What to Do During a Slow Week as a Hairdresser (And What to Do Every Week)

It's Sunday night. You open your calendar to see who's on your books this week and there are some big gaps in your schedule. The panic starts to rise. Your mind instantly goes to the negative: All of your clients have left you and you're going to go broke. You should quit doing hair, definitely get another job. Why did you even bother going into this industry anyway? Obviously it was a mistake.

Hold on. Rewind your thoughts and let's take a calm, logical and realistic look at what's happening. It's frustrating but normal for us to focus strongly on the negative, but it's important to center ourselves during these times and not allow ourselves to panic.

This happens, especially when you're in the building and early sustaining phase of your business. You'll have weeks you feel like you're killing it followed by weeks you're barely booked. It's part of the process of growth. Even if you're not in a building phase, this still happens. Clients have last minute obligations and cancel. Everyone had their hair done before the holidays and your regulars aren't due back yet.

It's so important when things are slow to remember that it's part of the flow of our career. Behind the chair, we are not working a typical 9 to 5, clocking in and clocking out. Most of us don't have that guaranteed, predictable income that comes with a more traditional career. We make money when clients are in our chair, and we don't when they're not.

Because slow times are cyclical and to be expected, we need to plan for them. When you have great weeks, put some money aside for the slow ones.

Instead of getting emotionally strung out because your books are slow, start thinking of your entire year as one large cycle. There will be extra busy weeks, slow weeks, but mostly there will be steady weeks. The goal is to put weekly practices in place that steadily grow your business and sustain you when things quiet down.

Hairdresser Business Basics: Do This Every Week, Busy or Slow

Instead of panicking during a slow week, aim for consistency in the fundamental strategies that keep a healthy hair business growing:

Save weekly. Even a little. Put a percentage of your earnings into a business savings account to use for slow times or emergencies. Even a small amount adds up when you're contributing consistently. If you had an extra profitable week, don't spend it all, save a little more.

Rebook every appointment, every time. Never let a client leave without offering them a future appointment. This one habit alone can significantly stabilize your schedule.

Leverage referrals. Create a referral program that incentivizes clients to tell their friends about you. While they're in your chair, remind them of it. Bonus: in your post-appointment follow-up, send them your digital referral card so they can easily share.

Follow up after every appointment. A simple text confirming they loved their service goes a long way. When they respond positively, immediately send a review link and ask them to share their experience.

Take photos consistently. Take photos whenever you can so you always have content ready to go. It's also incredibly useful to share a client's after photo when you send the review link, it makes it easy for them to post.

Take notes on every client. Color formulas, products purchased, ideas discussed for future looks, personal details you might forget. This is huge for client retention and builds the kind of trust that keeps people coming back.

What to Do When You're Having a Slow Week

Here are a few action steps to work on while you have the time. And if you never have slow weeks? Still take time for this list.

Streamline your expenses. What are you spending on that isn't necessary? Do you have outdated subscriptions you can drop? Go through your expenses regularly and cut where you can. Bonus, save the money you find.

Use your photos. Remember those photos you've been taking? A slow week is the perfect time to create content and update your social profiles.

Do a client audit. Each quarter, go through your books and note who you haven't seen in a while. Reach out, just a simple text or email is all it takes. Tell them you were thinking of them, that it's been a while, and ask if they're ready to book. 90% of the time they are, and they're grateful you reached out. 10% of the time you'll get ghosted. It's 100% worth doing regularly, and you'll be fine.

Add personal touches. A little personalized attention goes a long way. Collect addresses and birthdays to send clients cards. A thank you after their first visit, a birthday card, a New Year's note of appreciation. The cost is low, but the impression you leave is lasting. You can do all of this by email too.

The Back End of Your Business Is the Real Business

It's not as simple as just doing someone's hair. We don't just come to the salon, do hair, and leave work at the door. If that's what you're doing and you're finding yourself with more slow weeks than busy ones, it's time for a shift in strategy. The good news is you have so many untapped opportunities to strengthen the back end of your business, and when you do you will get busier.

Unfortunately, most of us were never taught how to manage the business side of being a hairdresser. But that back end piece, the work that happens when you're not behind the chair, that's the core of a sustainable career.

The strategy for a long, profitable career where you earn real freedom and choice is intentional. I've always worked on my business. Every strategy I've shared above is something I've done myself. Building a strong client base is what gave me the confidence to open my salon. That was a choice I made with the freedom I earned by doing the business side of things. I could have also kept raising my prices, worked less behind the chair, and created more free time for whatever I wanted. It doesn't matter what you do with your freedom. It matters that you have it.

If you're in a slow moment right now, I hope this energizes you and reminds you that you have levers to pull. There are things you can do to get out of a funk, and things you should be doing every single week to have fewer slow stretches and more productive ones.

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