Either November or the end of October. I don't freaking know. But whenever you're listening to this, my friend, I hope that your day is so freaking great, and I'm super excited to dive into this today because we are approaching our normal holiday, busy, crazy time as beauty professionals. And, uh, we have two episodes coming out about this.

This one is gonna be a little bit more about the business side and how you're running your business and what you're doing and what the dos and don'ts are in the busy season. And then we're gonna be doing one about your boundaries and how to make sure that you're still maintaining a work/life balance during the most socially demanding season between clients and family and gift giving and taking care of your children and all the events and all the crazy things. So, if you're ready to get into it, then let's go. Hey, Kaitlyn, what's the tea?

Uh, I don't have anything witty to say to that. I'm good. How are you? I'm good.

Kaitlyn, who are you? Like, what i- what... What is, what is your role- . here on the Modern Hairstylist Podcast?

Because we need to be reminding people, we need to be telling people who are stumbling upon me for the first time listening to this. We need to let people know who you're, what this magical presence is, um, that you are. Hello, everyone. My name's Kaitlyn.

I'm here to help keep him on track, give him some outlines, and just make sure that the episode flows super nicely and quickly at the same time. I'm also a hairstylist, and I just recently moved to England. And I stepped away from working behind the chair, so I'm mainly working with Hunter. And she is, like, she's, like, not talking about this and she totally should be.

She is a brilliant marketer. She is bl- she has blown her own business up behind the chair and f- in the future for the, her new ventures. And she teaches people how to, uh, she teaches hairstylists and beauty professionals how to utilize Instagram Reels to grow a beautiful, aligned clientele. And so that's exactly why I'm super excited to have Kaitlyn here on these episodes.

She's been absolutely excellent, and we are very appreciative of Kaitlyn. So, everybody, in your car, say out loud listening to this, like, "Thank you, Kaitlyn." . Thank you.

I appreciate it. I am happy to be here. Okay. We are so happy to have you here.

So, um, okay, so here's the tea, y'all. So, I get it, okay? I literally understand, like, the holidays can be a little insane traditionally, right? Like, throughout our entire careers, like, we've all worked, like, our seven-day weeks, our 12-hour days.

Like, we've, like, come in early, stay late on the days off for these times because we know it is sometimes the most lucrative time for us. It's the time wher- when we are naturally in the most demand because everybody just wants their hair done for the holidays for whatever reason. And you know where I think this stems from? I'm gonna, I'm just gonna go out on a, on a, on a limb here and just from my own experience with my clients, it's crazy how much people care about what their family thinks about them.

Like, it's crazy. Like, especially, like, okay, th- and this is just my personal experience, okay? Like, this is, like, I'm just, I'm thinking about one of my clients who always tells me this, and this is not just her, but I'm just thinking about her specifically. She cares so much about what her sisters think about her because they all, like, shit on each other, and they all, like, judge each other all the time.

You know what I mean? And I feel like there is a very high standard that people set for themselves because of probably, like, trauma and probably, like, like, expectations and, like, insecurities, like, when they're going to these, like, eh, events, right? And so they feel like they need to look amazing, and that's why they come and see us, right? So, people really have, like, this internal need to come in and to feel like they are all put together and feeling perfect and et cetera, et cetera.

And I think that's truly why we get slammed during the holidays. Like, would you agree, Kaitlyn, or can you think of any other reason why we get slammed p- traditionally during this time? Yeah, I mean, I definitely agree with you, but I think a lot of people too, they do, like, the holiday photos and, like, they have to be all glammed up- Mmm. for, like, their, like, beautiful, like, portraits that they have painted of themselves, and...

I didn't even think about the pictures. Yeah, there's also a shit ton of pictures that are taken during holidays too, like with family parties and stuff like that. So, you know, people are gonna be banging down your doors. It is what it is.

Now, here's my take, all right? I'm just gonna, like, throw this out here from the very beginning. My take is that, yes, there are do's and don'ts for the holiday season for us as hairstylists, specifically pertaining to the busy season. However, I don't think we should necessarily be changing shit up too much.

I feel like the shit that, you know, sometimes we maybe want to do or ideas that we are, um, we get into as far as, like, what we should be implementing during this season oftentimes are things that I'm like, the shit that you foundationally and fundamentally have in place in your business should just, like, stay a constant throughout this season and have your back no matter what. Whether this is, like, your crazy busy time or not, if you have, like, a strong fundamental systematization of the way that you're running your business, if you have a consistent and efficient marketing flow, and if you're retaining guests well with a great client experience, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, then you shouldn't have to come in early and stay late and on your days off. If you are priced properly for your time and you can expect to be paid, like, x amount of money regardless of what kind of services that you're doing or the mass amount of services that you're doing, right? Then I feel like we shouldn't have to, like, do anything too crazily different to make sure that we are having a sustainable business and that we're taking care of ourselves and our clients at the same time.

So, I just feel like that that's my personal tea. Like, I don't think that we should have to be sacrificing our time and our mental health and our energy by working extra hours or anything like that, which is oftentimes what we do. We oftentimes pick up more hours because we think that it's gonna be, like, like, more money for us, but at the end of the day, like...How worth it is that?

And you know what? Maybe it is worth it for some people. Like, you have to consider, like, what is your return on your investment of your time that you're putting into your holiday season if you are gonna be coming in early, staying late on your days off, if you are gonna be doing extra, like, extra things, right? Like, what is the return on your investment in the long run?

I don't want you to think about what's happening in the moment. I want you to think about what you are doing right now, the decision that you're making right now, how does that affect you three months down the line? I wanna know that. Kaitlin, like, I wanna know, like, if you are gonna pick up a Saturday, if you are gonna work Christmas Eve morning, is the sacrifice of the time that you are spending away from your family and your friends, the energy that you are exerting, right, is the money that you're making in the moment, but also the effects of that long term worth the sacrifice?

And if it is, then by all means, go freaking do it. Like, please pop off, collect your bag, sis. But for me, working any more than what my allotted working hours are, no matter what freaking season it was or is, is not worth it for me in the long term, in the long term. And that's because I have always had the strong fundamentals and foundations of my business in place that were consistent.

I don't need a busy season to be busy. You know what I mean? We all have our weird gappy times. Like, we a- we do go through weird seasons as a business, but quite honestly, like, if you are running, like, a really efficient business, and you are on top of your marketing, and you're, and you're using modern day strategies, and you really understand how to speak to people and get people into your door, then your busy season should be all year round.

That's just my take. That's just my tea. Like, what do you think about that, Kaitlin? I 100% agree with you, and I kind of just wanna throw in, like, a different perspective or just like, uh, i- it's just a different perspective.

So, like, it's great if you wanna, like, work extra during the holidays and get extra money. Like, th- I mean, it's obvious that you would make extra money if you work extra days. But wouldn't that also apply to literally any other month of the year? If you work extra days, obviously you're going to make extra money.

I feel like it's not necessarily, like, a holiday thing that's making you more, more money. It's you working more hours. So, I feel like there's more of a, like, system, system type situation, price situation that you need to be considering as opposed to, oh no, I need to work more hours during the holidays. Period.

Precisely. I know that we wanna be, like, super protective over our schedules and over our time during the busy season because, like, it's such, like, rare and, like, important appointments for a lot of people, but, like, i- if this is your busy season, then, like, you should have a wait list, right? Everybody, I don't give a fuck, everybody needs an existing client wait list. Whether you're a week booked out or fucking five months booked out, I do not care.

You need an existing client wait list strategy, which I teach in Pre-Visit Pathway, but you should have a wait list and people should be filling up that wait list during the busy season if you are truly gonna be that slammed, right? And if somebody cancels on you last minute, you should be able to fill that spot, like, in .5 seconds for the most part. So, if this is such a different, like, rare season for you, then the fundamentals that you should be having all year round anyway should be having your back no matter what, and I love your point.

I, I absolutely love all of what you had to say. Anyways, that's my rant about, like, coming in early, staying late on your days off, and adding, like, extra hours, and, like, y- like I always say, girlfriend, listening to this, friend, I always say, like, you have to do what's best for you and your business and your life. Like, I'm not here to fucking... Like, I'm not God, you know?

I'm not pretending that I'm, like, that I am the end all be all, and none of us are, you know? Like, you are your own CEO. You are your own human being with your own life and your own nuances and things that you need to be doing for your happiness and your joy. So, you take that in consideration as a CEO, but also a human being, right?

What makes more sense for you in the long run? And, and consider what your return on your investment is of your sacrifice of your time, because we do not... I just, I was just on the phone with Kimber Chapman and we were just ranting about how people do not take in consideration the value of their freaking time. It is so freaking important.

We were talking about, I don't know, hopefully this is not off, too off topic, y'all, but, you know, hope, you probably have ADHD if you're listening to this because, you know, us ADHD people, we just gotta stick together. So listen, okay, listen, hopefully this is, like, entertaining for you. We were talking about how, like, if somebody, okay, so if somebody's making, like, six figures, right? Like, if somebody's making, let's say, like, $150,000 a year, somebody making $150,000 a year working 40 hours versus 80 hours is a lot fucking different.

I was just, I, I was on TikTok and, you know, there's, like, those TikTok, those TikTok trends of people, like, running up to people on the street and asking them what their occupation is and how much money they make and how many hours they work? And there was, like, this guy in finance and he makes, like, $185,000 a year. It's, like, his first year in this job, and then he asked him, like, "How much do you, uh, how m- how many hours do you work a week or a month or a week? No, a week, a week, a week."

And he said, "80 hours." I'm like, okay, $185,000, that sounds really sexy and cool, but it's like, you are poor. Like, you are literally so poor in your time wealth. And people don't take in consideration how freaking valuable your time is, and as a, as a CEO of a business where I'm starting to have, like, a team and, like, I'm really starting to scale things up and, like, things are, like, an operation that's, like, a little bit larger, right, you start to truly understand, like, as you start to scale in a business, how valuable your freaking time is.

Like, it tru- we need to take that in consideration. So, my rant, my ADHD off, offside track situation, it all goes back to just please consider if you're gonna work, if you're gonna work on your off time during the season, like, think about how worth it it is for you, okay? PeriodNow, let's talk about some other things as far as the business of your holiday season goes, okay? So, number one, I wanna talk about, I wanna talk about, um, sales psychology a little bit.

This is, like, super, I'm totally into this side of the things. I started out as a brand educator. I've been educating for a brand for, like, years, and so when you educate for a brand, of course, they're going to teach you a lot of sales strategy. And especially a brand that is, like, really sales and business-oriented and teaches you and gives you a lot of support in those spaces.

And so, I've had the privilege of really understanding, like, retail sales and just add-on sales in, in general and how to sell clients into getting those, um, and take care of them as you're doing it. And yes, so sorry to break it to you, my friend, you're selling product, girl. You're not just educating people about the product, you're also selling it 'cause we're in fucking sales. Sorry.

You, you can sell by educating, right? But, like, at the end of the day, you are selling. So, I'm sorry. I know it sounds like a lot, like, gentler and cooler, like, to, like, say, like, "We're educating," but, like, if you really wanna start making fucking money and you wanna take this business seriously, you need to understand that you are selling people a product.

You are making money, and there is literally no shame in that if you genuinely believe in what you're selling somebody, period. So, you wanna start making real money, if you wanna get over your fear of retail, let's start to get really comfortable with the fact that we're selling people. Holidays is so good, such a fantastic opportunity for you to tap into sales psychology with your clients. The moment that somebody feels that, like, holiday, like, gift giving, like, vibe that's going on in the, in the world, in the atmosphere, in the ambiance of your space, that is the moment that they are much more likely to be spending more money with you.

And when you can present things in a way that, like, make it look like it's very holiday-oriented or if you can, um, m- have, like, bundles or, uh, specials within, within reason that really make sense for, for tailoring it towards gift giving or even taking care of themselves or just being, like, wintry-themed or holiday-themed, you will have a much higher likely chance of selling and adding onto your ticket and making so much more money in a year. Let's say, let's say you sell about $70 in retail, okay? Let's say that you sell $70 in retail, all right? And let's say that you divide that in two because your profit's gonna be, like, 50% on it.

If you sold, like, let's say, if you sold $70 in product to two people per day on a four-day work week, all right? That's an extra 280 a week, $280 profit, okay? Profit. Your gross is 560, but your profit is 280, all right?

Times four, that's an extra 1120 a month, an extra $1,120 a month. So, do not take this... What, where I do want you to take advantage of this freaking season is the fact that sales are going to be so much easier for you. And so, decorating and, like, setting things up in a way where it does feel really holiday-y, right, is a really great thing to take advantage of.

Not everybody loves Christmas music. Um, and not everybody celebrates Christmas, and, and, you know, we have to take that into consideration as well. I was very, I was very conscious of the fact that not all of my clients celebrated that ho- the, the same holiday, right? But that's the great thing about allowing your client to personalize the experience if you are in a suite, is you can offer to pl- offer them to play holiday music, and you'll be so surprised about how, like, 50/50 it is.

Like, some people really despise it, and some people absolutely love it. And even just, like, allowing them to choose to, like, play holiday music throughout the appointment, like, will 100%, like, bring your client experience and your chance for extra sales and extra money in your pocket to the next level. So, I'm gonna stop there. Caitlyn, go ahead.

I'm just sitting here thinking about how much I hate holiday music. I, I cannot stand it. I've worked in a mall for way too long of my life, and I just can't. So, I, I...

You lost me. Like, I went off into, like, a thought process all of its own, like, holiday music and then, like, yeah. So, I got nothing. Sorry.

Dude, I actually love holiday music, but I only like, like, classical, um, like, beautiful holiday music. I don't like corny kid ho- like, kr- like, holiday music. You know what I mean? I like, like, violins, orchestra, like, very pretty stuff.

I don't like, like, the Frosty the Snowman situation, you know? Like, that's not my tea. Same. Anyways, regardless of whether we like it or not, it can really help your clients to get into that sales mindset, right?

And to be giving and want to buy and all those good things. So, take advantage of that. Take advantage of the fact that this time is a space for you to very easily be making more money in your retail sales and your add-ons, okay? And this is a seasonal thing, not necessarily a holiday thing, but as the seasons change, you should be really considering wh- how you are going to create an ambiance that really speaks to the seasons.

Um, how you're going to be making sure that you are implementing changes, maybe in your client's hair and their, their services based upon what season we're walking into. We should always be considering, like, what season are we walking into and what, how does that affect your scalp and your hair and your habits and how you're wearing your hair, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera? And this is why a consultation is so freaking important and having a sales strategy in your consultation is so important. In my membership, we are literally, I think, this month, having a class all about really great sales strategy in the in-the-chair experience, and it all goes with really meeting your client where they are at right now, relating to them and thinking, oh, okay, they're gonna be wearing their hair down a lot more.

They're gonna need help. Their hair's gonna be drier because the air is gonna be a little bit drier. So, how can I, what can I recommend to them in the chair today, and what are they gonna be going home with to remedy that different change in the season? And how are we, yes, educating our clients that they maybe will need to do something differently because we are walking into this new season to avoid that painful, like, feeling of having dry hair or having a dry scalp, et cetera, et cetera?

So, that's why, like, in your consultation, it's really great and it's really, it's a really great opportunity for you to take advantage of the fact that we are all experiencing very similar things a lot of the times, and you're eas- you're easily able to relate to the person, make them feel like you really understand what their pains are, and then you be the person who has the solutions and you are the authority of being able to recommend to them, um, what they should be using or how they should be changing things up, and then you being the one who gets compensated for that. Like, knowledge is power. Education is power. Like, you have so much in your beautiful, freaking trained, beauty school-trained brain, right, that can help you make m- much more money, and we don't take advantage of it because we don't have the sales skills, we don't have the education, or we just don't take advantage of it because of fear or just laziness or, like, whatever it may be.

So, I very much right now, I wanna, like, literally give you permission right now to decorate the shit out of your space, to give your clients the choice to play holiday music or not, take advantage of the fact that we're walking into a season where your clients are gonna have different issues going on with their hair and their scalp, et cetera, et cetera, and freaking sell them shit. Sell them shit. And do it by, yes, educating, but also making sure that you are relating to them, that you're making them understand what their pain points are and understand why they're experiencing those things and what the solutions actually are, and then you can make the sale, right? And then you can educate and all of those good things, right?

Um, take advantage of this time, my friend. Don't let it slip by you, because if not now, then when, right? If not now, then when? That is the thing that is different about this time.

Everything else, you know, everything else, it's like, you should be booked and busy all the freaking time, okay? And by booked and busy, I do not mean three months booked out solid. I mean, you know, like, two to three weeks booked out at a time. Like, that is a very healthy stylist, right?

And so no matter if it's, like, the f- like, the literally December 25th or if it's freaking, f- uh, February or January, right? Like, we should be having clients coming in every day, and that comes back to having a really great marketing strategy. You should be making a very consistent amount of money, if not more, right, if not more, by using the clients that are already in your chair. You have everything you need in your chair.

This is, this is all coming full circle right now. You don't need to work on your off time during the holidays if you just use what's already in your chair and take advantage of the fact that what's in your chair already is willing to spend more money. You can make a shit ton more money by just already taking what you have. No price increase.

No freaking working more, right? No more clients. Just use what you have. The success rate of selling to a customer you already have is 60 to 70% more than selling to a new customer.

You already have the money. If you are going to be booked and busy during the holidays, you don't have to work more. You can take advantage of the fact that you already have people who love you, trust you, and will spend money with you. More money with you, period.

But again, you do what's best for you, friend. I just ask you to consider your o- to take in consideration your own health, and how worth it it is for you to sacrifice things when you already can take advantage of so many other things that you already have right now, right? So, that's where I'm gonna leave this off. Kaitlyn, do you have any final thoughts for us?

Uh, I'm just over here, like, doing, like, praise hands. Like, Hunter just took us to church. I hope you all were here for it. I'm, like, over here saying, "Hallelujah."

Um, no, I don't have anything else to add. That was great. Period. All right, my friend.

There's probably so many other things that we could talk about here, but I like to keep these episodes nice and short and to the point for you so that way you can enjoy the rest of your day and I'm not taking up too much of your time. So, I hope that you appreciated this episode. If you did, I would appreciate if you left a five-star review wherever you're listening to this. If you're listening to this on Apple Podcasts, at the time, I would recommend and I'd really appreciate and I'd be forever grateful if you left us a five-star review on this mother- podcast episode, or on this podcast because it helps us reach more beauty professionals just like you who are looking to work smarter, not harder, and grow their business without overwhelm.

Thank you so much for tuning in to the Modern Hairstylers podcast. Kaitlyn, thank you so much for being here. I appreciate you very much. Peace out, girl scout.

Bye-bye.

End of transcript. © 2024 Hunter Donia LLC.