The new year rolled around and you probably got right to work on improving your shop, yourself, and your brand. Right?
Whether your new-year-new-you attitude included making sure you were on-trend for your clients in the coming months or doing something hyper-productive like planning for a successful 2022, we’re sure you hit the ground running this year.
Sounds like you’re really taking the bull by the horns in 2022.
But, we have to ask.
With all that planning, did you take a minute to think about your shop furniture?
Yeah, you read that right. Your shop furniture.
We know, you’re probably sitting there like, “of all the things to worry about in 2022, you want me to start stressing over my barbershop furniture?”
In a word: Yes.
Believe it or not, your furniture—yep, your barber chairs, shampoo stations, couches, surfaces, rugs, etc.,—matter a ton, especially when it comes to your barbershop’s success.
Not really following us? Don’t sweat it. We’ve laid out the important reasons below. Trust us, you’re going to want to read these reasons to find out why this matters.
Why You Should Upgrade Your Barber Furniture
Your barber chairs should be comfy, your shampoo stations trendy, and your shared spaces should be cozy. But why?
These reasons should lead the charge on this explanation.
Your Shop is Part Of Your Brand—What Does Your Furniture Say?
You’ve likely spent a lot of time and effort establishing and honing your brand. And that makes sense because as you know, branding is a big part of building the foundation of a successful business. So, we ask, why put all the effort you already have into building your brand only to skimp on the furniture in your shop?
Believe it or not, your shop’s décor says a lot about you—particularly about your brand as a whole. Choosing not to care about your shop’s furniture is basically like choosing to skip over a whole section of your brand.
For customers, this can be an enormous disconnect, so it’s important to carry over that branding into your shop’s décor, which, of course, includes your furniture.
Comfortable Shops Are Crucial
You want your clients to walk into your shop and feel at ease, comfortable, and like they belong—choosing uncomfortable, sterile furniture that doesn’t align with your brand is the quickest way to make your customers feel unwelcome and unwilling to stick around.
Comfy chairs, cozy workstations, and areas that are decorated with your brand are all factors that can put your customers at ease—both mentally and physically.
Furniture Speaks to Your Shop’s Quality
We absolutely understand that not every shop out there has a limitless furniture and décor budget (unless you do, and in that case, please, feel free to share your secrets with the group). Still, choosing quality pieces, even if they end up being a bit more expensive upfront, can ultimately end up being the right choice.
Why? Things that are made well tend to last. They’re durable investments that will grow with you. And of course, because the quality of the furniture you choose to put in your shop will speak directly to the quality of your shop.
Listen, this doesn’t mean dropping all of your money on things you can’t afford. It does mean do your research about brands, thrift wisely, and try to find pieces that you know will last.
Your Shop’s Look & Feel Symbolize Your Services
In other words, crappy, ripped-up furniture probably sends the wrong message about your skills and abilities to your customers. Sometimes, it can be tempting to go with the cheapest, easiest option, but the furniture you put in your shop is a symbol of your skill, whether you like it or not—that means you want to impress when you can.
Like we mentioned above, this doesn’t mean you need to go into debt to furnish your shop, but it does mean that you should put a lot of thought into the quality of something before you purchase it. Ask yourself questions like:
What would be my first assumption about a shop if I saw this in their establishment?
Will this furniture last for a long time?
Is this furniture thrifted—if so, is it clean and durable?
Does this furniture have damage—if so, what does this say about my shop?
Love this little bit of upgrading inspo? We figured—who doesn’t love a little encouragement to give their space a makeover. We encourage you to take a good, hard look at your shop and ask, what does my furniture say about my shop right now? If you’re not loving the answer you get, it might be time to think about how you can slowly but surely upgrade the furniture in your shop.
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