Pricing your services correctly is important. Without the right price you could be losing money. Your price should consider the market and what your competitors are charging, the cost required to complete the service and the value you bring as a skilled technician. Use the following formula to calculate an hourly rate for your services. This will help you to create a consistent guideline for your prices. This guideline makes it easier to increase prices.
How to determine the cost of a service in your market and calculate your hourly rate:
Identify Your Opportunity Cost
Identify Your Rate
1. Add the opportunity cost to your rate
2. Divide your total by 2
3. The total will give you the average cost the market will pay for that service
4. Divide the average cost by the number of hours it takes you to complete the style
5. The total will give you an average hourly rate you can use to calculate the cost of other services you offer
Once you calculate your hourly rate determine if you want to charge less or more based on your skill, experience or any other value factors you want to include. Also consider the cost of any products or hair that you may include in the price as well. Aim to create prices that are round numbers (ending in '0' or '5')
YOUR TURN- What is your average hourly rate? Should you increase it or decrease it? Are your current prices based on an hourly rate or did you just make them up?
Fill in your answers in the Pricing Strategy Worksheet and it will automatically populate new rates in your Service Menu
You want to make a profit from the services you provide so it's critical to price your services at a rate that will allow you to cover all of your expenses (business and personal salary)
Increasing your prices
Increasing your prices can be scary.
"What if I lose all of my clients?!"
"What if I don't get new ones because they think I charge too much?"
"No on will pay this price for this service. The hairstylist up the street charges less so there's no way they will pay me more!"
The scariest part is telling the people who have been supporting you; who you have built relationships and sometimes friendships with that they can no longer pay the "homie hook-up" price. This business practice has blurred the line between making money and getting money.
It's time to set a standard for yourself and your business based on your newly developed confidence and value system. You are worthy and deserving of more money for the service you provide.
As in all things, the transition to functioning as a responsible business requires thorough communication. We are in the RELATIONSHIP BUSINESS, so I don't recommend switching suddenly to very formal ways of informing your clients of upcoming changes. I DO recommend that you:
- Give your clients 2-4 months notice of any changes in policy and price increases (depending on the regularity of their appointments) This notice should come from you personally. You should verbally inform all clients if you serve them during the time you are in your pricing transition, and you also want to inform them with a written notice. This can be sent by email and/or hand delivered on letterhead. See an example under the "MATERIALS" tab. Feel free to adjust the letter for your purposes
- Supplement any verbal conversations about changes with written notice via email or hand delivered
- Try to avoid making exceptions. In my experience, one exception snowballs into more exceptions and causes confusion. If you feel deeply that you must make the exception: use discernment, inform the client that you are making the exception and that they are clear about your current policies, keep thorough records of the price you charge for their services.
Here is a wonderful example of communication with clients about a price increase from our DK Team Member, Brooke in NYC. See below:
"I just wanted to share the email I sent my clients. Feel free to share some or all of it with the crew:) - Brooke
Hello Wild.Flow.Hers!
I wanted to take a second to reach out to all of you in regards to some changes affecting Wildflowher The Locsmith (formerly "Accidental Locsmith") in this first month of 2020. I want to start by saying THANK YOU, to any and every one of you who has supported my business, told a friend about my business, encouraged a friend to support my business, shared my social media content, graced my space with your presence, and the list goes on. It is because of you the “Cosmic Level Up” is necessary in 2020.
WEBSITE. I recently launched a website. While I have enjoyed our extensive email exchanges over the years (273 unique threads to be exact!), it is now possible to book/manage your appointments and pay deposits online via the site (woot woot!). The website will also be you destination for important documents like After Care Instructions, Preparing for your Appointment, FAQ, etc. (more to come as this site is a work in progress, your patience is appreciated)
NAME CHANGE. As some of you may have noticed, I changed my name from “Accidental Locsmith” to “Wildflowher: The Locsmith” on Instagram. I decided to start the new decade with a name change because, while Accidental Locsmith celebrates the story of how I literally fell into the loc game by accident, as I reach for new heights with my skill set I decided the name may cause supporters to second guess my skills … so. I adopted the name “Wildflower” which has significant personal and professional meaning, and adapted it to “Wild.Flow.Her.” the "Her" a celebration of the wild(ly dope) women I service (you!) and our collectively Wild Flow.
WILDFLOWHER: DEFINED. A wildflower is “a flower of an uncultivated varietal, growing freely without human intervention”. I can’t think of a better embodiment of all of you, as well as a modern definition of a dread/goddess/faux loc and my “uncultivated and untouched by human intervention” freestyle and intuitive take on goddess locs.
Let’s talk SERVICES. As of January 2020, I have made significant upgrades to my service offerings. As a trainee and now mentee of Dr, Kari Williams, Trichologist, Celebrity Stylist and Goddess Loc Creator, I now possess a greater education and understanding of the loc journey (natural, goddess and faux), and will be applying that training and education in all levels of my work and products used in my offerings.
That means that, starting now, ALL services offered will be upgraded to use exclusively the Dr. Kari patented and branded DK GODDESS LOC Installation Method: a method that celebrates and emulates the natural loc journey through proper installation and maintenance. To highlight, goddess and faux locs installed this way are low-tension, lightweight, and the most natural-looking.
While you will still have the option of which type hair to use for your installation (100% human, blend of human/synthetic), it will be my practice to install all goddess and faux locs using either 100% human hair, or a blend of human and synthetic hair (unless otherwise specified at appt booking). Why? Because in my professional opinion, incorporating human hair into your style is a better option that promotes your natural hair health (because, human hair) and more simply stated is lighter in weight than synthetic hair, making for a significantly lighter install. Hair will be now be provided with all appointments and cost included in all final quotes for services.
What That Means For You. Better quality locs, longing gazes and stares, a healthier natural hair journey, and frankly ... price increases (we all knew it was coming!) It’s the level-up that comes with dropping the Accidental from my name. However, the time, knowledge and products it takes to execute a goddess loc properly and healthily is one I can get with, and hopefully so can you.
**All Locs will continue to be executed with my signature textured/distressed finish.
DK GODDESS Locs. Any loc with a wavy end is a "goddess loc".
**ALL Goddess Locs will now be referred to as "Dr. Kari Goddess Locs", as the installation process for all styles (regardless of hair type used) will be executed using her technique. The end result aesthetically will remain the same (I am just installing in a different and better way).
**All DK Goddess Loc services will ONLY be offered using 100% human or a blend of human and synthetic hair (unless you request to use 100% synthetic hair).
BOHO Locs. Pre-looped and installed on a cornrow base or individually throughout head).
This is an exclusive product of BohoLocs(.com). NOTE: For clients choosing the “Mermaid” loc from this brand, note that I do not promote use of the loose synthetic hair that comes with this product (due to inevitable tangling). I do not currently offer crochet loc services using any other product).
BRAIDS. For the few of you who have gotten box or knotless braids from me, this service will still be available to you by request but will not be advertised as my primary focus is locs.
That was a mouthful, but again in speaking with some of you offline, it is important to me to not only pass on my knowledge of Goddess Locs to you but to also express that new knowledge in my offerings to all of you. Feel free to reach out to me with feedback, questions, recommendations, etc for it is together that we built this and your feedback is always welcome.
Again, I thank all of you for what you have contributed to my growth personally and professionally. As the adage goes “when you know better you do better” … so knowing what I now know about the true essence of a goddess loc, I look forward to bringing those learnings, techniques, products and benefits to your appointment and blessing you not only with the style you want, but with the integrity I know (at a slightly higher price point, but cest la vie ). At the end of the day, I ensure satisfaction guaranteed and that you will love your final results (even more than you do now ).
Thank you for your support in helping to elevate Wildflowher: The Locsmith to the next level as a business, and it is my sincere hope that you will continue riding with me for the journey!
Always,
Brooke-Jasmyn / Wild.Flow.Her "