Looking to increase your income, Mike the barber has some advice for you. You might recognize Mike from “Good Morning America” or “People Magazine” as the barber who promised an 8th grader free haircuts for life if he made straight A’s in school — when the kid followed through with his promise, the story went viral. These days, when Mike isn’t busy making headlines, he’s hard at work improving his barber business. Mike is all about the “GRIND,” and because of his stellar work ethic (and a little help from StyleSeat), he was able to increase his income by 30% last year! Keep reading to see exactly what it took for him to crush 2017.

STOP WASTING TIME

Before using the StyleSeat app, I was saving everything in my iPhone. As my clientele grew, so did the text messages, phone calls, and emails from clients wanting to get ahold of me to know my availability. I was spending so much time in between services trying to contact everyone back that it became a huge hassle. StyleSeat stopped all of that and gave me back around 10 hours per week. I no longer have to be on my phone responding to everyone all day. My clients just log on to the app, click my page, and select the day/time that best fits his/her schedule.

STOP LOSING MONEY

StyleSeat actually helped me realize that in-between each customer, I had a 15-20 minute gap. I realized I was a bad time manager, and I was actually losing money because that’s 3-4 more customers per day I could fit into my schedule. With StyleSeat, my clients can book back-to-back with no gaps. Now, I’ve gained that time back with my customers. More customers per day = more money in my pocket per day.

Mike the Barber Shares Tips for Increasing Your Income

LESS SELFIES MORE HUSTLE  

I see so many talented barbers, cosmetologist, and stylist that can do anything when it comes to hair, but his/her work ethic does not match their talent. I learned while I was a student at “No Grease Barber College” in Charlotte, North Carolina: I am a business 24/7 not just when the “open” sign is on in my shop. So many people in our industry invest more time in taking selfies of themselves, the shoes they have on, the outfit they are wearing — if they would put all of that energy in to marketing themselves in their community, passingout cards, going to networking events, they would realize they don’t have as much “downtime” in the shop as they think.

“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”

If you’re not cutting hair, you’re not making money — it’s that simple. I see barbers, stylist, and cosmetologist every day who may not be as talented as some, but they earn double because they GRIND. Everywhere you go, you should be handing out business cards.

“If a farmer doesn’t plant seeds, how can he expect a harvest?”

Same goes for people in our industry. The work you do outside your shop is just as important as the work you do in your shop. Barbering is a LIFESTYLE. You are never off the clock.

“If you DON’T work, you DON’T eat, if you DON’T grind, you DON’T shine — no If’s, and’s or but’s BOTTOM LINE!”

That’s the motto I live by. We are in a “eat what you kill” industry. Shout out to StyleSeat for helping me realize I could EAT more daily. My clients LOVE the app and I get praise from them all the time!

Check Mike out on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and StyleSeat.

Looking for tools to help you run your business? Try StyleSeat here.   

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