Part 1: Pro's And Con's Of Trending Service Niches

Hello, my friends. Welcome back to the Modern Hairstylists Podcast. For eons until to this day, I have been talking about how niching down, specializing in something is so fucking powerful, and this episode is very much going to illustrate that. Now, the tea is, though, is that although it is extremely powerful to actually grow your business, to be super fully booked and busy, and for you to be doing services that you absolutely love and that you're very proficient in, it all is going to come with its cons.

Because now you're dealing with a more specific thing, and that means that it's going to have more specific issues. So what we're gonna be doing today is we're gonna be going over a couple of different trending, quote, unquote, "service niches," or ones that are very popular either historically or that we're really seeing come to fruition right now, and we're gonna be talking about the pros and cons of each of them so that if you are considering diving deep into, into any of them, you can hear my upfront tea about it. And if you're in them right now, you can hear what it looks like actually put out all on the table as to why you may be experiencing what you're experiencing in your niche right now, and also maybe the things that you need to look out for and work on in the future. Because I work with 20 individuals who are, are, are making six figures, are super fully booked and busy, and are getting new client requests on a consistent basis.

The majority of them have some sort of specialty. They have some sort of a service specialty, and the recurring things that I see in each of those people is that the niches have a lot of similar pros and cons, right? And it becomes a different game than just the generalist for how you grow and scale the business when you have to deal with these specific things that you're up against, and that you also have opportunities to capitalize upon. So I'm excited to share with you guys what the pros and cons are.

We have a couple different ones that we're gonna go through today. We have the head spa trend, where it's like you come in, it's all relaxing. It's like whatever the fuck. I don't know.

Maybe Jodi can break down what it actually is and what we're talking about here more. I've seen it. I've seen the sexy videos, and I've worked with people who, uh, have got into this. Uh, curly.

This is one I... This one I wouldn't call a trend. I mean, people have been working with curly hair for eons, but actually, like, specializing it in a more, in a more modern way, especially when we still have beauty schools not really teaching, uh, people proficiently about curly hair in general. Uh, curly hair is absolutely still 100% a, quote, unquote, "service niche," um, and one that is very lucrative, and I see a lot of the time working out really well for people.

But it absolutely has a con- has its cons, and not everybody talks about that. Um, extensions, of course. Toppers, men's toppers, gray transformation, and trichology or, like, hair loss specialist. So we're gonna go through all the pros and cons of each of these.

I'm gonna let Jodi take it away and get me started here. All right, we're gonna go through these. I'm gonna give you the niche, and then you are gonna walk us through the pros and cons. So let's start with head spa, and this actually is something that I was recently looking for when I was in Amsterdam after we had hosted our last retreat.

So my business partner and I were literally searching for this head spa everywhere 'cause we were like, "Oh, how amazing would it be to just relax and do all these things after we'd spent this super busy week?" Um, and there was tons of them, but we could not get an appointment. They were all fully booked the entire time we were there, and there was, like, a lot. This is in a major, major center, and so, um, it, you know, kinda got me thinking about head spas and what it is that they're like from the perspective of the people who are providing them.

So head spa to me is like, it's also called, like, Japanese head spa in some places, and it's essentially this, like, specialized, uh, equipment that you hook up to your sink, and there's, like, a lot of scalp care. And, like, if you've seen those videos where there's like... It's essentially like a hose with, like, lots of holes in it that's, like- Like a halo ... running over your scalp the whole time.

Like, it looks lovely, so let's go through the pros and cons of, of that particular service niche. Yeah, so I don't have anybody, uh, in my close proximity who's actually, like, specializing in a head spa to, uh, disclaim that. However, I did have one, uh, uh, Modern Stylists Movement member get on a call with me, and it's been a minute. I have not heard from her, uh, since this conversation, but she got on the call with me, and she's like, "I opened up my salon suite.

I decided to screw around." And she, like... And she wasn't doing very well in her salon suite. Like, it was just kind of like a slow ramp-up for her.

Mm-hmm. And then all of a sudden she decided to do some head spa stuff, and now she's, like, overwhelming demands, like crazy new client requests, like all this stuff. And I, I think that it's a interesting, trendy niche. Mm-hmm.

And there's a lot of pros and a lot of cons to it, so before I start rambling, let's just go by one by one, all right? Mm-hmm. So I think one of the pros is that it's easy and sexy content, as we have seen. It's stuff that does well.

It's stuff that people really wanna watch all the way through. It's people that b- people very much yearn over. Mm-hmm. And it's things where you don't have to show people's faces, right, a lot of the time.

Um, it is very beautiful, sexy, easy, aesthetic, B-roll, music in... relaxing music in the background content, so it's easy for you to actually get the content to market it. Mm. I think that the trend, because it's a trend, allows for a lot of opportunity, and people hopping onto the trend and being able to grow a business very quickly.

So if it's, if this is a, if this is a, uh, something that already has a lot of traction, that people are already naturally looking for because they're seeing it all over their feeds- Mm ... then therefore you're able to now provide supply to a demand that is there that maybe is not- ... there yet, right? So, like, another pro is that I feel like, at least in America, I feel like there's not a lot of people who are just branding themselves, like, fully, like, going all in as, like, a head spa, right?

And I think that, Jodi, you bring up- we brought up a good point when we were kind of planning the episode, which is, like, you need to make it so if you're gonna ride this trend, like, the wave of this trend, that you are actually searchable as a head spa to make it work. Like, it's not just that, like, you're a hair stylist and you offer head spa services. It's like, you are a head spa, I feel like would make more sense. Or at least just making sure that you can have the keywords in the right places for you to actually show up in those searches, because otherwise you're not going to be found for these particular things.

And most likely, only your current clients are gonna take you up on them, versus when you actually specialize and niche down in something that is, like, making your whole brand this thing. And I do believe right now if you decided tomorrow, "I'm gonna brand myself as a head spa," you're gonna do the right SEO things, you're gonna start marketing to it, you could blow up a clientele very, very quickly. Mm. I also put down here as a pro, you're fulfilling a want that we already hear.

So how many times have you heard your clients in the shampoo bowl when you're giving them a scalp massage say, "I would just come in and pay for you to just do this," right? Like, I've heard that with my clients all the time, and so obviously, like, people really enjoy this, uh, and people really enjoy being pampered at the shampoo bowl in one way or another. Mm. So it's like taking something that's already kind of small, like a little seed, and actually, like, watering it and o- and actually creating a solution for it.

Um, it's very profitable 'cause all you're using is water. I think maybe the upfront cost, depending on the type of equipment that you're gonna do, that you're gonna invest in, um, and all that stuff, I think the upfront cost can be a tiny bit high. But once you have those things paid off, like that little halo with the hoses and stuff like that, once that's paid off, your only recurring expenses really are just gonna be the water that you use, right, and the space that you're paying for, versus, like, where you have a cost of service when you're doing color, you have to pay for the color every single time, right? Mm.

So from, like, my... and of course maybe your shampoo and conditioner, right? But those are so, uh, uh, uh, nominal. They're so small, uh, in comparison to, like, let's say if you're doing a color service.

Um, and then of course it's not as labor-intensive. Now, one could argue maybe with your fingers if you're doing a lot of massage, right? Maybe possibly that could, uh, take a beating on you. But maybe in your perspective it's not nearly as labor-intensive as doing highlights or a haircut or weaving extensions, whatever it may be.

Now, here are the cons of this. It's a trend. Like, if you were gonna come to me and you were like, "Hunter, I wanna create a really strong, foundational, like, long-term business," and this was your idea, I would say no. You know, like, if it, if, if I was just being straight up with you.

Uh, the fact that you're able to blow up so easily is reliant on the trend, right? And that is unsustainable from my perspective. I will say, 'cause I've actually heard this from my clients, this is, again, me being a little bit, uh, uh, not as educated as, as, or experienced in this topic, so maybe I'm naive. But I have even heard my clients say that they've gone to some other country and that this is, like, a big thing for them in that country.

Mm. So obviously, like, there's, like, sustainable businesses in other countries in which this is the situation, right? But, like, the fact that it's not here could be for many different reasons, but I think that the price that we would maybe need to charge for it to make it sustainable might need to be a little bit higher, so maybe the barrier to entry might be need, need to be a little bit higher here in America or North America. Um, and I think that with the, with the...

it just seems to be a little bit less of a sustainable thing to go all in on, okay? Like, I think that building your entire business and the sustainability of your business on a trend is scary, and especially if you're going to start to create a lifestyle around the income that you're making around that, it's a little bit scary. Now, here's the thing. You can always pivot, my friend, whenever the fuck you want to.

Like, who the fuck... I mean, you can al- you can build a crazy business with this if you want to, and then if it starts to go downhill, you can always change it to whatever you wanna change it to, you know? So don't let that stop you from going all in on it, but if it is a concern for you, it would be a concern for me. And then the last thing is, is that it's not essential.

Um, it's seen... I mean, this is, like, the most luxury of luxuries. This is so, like, this is so purely relaxation. I mean, there's probably medical...

you could argue medical bene- benefits for it, but I mean, against the traditional massage even, like, that's full body, you know? Like, I, I think that, like, like, both you would generally see as non-essential, and with massage, full body massage, you can argue a little bit more about proven benefits o- uh, from a medical perspective versus, like, with this, like, it's just your head, and it really just does seem to come down to the relaxation of it. Mm. And I'm sure that's good for stress.

I'm good... I'm sure there's whatever. But it's, a- again, it's still not an essential thing, whereas, like, a lot of the times hair color, even extensions and a haircut can be seen much more as a essential thing to a consumer depending on their definition of what's essential to them. And you know, maybe with that being said, maybe some people would look at this as essential, but I don't think that that would be the majority of individuals.

So my thought on this is I think you would have to be really clever about the marketing, so, and you know who you're marketing to as well. So, like, for example, every year for Mother's Day, I, my son and my husband always get me, like, a gift certificate for this spa where I get, like, a relaxation, like, facial and, like, a body wrap. Not essential at all, right? But that spa does well 'cause they're a little bit more, like, diversified, so there's a couple services that are more, like, routine, but then those luxury services.

Like, I think you'd have to be clever about marketing as, like, number one, the benefits of it, and then number two, likely for gifting. 'Cause if you- Yeah ... did really strong pushes around, like, Mother's Day or, like, other holidays or things like that, I think you likely could probably do it in the same way that a spa would. Yeah.

But I feel like the marketing would be more spa-focused versus, like, your typical hair services, 'cause you're absolutely right. Yes. Thank you for bringing that up, 'cause that really just, that really put, like, a piece of the puzzle to me that I wasn't thinking. I'm so thinking, like, traditional hairstylist, right?

Like, this does push you into, like, a different category. I, I think- Mm-hmm ... that's a really good point. Like, like, because of course, like, there's, there's thriving spas, you know?

I mean, that absolutely is a thing, right? So, but again, I do think that a lot of the ways that the spas are able to be successful is by more, more, more diversified marketing, and- Totally ... uh, again, like the medical benefits and, and things like that. And yes, gifting.

Like- Yeah ... so where I'm gonna go with this is, like, you're def- I mean, you think marketing is hard now, I think that that's 10 times harder marketing. Yeah. Like, I think that's a lot harder marketing.

I wrote down here as well too when you were speaking, like, the retention and frequency of visit is going to be painful. Like, you are going to re- you're going to have to very much hardcore strategize, "How can I get people to stay and keep coming back?" Versus having to rely on new people and first time visits all the time. I do think that that would probably be a circumstance you'd run into a lot- Yeah, I think- ...

with this type of service, and a, and a circumstance that spas run into all the time. Oh, 100% they do. Like, maybe, like, think, you know, if this is something where it's like this is where, like, I'm really passionate about this, I really wanna do it, think maybe, like, membership models, things like that. I- I know a ton of spas are bringing that in because of the sustainability piece.

Thank you for that. You were very helpful with that. Um, especially 'cause I just don't have as much experience in this. Yeah, fair.

One I do have an insane amount of experience in is a curly specialist. And the reason I say that is because curly specialists come begging me for help, okay? Because it really is like you create a whole different set of problems when you are a curly specialist. But let's start out with the pros.

So as we all know, you're fulfilling a very needed niche and problem when you are a curly specialist. Nobody learns how to do curly hair in, in cosmetology school. Curly hair is historically bastardized because of racism and all of those- Yeah ... systemic things, and so not a lot of hairstylists are actually proficient in curly hair, and, uh, uh, uh, uh, a lot of consumers are very not trusting of it.

And so, uh, if you can really brand yourself as the curly specialist, you will automatically have a lot, a lot, a lot of demand if you advertise yourself correctly. But I don't think that it's the barrier to entry is that high, but I've seen people who specialize as curly specialists and they don't do well, and it's just because they haven't done really, like, the simple right things to get themselves out there and actually get the demand. If you do, like, the simple base level good things for a good marketing and a good brand branding, then you can create a really, really strong clientele as a curly specialist. Um, uh, and the reason why is because it's a very clear j- because of all the reason I just said, but also you have very clear common problems to market to and talk about.

Like, and I mean, that's the, that's the theme with any of these niches. I think that's the why niching down and specializing is so powerful is because it makes it a lot easier for you to talk about the specific things that your clients are willing to pay attention to and pay for. So with this, it's like, it's like frizz is a common issue, the triangle, uh, is a common issue where, like, like, the hair is poofing out at the ends but it's so flat at the top. Um, where, uh, uh, uh, uh, people don't know what product combination is gonna be the thing.

Define curls. Like, it's very easy and obvious to know exactly what the problems are, and so it makes it easy to write content about it and copy about it that is going to resonate, uh, with the majority of people who would, uh, uh, want to see a curly specialist. And I would say that retail is easier because these are people who absolutely will invest in product to make their curls do what they need to do oftentimes, because they already are, are kind of trained to, uh, to, to understand and think just from a marketing perspective, uh, that they need to use a lot of product to be able to get the results with their curly hair. Um, and they're used to spending a lot...

They already have the tolerance for spending a lot of money on product, especially if it comes from a professional recommendation. So I think that's, uh, a, a big part of your revenue then does become retail as well, which is helpful because it doesn't require you much labor in exchange for the income. I'll add too, one of the pros, like, 'cause, um, I've seen hair, like, curl specialists be able to have high ta- like, high revenue and not have it be as labor-intensive, because so much of the appointment is educating and, like- Right ... consulting, and, like, there's a really unique set of value, I think, in the curl niche for your knowledge and applying that for your clients in the chair.

Yeah, and it's, like, naturally a part of the service. Yeah. Whereas, like, we ha- like, as a business consultant, I have to convince people all the time to go through those same steps with- Mm-hmm ... the general color client or haircut client who's not curly hair, right?

Like, it's like, it's like the education is so much, like, inherently a part of it- Yeah ... versus, like, and so therefore that leads to retail sales. It leads to add-on services. Like, it leads to all those other things naturally, and so it's just so much more naturally lucrative from the add-on and retail average ticket perspective.

Thank you for bringing that up. Very much so. Yeah. And then the cons, though, my friends.

The cons are kind of real low-key, okay? So the, the main reason that curly specialists will come to me with problems, the main problem is that they have so much demand and they have nowhere to put these people. That is oftentimes the case. I mean, I have curly hair specialists getting between 20 to 40 new client requests a month.

Uh, and it is absolutely crazy. And so you deal with a lot of demand on your time. That creates operational issues. You have to communicate with these people all the time, go back and forth, you have very long wait lists.

Um, you are having to answer a lot of different questions sometimes because this clientele is oftentimes very untrusting of s- stylists, rightfully so, uh, because they've either ha- had bad experiences in the past or they just don't have great self-feelings about their curly hair. Maybe they are just discovering that they even have curly hair in the first place. They've straightened their hair their entire... Like, it just causes a lot of different baggage that is brought to the table.

Um, and so, uh, that creates a lot of admin for you as far as actually getting a new client to convert and, and, uh, uh, making sure that you're giving that type of service prior to actually getting them in the chair. So it's a lot of streamlining and systematizing and automating that we have to do. But then furthermore, you get a ton of new client requests, but sometimes the conversion rate can be so low, whether that be because you don't have any availability, that's the majority of the reason why, but the second reason is, again, like, there's less trust with this. A lot of the time you're gonna be charging higher ticket if you've gotten to that point where you have a lot of high demand.

And so the conversion rate on the requests can be a little bit tricky sometimes too, and so we wanna ... we sometimes need to focus on that. I'm gonna pat myself on the back. I have come up with very cool, innovative ways for this niche specifically to make it so the new client requests are still coming in.

They're not overwhelming. They're serious, ideal leads. They're actually booking an appointment, and you're making great money. Like, this one, I've cracked the code.

Like, it just is what it is. Um, and I'm very proud of that, and I'm very proud of the people who have worked with me directly who are curly hair specialists who've been able to embrace that and make those changes because it has been massively beautiful for them. Like, the, the way that they're able to make an impact in people's lives, which I should've kind of put on here and, and went on more with for the pros, like, is really magical. Like, what you are doing as a curly hair specialist is very special and important.

Um, and to be able to make that impact is really, really beautiful. And to put the business things into, into play that are a little bit more risky or not traditional is scary, but when you marry those things together, you can create a really beautiful business for yourself. Another thing that you're up against here too is, yes, you have all these new client requests, which is great, but a more sustainable business is normally created by a loyal clientele who you're retaining and is coming back to see you on a consistent basis, where this one is a lot of the time going to be made up of... Your, your books on the day-to-day and week-to-week are gonna be made up of majoritively of new clients.

And so you have a low average frequency of visit because a lot of the times curly people will feel as if they do not need or want cuts as often because they're... to grow length for curly hair is a lot harder or takes a lot longer because of the curl retention, um, and the, the length that you're, quote-unquote, kind of losing when you get the curl. Um, and then the, just new client retention in general. I think a lot of the times people will be like, "I'm gonna go all in on this, like, one curly cut, like, once a year or once for, like, every two years," or like, "I'm gonna really take care of my curls," or, "This is gonna be new year, new me, and I'm gonna start to wear my curls instead of straightening my hair every day."

And you'll kind of get those one-off, non-serious people. This also goes, goes back to the systematizing, qualifying your lead upfront, only letting people in who are actually serious about return visits. Um, there's a lot of different ways that we can approach these things. And then, again, it's an emotionally heavy thing.

So it's, like, that's the pro, but it's also a con because you're, again, you're dealing with a lot of distrust. You're dealing with a lot of trauma. Um, you're dealing with people crying in your chair oftentimes. You know?

It, it really truly is, like, an emotionally heavy thing to handle. But again, it's the price that you pay for being able to make such a massive impact in people's lives, but also do what you love, 'cause a lot of people do this because they really, really love curls, and, um, make a great impact and then also create a beautiful business for themselves. So that's the curly specialist. I love that.

Um, okay. Next one we're gonna get into is extensions. So I have seen so many people make insane businesses with extensions, and I mean, the reason is that the price is just very high, right? I mean, we have the retail that we mark up, and then that creates a big amount of the revenue.

But then also you're just kind of able to justifiably charge a lot more for this service just because of, like, the precedent that has been set. Like, everybody knows and thinks and expects extensions to be more expensive regardless of the situation, right? So, like, you already have this precedent where it's like, if you want extensions, you're gonna be paying a lot for them. It is what it is.

And that's very much on your side as being able to justify your price. So you can charge a higher price, which is oftentimes, if you're doing the math correctly, you're charging correctly, oftentimes more profitable per hour versus the other more traditional services like color and cuts. So you can make a lot of money in a small amount of time with a small amount of people. You're creating larger transformations for people.

It feels very good. This oftentimes can make a big impact in people, especially if you're doing it more specialized, maybe for people with hair loss or finer hair. Um, that creates more Instagrammable photos. It creates more marketable photos because you're able to see, like, what the big transformations are, um, versus, like, if you just...

Like, and before and afters. Like, before and afters are just so trust-building, and they're so striking that I think that the type of marketing content that you can get from this is really, really beautiful and powerful, especially, like, bigger transformations. It's easy, clear pain points to market to. So, like, I could write a whole extension pa- I mean, I could create an extension page and business tomorrow without having any freaking experience with an extension clientele because in my opinion, maybe this is just me, maybe I'm just a, a, a marketer to my core and I just understand it, but it's just like, it's so, it's, to me, it's so intuitive as to, like, what the pain points are for somebody who wants extensions, what the desires are, and then what the objections would be to the service.

Yeah. And the objections is what's really important, I think, where a lot of people actually miss out on- On including the objections in their marketing. So, like, it's not just about talking about the reasons why somebody wants the extensions, but why extensions is a right, worth it investment for them, and why you are the right fit or your method is the right fit. Like, you have to do both of those things.

But once you understand those things, once you do the fundamental work of, like, having a, like, an ideal client profile, understanding your brand, understanding all those things, the things that we walk you through in Modern Stylist Movement, it's very easy to speak to this person and talk to the things, talk to them about the things that they care about and want and need to be able to move them to actually want to book with you. I feel like sometimes this can go both ways, but I think that the majority of people who do extensions and are extension specialists will tell you that they would rather get rid of everything else before they got rid of their hair. Like, a lot of these people can become very sticky clients because of how much they prioritize their... I mean, you have to have enough of a perceived value and priority around this investment to spend this a much amount of money in the first place.

Yeah. So then we can safely assume that this person really gives a fuck about this thing and is not likely to want to let it go. So then therefore your retention is naturally going to be higher because of that, especially if you are an extension specialist. Because, like, the specialty part of it is, like, this person is willing to stick with the person who knows what the fuck they're talking about and, like, does this day in, day out, almost every client, almost every time.

And so I think that when you're specializing in it specifically, not it just being an add-on service or something else that you do, I think it can really create a lot of really high retention naturally. And Jodi brought this up before we started recording, which is, again, half of the money that you're making is coming from retail. So it's not necessarily the labor, and that's why it's so profitable per hour because it's not necessarily, like, all of that money is equating to the hours that or the minutes that you're spending. It's actually the markup that you're doing on the retail.

And so therefore you can make a lot of money in a short amount of time. Now, granted, we could talk about the services that you have to do to, like, color the hair and, like, all that sh- and prep the weaves and all that stuff. Um, but we're gonna get into cons and, uh, we're gonna get into cons in a second, so I'll pause there. I think the other thing too is, like, yes, client stickiness, but also it's very clear and easy to lay out, like, when your next appointment should be.

Like- Right ... this is the maintenance. Like, it's very, like, if you have a... You know, if you're a specialist, like, you are basically giving your expertise and dictating when those next appointments are gonna be so that your clients can get the most out of it, which I think is, like, kind of a unique, um, part of extensions.

I agree, and it's just, like, a predictable schedule, and it can be super pre-booked, like. And it, it's, and it's also, like, you can say, like, "Okay, upfront, this is your investment, and then this is what you can expect every other, you know, every other month." Right? Yeah.

Whatever. So I, I agree with you. I agree with you. That's a good point.

Okay. Cons. Now, the cons. There are definitely cons, and I think a lot of them people don't think about.

So if you create a business around a highly profitable service where you're working less but making more, a lot of the times you can create something called client concentration risk. So if a shit ton of your money is coming from one person, then that, then if you lose one person, you lose a shit ton of your money, right? And that's a risky model to build. Like, if you are, if you are doing a l- uh, if you're making a ton of money off of high-ticket services, therefore you're not working as much or you're not taking as many appointments, then you doing the next increase or the change in economy or the natural churn that you just have just because of whatever, uh, factors that you can't control, it's, it becomes a little bit more sensitive.

So the general business idea here is that if you are a pond and you have just a bunch of little fish, then it takes you a lot of labor, time, and attention for a low cost for you to maintain a certain level of revenue. If you just have big sharks in your pond where they all spend a lot of money and you only have to take care of a couple of them to maintain that same level of revenue, then that's what you get, right? But if you have a mix of both, then if you lose some of the sharks, you still have a lot of the little guys there for you, and even vice versa in reverse, right? And so o- normally, like, if an investor is looking at your business, then what they will be looking for is a mix of both because it, it, it, it signals a more sustainable and safe business model.

Do I think that that's absolutely what every single person needs to do? Absolutely not. It's just a con to consider is that when you are building your business based upon big sharks, losing one or two or three or not, or out of the small amount that you already have is a big loss, right? And getting a new extension client in the chair, which maybe this is my other con next, is, like, getting a new extension client is a little bit difficult.

Now, is that the case when you've built a really beautiful, great brand and you're marketing the right way? No. But it is a higher investment. So getting more people to go through your funnel to be able to pay a high amount of money, it's a little bit more difficult.

It's just a tiny bit more of an uphill battle, especially depending on the area that you live in and all those other factors. And so replacing one of those big sharks is a little bit more difficult, right? So again, client concentration risk is something that can happen here when you build your entire lifestyle and your business around an extension situation, an extension clientele. But what in the end, uh, also ends up happening is, let's say that you want to, uh, let's say that you make great money with extensions and you're like, "I wanna do more extensions," and you look at the math and you're like, "If I did all of, uh, if, if I did just extension clients and they weren't blocked by my haircut clients, my color clients, then I would just automatically make so much more money without having to work any longer."

The problem that kind of comes into play here is, like, you could get rid of your current clients if you want to. You could maybe price out your current clients that are not extension clients if you want to. And so that way you can start to create a business where it's, like, smaller amount of people, more money that you make. But it, it's, it's, it's a risky move to make and it's a scary move to make.

And again, it's not a right or wrong here, it's just like, it's like, is this how you wanna go about building this business? What's important to you? What are your priorities? Et cetera, et cetera.

Another huge issue that I find extension special- specialties and just people who do extensions in general, uh, run into is the quality of inventory on a consistent basis. Um, people will really struggle with all of a sudden getting a batch of hair that just does not feel the same. Uh, we have, uh, tariffs all of a sudden happening, right? And so then therefore, like, y- your core service, which is really I think a very big thing that, that we should point out here is, like, your core service, like the way that you make money is reli- is solely relying on, like, exported goods and anything can happen.

A war can happen, tariffs can happen, and these are higher cost things just in nature even at wholesale. And so that's, like, a lot of risk again that you're bringing on for, like, the cost of you doing business and anything can kind of happen with it. And then just at its base level, at like the minimum, just the quality of inventory can be a little bit inconsistent sometimes. Yeah.

Yeah, for sure. And then something that I always felt like and I was like, "I'm not fucking around with extensions," is how you are putting pressure on people's scalp, uh, causing potential discomfort, causing potential pain, infections, mold even. Like, I do think of course this can be applied to anything that we do. I mean, we're touching people's bodies, we're putting chemicals on people's scalps.

Like, of course, like, this same concept can be applied across the board. But I do s- kind of believe that, like, extensions are still a little bit, like, Wild Wild West, like, because we don't get taught extensions in beauty school, like when we learn about, like, the actual, like, health complications and, like, the things that t- that keep people safe. Um, and we hear honestly more about health implications of people's scalps and hair loss and things like that with extensions more than we do color and cuts in my opinion, right? Would you agree with me?

Yes. I think it's one of the niches in the hair industry that getting, like, a really solid education and, like, not just, like, a Bellami class, like really understanding the how, the why, the, like, all of the, you know, like, where the tension lives, like, I think it's really, really important and it's almost like it's easy to start doing extensions. Like, you can sign up at a class at your distributor. It's harder to get really exceptional at extensions.

It requires almost, like, a commitment to, like, training as an extensionist I think in order to combat a lot of these issues. So I agree. Like, done wrong it can cause a lot of problems. I agree.

I very much agree and what I was gonna caveat with is, is like, of course if you have the right education, you have the experience, that's when you know how to avoid these things or you know what to expect. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Like, so I, yes, I agree with you.

Uh, uh, but it takes that and again, we don't learn this in beauty school and this also brings me to another con where it's like you have a little bit of a higher barrier to entry. So, like, a lot of the times these things, the extensions will just be marketed as, like, a get rich quick situation. Mm-hmm. And it's not that it's not true.

I mean, it's very true for many different people. Like, you can make a shit ton of money if you start doing extensions, but I think the problem becomes you have this beginner, I mean even especially if you're a beginner in hair period- Mm ... that will all of a sudden wanna do extensions from the out the get and they don't have the proper education. Mm.

Um, or even they do have the proper education but they just don't even have education doing hair or experience doing hair in the first place, then that can create a little bit of issues. But- Mm ... the, those ex- those, uh, the education can be very expensive. The inventory is obviously very expensive.

You, you're putting in a lot of upfront money and effort in hopes that you will get the return. And honestly, I will say that, like, this is again a high ticket luxury service. If you are at the beginning of all of this stuff- Mm ... it is n- like, once you get momentum with marketing, you know what works, you do the right work, you can get clients, right?

But, like, at the beginning you're not just all of a sudden gonna have an extension clientele out of nowhere. Like, you need to, like, hustle to make that happen in my opinion and my... and what I've seen. So a high, a high upfront cost for the hope of a return and the return can be a little bit, it takes effort for you to get that return.

Mm-hmm. Totally. This episode is getting long so I'm gonna pause here and we're gonna do a part two. What we have left here is toppers, men's toppers, gray transformation specialists or gray blending specialists, and then a trichology or hair loss specialist.

So next episode we're gonna get into all of those guys and share with you what the pros and cons of each are and we'll break it all down there. So thank you so much for tuning into Modern Hair Stylist Podcast. Peace out, girl scout. Bye bye.

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