How To Raise Your Prices The Right Way, Without Fear

Hello, Jodi. How are you? Hi, Hunter. I'm good.

I'm so excited to be here with you. I'm so excited to have you, and hello, listener. I am super excited to have Jodi in the house today. My name is Jodi Brown, and I was actually a hairstylist for 15 years, daughter of a hairstylist and salon owner, and now I do full-time marketing, content creation, and education.

Jodi, um, helps me with my marketing and my social media and things like that. And she'll be, like, prompting me and asking me the questions that you may have on your mind. So, Jodi, thank you so much for being here to do that with me today. Okay, Hunter.

We are gonna talk about how hairstylists can, and I'm using quotations, "justify" their pricing. Okay. I feel like there's a lot of conversation, especially, like, I see this a lot, about how things are so expensive and, like, "I can't raise my prices." Like, "How am I supposed to justify this to my clients?"

I feel like there's a lot of guilt- Yeah. potentially when it comes to price increases, you know, during times when things are a little bit weird. Right. And so, I think that this is something we can really break down, 'cause you know, you said earlier that things probably just get weirder, so- Yeah.

you know, we need to, we need to figure out a way to be able to, like, sustain running businesses that are profitable- Mm-hmm. and you know, if price increases are necessary, like, how stylists can feel better about that, and then also communicate it to their clients in a way that is understandable. Gotcha. Yeah.

There's so many ways I could go with, with this conversation. So, just what are your thoughts when I say the term, like, "justify pricing" for hairstylists? The first thing that comes to my mind is that, like, you don't have to, like, verbally justify shit to your clients. Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. Like, there's nothing you have to tell your clients to justify your prices. At least in the first and foremost, like, I, I do believe that there is a certain point where, like, if you are getting, like, w- consistent pushback from a singular person- Mm-hmm. that, at a certain point, you do have to tell your side of the story, because nothing else has worked.

But, at the end of the day, like, what justifies your price increase is just the performance of your business. Right. It's the numbers at the end of the day, um, and that could either be ... There's two types of price increases.

It's one is cost of goods increase, and then the other is an actual increase in your revenue increase. Um, and one is, like, a cute little $5 to $10 a year. The other one is more than that and is probably going to lose you clients. The other one is probably not gonna lose you any clients- Okay.

unless you have, like, a more weekly clientele who doesn't have a great budget to work with. Right. So, my thoughts are it's just, like, to justify it yourself, it's the numbers. Mm-hmm.

It's the performance of your business. To justify it to your clients, I kind of have, like, a, I have, like, many theories and, and philosophies for how you go about that, I guess. Okay. Yeah, I think, I think the first thing that I think is important that we dig into a little bit is, why do you think it's so hard for stylists specifically?

'Cause a lot of other industries are just, like, shamelessly changing prices. Yeah. Nobody's getting told. Like, why do you think it's ...

And not that I'm advocating for that or anything like that, but like, why do you think it is so hard for hairstylists to talk about pricing, and why do you think it's such a, a touchy subject? Yeah, and you know, I'm glad that you said that, because it's oftentimes the narrative- Mm-hmm. uh, uh, that a lot of people will use or bring up, is like, "Well, all these people don't raise, don't tell people about their-" Yes. "...

price increases, or they just raise their prices willy-nilly. Why can't we," right? For sure. Um, the difference is, is that, like, the grocery store isn't a face.

For sure. The grocery store doesn't have a relationship with you. The grocery store doesn't know your children's names. Like, the grocery store didn't hear about your, uh, your mom and her journey through cancer.

Like, those industries, those establishments don't have a relationship with their customers- Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. the same way that you as a personal human being have a relationship with your customer. Your customers tell you more and even see you more than the majority of their family.

Right. Like, that is what the fucking difference is. Yes. And, we can talk about how, like, you know, we should look at our business as a business, and we should take notes from other businesses outside of our industry to figure out how we can make ours most successful.

Mm-hmm. But, at the same time, we have nuances that make it a little bit more sensitive, yes. Yes. That's the case here, is that you have a relationship with these people.

You're also impacting these people in such a personal way. Mm-hmm. It's not just the relationship that you're creating with them every single time you come to, and wh- every single time they come to the salon. It's like you are changing somebody's physical, physicality.

For sure. That is crazy. Yeah. Like, people are walking around with a body part, basically, that you are altering.

Right. And it, and it directly changes their perception of themselves- Yeah. and the perception of everybody around them every single place that they go. Like, that is a big deal.

It is a huge deal. It is. And so, of course, you're gonna be fucking nervous to tell somebody that they have to pay you more money. Because y- the majority of your relationship, which I actually don't think should be the case all the time, the majority of your relationship is that, when you come, you guys aren't talking ab- as much about hair as you are talking about each other and your lives.

And, it feels weird to have to tell somebody that they're gonna pay you more when you have such a human experience with them. Right. And that's just natural. I mean, every human being is gonna go through that.

And then, you don't have a company CEO or representative or a salon owner or a receptionist- Yeah. who is doing that work for you, of rolling that out. It's you. And, one-to-one confrontation, telling somebody something that is just inherently scary is terrible.

Yeah. It fucking sucks. Yeah. Um, and that's why I oftentimes will say there's no shame, and p- I'm sure other educators will disagree with me, but, there's no shame in non-confrontationally, like, rolling out a change, or a difficult conversation.

Like, there's no, there's nothing wrong with you, like, emailing or texting- Right. to be able to get your point across, as long as you are individually speaking to that person. Because otherwise, like, let's say, the-... um, the example of, like, somebody putting, like, their sign out on their station saying, "Prices will increase in X, Y, and Z," right?

You don't know if that person saw that or noticed that at all. Right. But if you send somebody an email, if you send somebody a text, right, like, you know that that person at least had the chance to read it, and you directly communicated it with them. Right.

Right? Um, but, yeah, like, personal, uh, I think, I think non-confrontationally sharing something like that with somebody, there's nothing wrong with it because you can say things exactly how you wanna say it. Yeah. You won't back out of your decision, because a lot of the times the fear is real, and you just won't fol- follow through with it sometimes.

Right. Like, we are only human beings. Yeah. And you have enough to think and worry about in your personal life and while you're working behind the chair doing hair, that I think that a nerve-wracking conversation such as that can be done in a non-confrontational way that still gets the point across, that is done very well, um, that still, in the way that I teach my students, that still has, like, a personalized aspect to it as well too.

Um. So- But yeah. how do you coach, you know, s- stylists through the guilt, for lack of a better word- Mm-hmm. when it comes to the price increase?

Like, I think that makes sense- Yeah. as to why, you know, we feel the way that they f- we feel about it. Yeah. Like, there is a personal relationship.

But how do you get past that in order to run the business that you need to run? Yeah, um, number one, I mean, there's so many things. Number one is, do you want your clients to be upset about paying five to 10 more dollars, or do you want your clients to be upset that you have to close your business because you can't afford to run your business anymore? 'Cause that's, that's what you're choosing.

1000%. Like, you're choosing either going through the discomfort of clients maybe, possibly being upset about your increase versus you just not having a business at all. Right. So that's number motherfucking one, because you need to be able- ...

to afford your business. Yeah. You know? Um, you also need to be able to afford giving your clients a great client experience.

That costs money. Right. It costs money to have amenities in your space. It costs time.

Um, so it's in benefit to the client. Right. It's in benefit to the client for you to do this price increase. Right.

Um, I, uh, share this story a, fair bit. I, as a consumer, have had an experience where I would get my nails done with Jalisa every two weeks. She was my salon suite neighbor. Right.

And she blew up very quickly alongside me. Yeah. Um, and she was very, very booked and busy, and I am somebody who travels a lot. I am somebody who, like, was on camera a lot, is on camera a lot, and, like, I liked my nails to be did- Right.

very consistently, right? And I was pissed 'cause I would pay Jalisa double- Right. to be able to get in with her whenever the hell I wanna get in with her. Right.

But she has a bunch of clients who are stingy with her and would not pay double or not pay nearly as much as I'm willing to pay to get an appointment with her. Mm-hmm. So now, I, as a consumer who is a very ideal consumer, right? Like, I, I'm i- ideal client as hell- Mm-hmm.

'cause I'm willing to spend the money. I get cool shit with my nails. Mm-hmm. I get along with her very well, obviously.

I refer people to her, et cetera, et cetera. I'm pissed because I can't get an appointment with you because you won't raise your prices- Right. and make room for me- Right. the person who should be prioritized, right?

So you're making an inconvenient schedule for clients. If the numbers make sense and you're listening to somebody like me, who will go through the numbers with you, you know, like, in my program, like, you absolutely have the opportunity to, like, get on a num- uh, one-to-one with me, share with me the facts quickly- Right. and then I will share with you, like, if I think I'm, you're ready for a price increase or not, and I'll tell you what that- Okay. price increase could look like safely.

Right. Like, what I do is is people will come on. They'll give me the facts. We'll look at their numbers.

We'll write out, like, what the price increase would look like if we increased by X across their service menu, and then I'll give them options. I'll say, "If you don't want any f- any fallout from clients, then this is how much you could raise. If you wanna lose a little bit of clientele, but make a little bit more money, then this is what you could do. If you want a big difference"- Yeah.

"... you wanna make a big difference in your revenue and you wanna lose a fair bit of clients, but you'll still be okay, this is what you could do," right? So it's that personalized advice that, uh, I give in th- my program that I think people find to be very valuable, because pricing is not a one-size-all conversation- Right. at all.

But as long as you, like, are listening to somebody who knows what they're talking about, has seen, has had a lot of experience with seeing price increases pan out and things like that- Mm-hmm. um, and the numbers support you being able to sustain that increase- Right. you will be fine. Right.

Like, the numbers say you are okay. Right. And facts are always going to be more important than feelings, right? So true.

Now, with all that being said, and I could keep going, like, there's a million points that I could say to this. With all that being said, nothing is gonna make you feel better about this. Right. Like, literally, you are going to be terrified up until the point that you do it.

And, and that's just what you're signing up for- Mm-hmm. as a business owner, you know? Yeah. It's just what you're signing up for with this type of change and the nature of what you have to do in your business to stay afloat and to reap the benefits of what you've worked so fucking hard for.

That's another point of this is, like, you have worked so hard to deserve a price increase. Right. Like, your family deserves you making more money and being able to provide for them more. You inherently, as a human being, deserve to reap the benefits of w- the hard work that you put in and the amazing service that you give to your clients.

Right. There's a reason why you're in, in a position to have a price increase, and it's because you take care of your clients very well. You deserve to be compensated for that. But nonetheless, no matter if you deserve it and you believe you deserve it, no matter if the numbers all say that you're gonna be safe and okay, no matter what the fuck I tell you right now on this episode- ...

you will be terrified. Yeah. And you can either deal with the discomfort of not increasing your prices and being resentful possibly- Yeah. not making more money, the money that you deserve, being slammed with clients and not knowing where to put them, maybe not even i- uh, being able to afford your business anymore.

Right. Right? You can deal with that discomfort, which is permanent- Right. and much more detrimental, versus the temporary discomfort of rolling out the increase and then it's over.

Right. We talk about this in the other episodes that we recorded. Choose your hard. It's hard either way.

It's hard to not raise your prices. It's also hard to raise your prices. One is temporary, and one is not. So, which one are you gonna choose?

And the fear is not gonna go away, so you have to do it anyway. Ooh, that is so true. That's the case with so many things when it comes to business. Yes.

So with that being said then, w- when it comes to actually rolling out price increases and it comes to y- say, let's say it's significant.How, are there any tips that you would give a stylist on how they can communicate the value? 'Cause at the end of the day, that's the difference, right? It's if something, if something is, like, valuable but the price is higher, that's not a problem.

Right. It's if something is, if people perceive it to be overpriced- Yep. then that can be an issue in terms of attracting new clients. So, how do you communicate that value?

It depends on the circumstance. Mm-hmm. So, in the circumstance in which you are gonna do a significant price increase, you've already proven your value. Mm.

'Cause there's a reason you deserve the price increase. Mm-hmm. Right? You're already offering a valuable experience.

So, there's no, so a lot of stylists will feel like they have to do something new or different or add something. When in reality, let's say that you're doing a price increase email, just remind somebody of what you already offer. Right. So, for example, like, let's say that, uh, you're about to start offering pumpkin spice, you know, scalp massages optionally- ...

because it's fall time. Right. Right? That can be something that you add as a value, you know, little thing in your price increase email.

Right. You know? Like, it, it can be as simple as that or just reminding somebody of the personalized next-level experience that you give them and just being like, "Hey, did you know that you could change out the essential oil scent that you have every time you come to see me?" Whatever it may be, right?

Um, just reminding people of the value that you already offer them in those cute little value-add ways I think is cool. Um, but going back to, like, the fact that, like, you might, you might, you don't even have to do that. Like, you don't have to justify your price increase, 'cause you already have. Like, there's a reason you deserve that price increase.

It's because you are in high demand, your clients come back to see you. Yeah. So, honestly, like, you could just say, "Hey, y'all. We have changes to my menu that are gonna be in effect on this date."

Yep. "I just wanted to let you know. Let me know if you have any questions about that. Peace out, girl scout."

Love that. And I have actually, like, real verbiage, um, for price increases in the Hair Style & Symptom Vault and within my programs as well too, for, like, what would you say in an email. Um, but you don't have to add anything new. Just remind somebody of what you're already doing, and there's a reason why you did a price increase.

Do you see any, like, price increase mistakes or, like, absolutely nots- Yes. when it comes to increasing? Yes. Okay, so many.

Um, first thing, and this is kind of like, it's kind of like if you do this, okay, whatever, but I would just, I would just say don't do it, is, like, posting on social media, and I know that you agree with me. I do. Um, posting a price increase announcement on social media is just like, it's just like, it's just not doing you any favors. You know?

Mm-hmm. It's not doing you any favors. Mm-hmm. You're not guaranteed that, especially if it's your only way that you're gonna announce it.

Like, absolutely not. That is not the tea. We have to send an email, I don't give a shit. We're, we're sending an email, period.

Or, we are somehow telling every single client every single time, okay? That just, that just needs to happen, all right? And email, I think, is the best way about going about it. Right.

But if you're posting on social media, you're not guaranteed that everybody's gonna see it. New clients are gonna go on there and it's gonna waste their time and space. You're wasting time and space and value in the algorithm, 'cause that, that type of post sometimes is not gonna do very well. Yeah.

So, that's gonna lower you in your ranking. Um, it's just a, it's just, it's, it, price increase is an internal thing, it's not an external thing, and your marketing is an external thing. If you're doing a substantial increase in which you know you're gonna lose people- Mm-hmm. or even maybe you're just scared and it's, like, five bucks and you're scared that you're gonna lose people.

Right. Either way. Um, do not, do not, do not, do not, in your verbiage or in the copy that you put into your price increase announcement, don't assume people are going to leave you. Like, in the way that you share this thing with people.

Mm-hmm. Don't frame it as a negative thing. Somebody's going to match your energy a lot of the time in the way that you share something. So, if you are professional, positive, and same ole day-to-day- Right.

very matter-of-the-fact, right? Then somebody is going to commonly meet you with that same energy. Right. Right?

Um, but if you say, "I'm really sorry. Like, I have to do this because I, the costs of goods have gone up so much and I just, I can't afford things anymore, blah, blah, blah, blah. I'm so sorry, I know that this isn't good news." Right.

"Unfortunately, I have to do this," right? Your client's gonna think it's unfortunate too. Shit, you know? Yeah.

If somebody's talking to me like that, I'm gonna be in, like, a negative head space as well and be, and think about all the, my cost of goods going up and how my rent has gone up this past year, you know? So, and then th- furthermore, people will say, like, "I know I'm gonna lose people. I'm happy to give people recommendations to go elsewhere." So, people will just automatically say, "I'm happy to give you all recommendations to go elsewhere, because if you can't, if this price isn't comfortable for you."

It's like, bitch, don't assume that they are gonna want that at all. Right. Don't even put that in their head. No.

Just put out the price increase and then deal with the fallout from there, you know? Mm-hmm. Um, and if you need to have conversations or justify your price increase with your own side of the story, that's last resort. Right.

Then after that, it's like, "Don't come to see me anymore." Yeah. You know what I mean? If somebody...

First off, you share with somebody, like, "This is the price increase, matter of fact. Let me know if you have any questions." Somebody gives you pushback. Just share, um, "I'm doing this because of rules of supply and demand and to be able to continue to give you a great client experience."

Yeah. You know? It's, that's, that's it. If they're not into that, then you're, then you say, "Well, like, this is what the numbers look like in my business.

Cost of goods have gone up." Then you can explain your side of the story. But it's last resort. If they don't, if they're not on board with that, then say, "Totally understand where you're coming from, Susie.

Um, I know that this price increase is, i- it may not be feasible for you, and I absolutely love getting to see you and do your hair." Right. "But unfortunately, I can't have double standards for my s- my clients. It wouldn't be fair to charge you this and charge another person more."

Mm-hmm. "So, I would be happy to offer you, uh, recommendations to other stylists who are in a lower price range who I believe will take good care of you moving forward." Right. I love that.

My last question, what are your thoughts on different pricing tiers for new and existing clients? I have so many thoughts on this. Do we have time? Okay, I have a whole, I have a whole episode about this.

So, actually, if you're listening to this right now and you're curious about, like, my entire breakdown of new client pricing versus existing client pricing, I recommend that you check that episode out on the Modern Hairstyles podcast. Um, here's my tea with new and existing client pricing.I understand that, I'm a hairdressers, y'all, like, don't forget. Like, I do hair just like you, right?

I know that sometimes there are going to be circumstances in which you would like to have more time with a new client, right? Because you just don't know what you're getting yourself into. It might be, like, a just-in-case situation. Um, but the more, i- if you are in a circumstance in which you are, like, yearning for clients, like if you are trying to fill gaps, like if you're trying to really build, right, then I recommend not charging for more time that you may spend with new clients.

Right. That extra little amount of time that you may lose money on is something in which you need to look at as an investment. Right. Because you don't have any clients in the first place.

So if you are charging more, if you're creating a higher barrier to entry, and therefore that means that you're not gonna get as many new client requests, it's not worth you charging more for a new client. Right. Because you're just not gonna have a new client in the first place, right? So I'd rather you make your barrier to entry lower so you can get new clients into the door, and that, and then you look at that maybe extra 30 minutes that you have added on that you're not charging for as an investment in the long run and hoping that that...

in the assumption that that new client is gonna come back and see you more and more and more and offer you more value over, over their lifetime. If you have a steady foundation of clientele, if you're not, if you're not like, "Oh my God, I need new clients in the chair," um, if it really truly makes sense for you, like if you're spending m- like 30 p- 30 minutes or more, if there's a lot of new assoc- different associated costs with having a new client in for the first time, for whatever reason, okay? That's when we can justify it a little bit more. But at the end of the day, I'd rather you not.

Mm-hmm. So it's like I've, I have plenty of students who ha- have new client pricing and existing client pricing, and it works just fine for them, and it is what it is, and I think it makes sense for them as well too. Right. I would rather you not.

I'd rather you keep everything simple, one price across the board, figure out how you can systematize your client experience to be the same for new clients and existing clients, which we should kind of be doing anyway, right? Mm-hmm. Make sure your upfront communication is helpful in making it so you don't feel like you have to have an extra 15 to 30 minutes for a first time appointment because you've already done all the upfront work and communication in understanding what this person needs. Um, it just simplifies things.

Yeah. And it makes the barrier to entry lower, allowing you to get more clients into the door. I love that. Yeah.

Well, thank you so much. I feel like this episode's gonna be really helpful for, for a lot of stylists. I feel like this is a very big and touchy subject. Girl.

And you've simplified. I could talk about pricing all day. I love it. I think it's a very difficult conversation.

There's so many nuances to it. Um, but, uh, and there's a lot of things to consider. But I think that what's most important is that you do get some personalized guidance, and that's why I, I really believe that there's no one-size-fits-all with this. Like, what, a pricing strategy that's gonna work for this person in a small town in Tennessee is not gonna work for the person in New York, even if you have the same specialty and the same clientele and the same numbers, right?

Like, there's so many different nuances to consider. So if you're out there and you really wanna understand your... if you wanna understand your pricing as it is now and how that's affecting your business, if you wanna understand what your pricing could be and how much you could afford to increase, um, and if you wanna understand, like, your pricing structure and maybe think, rethink what that looks like, like, I'd recommend, like, honestly, just check me out, girlfriend. Go to hunterdonia.

com because- Do it. um, I love talking pricing. It's, it's, it's exciting to me, and there's a lot of strategy that, that goes behind it. I love that.

End of transcript. © 2025 Hunter Donia LLC.