Business

Top Ten Tips to Make Six Figures as a Barber

Barbers, You Can Make Six-Figures!


Hear us out—you can make six figures as a barber.

Seriously, this isn’t a crazy concept! As a barber, you can absolutely do what you love and simultaneously be rolling in the dough—you just have to be willing to work hard, dedicate yourself to it, and not be afraid to monetize your passion. 

Do you remember why you became a barber in the first place? Try to. No matter what your answer is (and we implore you to try to refresh yourself on this), the idea of making a six-figure salary shouldn’t conflict.

Following your passion and making a badass salary should co-exist. 

Wherever the logic for becoming a barber stems from, there’s no reason that you shouldn’t be tagging on “I make six-figures” as a factor that contributes to your love for your profession. 

What’s the secret formula for scoring a six-figure salary as a barber, you ask?

The truth is, there’s no one way to do it and there’s no one way that’s right for everyone —it’s a combination of determination, long hours, and sacrifice.

Oh — we like to think these ten tips help, too!

Check out a few of our top ten tips below that we think can help push you closer toward a six-figure barber salary.


Don’t Underestimate Yourself 

We’re serious about this point—that’s why we put this as the first tip. 

If you don’t take yourself seriously and believe in your goals, nobody else will. You need to be your biggest advocate, your biggest supporter, and your biggest cheerleader—even when times get tough. 

The longer you waste your time selling your skills, your services, and everything you have to offer short, the longer you’re putting off your maximum earning potential.

The easiest way to start this process? Evaluate what you’re offering.

Are you setting rates that are fair to you? Are you treating your time as valuably as you should be? Are you steeply behind your competitors in price? Are you changing your rates as you improve and gain experience? Are you changing your rates based on current events?

The moment you start valuing yourself, your skills, and your career is the exact moment you start your journey to becoming a six-figure salary barber.  


Dress for the Job You Want 

Dress for success is a popular saying for a meaning, you guys, so we’ll keep this one short and sweet. If you want to be a successful barber, you should dress like a successful barber. 

This doesn’t mean that you should press and steam a suit and tie every day—everyone’s version of success looks different, so everyone’s attire will look different, too.

Just think about how you want to present yourself as a six-figure salary barber and run with it.


Work Outside the Walls Of Your Shop 

Don’t get us wrong, we all need a healthy work-life balance, so we shouldn’t be on at all times—but it is crucial that you don’t just restrict your work to the walls of your barbershop. 

Read up on what’s big in your business in your free time, learn how to better your management skills, learn new styles and try them out on your friends on your off days.

Don’t forget that hustling is a constant battle! 


Never Stop Learning 

It’s all about adapting the idea that we’re never done learning, we’re never done growing, and we never know everything about our trade. It’s good to be confident in your trade, but once you accept the idea that you have the potential to learn endlessly, you have the chance for endless success, too. 

The biggest piece of advice we can offer barbers who want to make bank and become the best in the biz is to hone your skills, always. 

Go to conventions. Get new licenses. Enroll in certification classes. Become an apprentice to a barber you admire. Never stop being hungry to learn everything you can.


Keep Six-Figure Habits

Shut your eyes and think of what a six-figure barbershop might look like—what are the first few words that come to mind?

Clean. Orderly. Modern. 

Now, shut your eyes again and ask yourself about what a six-figure barber invests his or her time into—in other words, what exactly are the habits of a six-figure barber?

Personal development. Continued education. Wellness.

Bingo, friends, you’re onto something. Six-figure habits help you become the six-figure barber you want to be because they set the path in motion to success. 

Six-figure habits don’t just appear the second someone makes a six-figure salary—they exist long before. Developing those six-figure habits is the key to accomplishing a six-figure salary. 

Don’t get us wrong, not every successful barber has the same set of habits (they rarely do, actually)—your set of six-figure habits just need to speak to you and make you the best version of yourself.


Don’t Be Afraid to Do Things Differently 

We always advise our clients to figure out their niche and go after it with a passion—but it’s important to realize that niches can change and evolve over time. 

If you’ve been doing the traditional barbershop thing for years but are realizing that in your market, there’s a gap that you could fill and monetize, then go for it. 

Traditional barbering is not the end-all-be-all. 

There’s nothing wrong with doing things differently—barbering is actually the perfect industry to really spread your wings and go for the gold with it.

Want to be a mobile barber? Do it. Interested in setting up a monthly subscription shop? Live your dream. Want to offer only virtual barbering insight as an online barbering influencer? There’s endless opportunity out there. 


Stop Looking Down on Retail 

For some reason, barbers tend to think selling retail products is some kind of cop-out—like you stop being a barber and start becoming a pushy salesman just because you try to get a client to invest in some styling gel.

You know, we get it to some extent, but if you want to make some passive-style income, you need to stop thinking of retail as a no-go and start thinking of it as a promising opportunity. 

Retail sales aren’t bad if you whole-heartedly believe in the products you’re backing. Don’t just stock your back bar with things that might be easy to sell—stock your back bar with things you want your clients to have. 

Selling the right kind of retail products can be a huge income boost, so stop giving retail the cold shoulder and try to warm up to the idea of how helpful it can be.


Step Out Of Your Comfort Zone 

This is solid advice in anything you do in life, but we especially think it’s useful when it comes to barbering. Your trade is amazing because it is fluid—nothing is stagnant and though some things never go out of style, rarely do things stay the same. 

If you’re too scared to step out of your normal services, trends, and specialties, you could be missing out on some serious opportunities. Stop being afraid to offer services that cater to new fads, to try new things, to think outside the box.

Have you always wanted to train other barbers but never pushed yourself to do it? Step out of that comfort zone. Have you always wanted to release online tutorials that aspiring stylists can purchase and learn from? Forget that comfort zone—go for it. 

By taking risks and doing things differently, you’re making money in new, exciting ways—and adding to your income stream one step out of the box at a time.


Work Smarter, Not MORE 

Don’t misinterpret us—we’re not trying to sell you some get-rich-quick situation where we act like hard work isn’t part of the deal. It absolutely is. And if you’re trying to be a six-figure salary barber, the odds are you’re going to have to work some long hours at some unideal times (yeah, we’re talkin’ weekends, holidays, late nights, etc.). 

But you don’t have to work yourself to the bone every single day, every moment you’re awake to make the money you want—you just need to work smarter. 

This could mean you need to reevaluate your prices, your services, your day-to-day tasks, or your target clientele—it does not mean you need to work yourself to death to make more money. Take a step back from your current workflow and ask yourself, what can I optimize here to work smarter? 


Environment is Everything—Don’t Skip This Step 

Success begets success, you guys. The people you surround yourself with, the environment you put yourself in, and the overall vibe of wherever you are is going to affect how you look at and go after success. 

Maybe this means networking, maybe this means finding mentors, and maybe this means finding a new shop (or starting your own!). Your personal and professional growth is hugely impacted by your environment, so don’t ignore this part of your development! 


Are you ready to become the six-figure barber you’ve always dreamed of being? We believe in you—but you need to believe in you, too!

If you’ve got a few secret success tips of your own, we’d love to hear your insight! Share your tricks, advice, optimistic perspectives, and more right here in our reply section!

Now get out there and make that money, barbers!

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