Your Prices Should Be As Unique As Your Business
When I started doing hair in California, I didn’t have a plan for my business. I didn’t think about pricing, or profit growth, or really anything. I was just happy to be in a salon getting back to doing what I loved.
Honestly, I didn’t even think of myself as having a business, I was just a hairstylist trying to build a clientele and make a buck.I asked everyone I worked with what they were charging and I set my prices close to theirs. I copied my coworkers and didn’t think much about it.
But eventually I did start thinking about it. When it was time to raise my prices I thought about it a lot. Specifically how stressful it was to raise because I always felt insecure and uncomfortable.
Your pricing should reflect your unique business
I realized that my stress came from having no real knowledge about my pricing and no confident way to communicate with my clients. It was all totally random. I’d raise everything by $5 and pray nobody asked any questions.
That pricing stress (and future plans to open a salon) led me down the long process of digging into my business and figuring out what was happening and what needed to happen. I started working through my numbers and set myself up for a slow, strategic pricing shift that would align my prices to fit my actual business needs.
I realized that pricing should be reflective of our own unique businesses. Our prices should account for our professional experience, our specialized training and skills, our current client load, our goal client load, our physical location, and our specific business costs. That’s not even an inclusive list, but it’s enough to realize that copying our neighbor isn’t the plan.
What happens when you get your pricing right
When you curate your pricing to specifically reflect your unique business, two things happen:
You truly understand what you offer, what you put into your service and what value you bring. You know exactly what you need to charge to cover your costs and make the profit you deserve. You feel comfortable and confident standing behind your prices.
Your clients understand that you’re running an actual business. Nothing about your pricing is random. Your pricing reflects your expertise and is fair for what you’re offering. When they ask questions you answer confidently, reassuring them that you are a professional running a purposeful business.
What aligned pricing did for my business
Once I learned how to align my pricing to reflect my business, I discovered I was undercharging for my root retouch service. I realized I needed to either increase the price to stop offering the service altogether. I chose to raise the price, and only one client left because of it. But so many stayed. And they understood the shift because I had confidence in my pricing and trust in myself.
I quickly saw my profit increase as a result of my newly aligned prices. Year to year, it’s been easy to look at my business and decide where my pricing needs to be. I have a system now, and it works.
Our businesses are unique. What you offer is unique. Your training and experience, the services you offer, the experience you give your clients, your city, your salon. All of it is unique and defines your individual business. I didn’t realize that when I started, but now I wouldn’t run my business any other way.
A system that works
My system helped me and it can help you too. In my Pricing Isn’t Personalcourse, I help hairdressers untangle the knot that years of random pricing has tied and set them up on a path to simplified profit.
I’m also excited to announce that I’m currently creating new, more personal ways to teach my pricing system. This summer I’ll begin hosting virtual workshops where we can work together in real time on your pricing and your business. If you’re interested in learning more, add yourself to the waitlist. I’ll share with the waitlist first, and class size will be limited, so sign up if you’re curious!
About Anny VanDriel
Anny is a salon owner and hairdresser educator who has been teaching pricing strategy and business confidence since 2021. She developed a strategic pricing framework that allowed her to steadily increase her income over 10 years while maintaining client loyalty and reducing her working hours. Through her Pricing Isn't Personal course, she helps hairdressers create sustainable, profitable businesses rooted in self-trust.
Connect with Anny on Instagram @annyvandriel