In a world where convenience dominates decision-making, it’s no surprise that many people head towards chain hairdressers when they need a cut. These transactional, in-and-out experiences are quick and palatable.

In 2021 there were 63,500 people working in hairdressing across Australia, but this number was hindered by COVID-19 and is now projected to increase to 69,600 by the year 2026.The popularity of chain hairdressers can make it hard for small new companies to start up, but those who succeed can offer a more personalised experience.

Barber shop owner Dan Estioko tells upstart that building customer loyalty is vital when starting out in a small hairdressing or barber business.

“I’d put that [customer loyalty] top over everything,” he says. “Assuming your service is A1 as a given, that would probably be the thing right underneath it.”

Aimee Bourke is a 20-year-old apprentice hairstylist at RDR Hair & Co and has been working in hairdressing for over a year. She says that she has learned this too, how important a loyal client base can be when growing a small hairstyling business.

“When you’re working for yourself, you’re going to need people to support you,” she tells upstart. “Rebooking is what helps, then you get more clients coming in and word of mouth happens.”

Estioko says it’s all about building a relationship.

“No one wants to keep coming back to you if they dislike you,” he says. “There’s guys that have been in the industry for 10 to 15 years, but do I want to go in there if he gives me a cut for half an hour and doesn’t say a single word, and I don’t even know the bloke?”

Estioko opened TiokoBlendz in the middle of 2023. The 21-year-old started working on his craft with some friends. Now just over a year later, he’s booked out for fortnights at a time. His quality consultations are known widely in the eastern suburbs area, allowing him to charge $70 and upwards for each session.

Dan Estioko, owner of TiokoBlendz. Image by author.

Estioko aims to differentiate from popular competition by targeting quality over quantity.

“Essentially the business models for the big chains is as many cuts in as little time as you’ve got, so they’re rushed jobs,” he says. “I think there’s great barbers in those chains. The thing is their business model doesn’t give them a chance to shine.”

One of the ways he sets himself apart is giving clients hour-long appointments.

“At the cost of losing a couple services, I can go all in and try to give back to the clientele.”

These longer services are a nod from Estioko towards the US barber scene. The large numbers of barbers in the States creates opportunity for more specific businesses as well as a wider potential for setting yourself apart as a business.

Estioko is looking to build a more inviting environment in his business by including new styles into his catalogue, and leaning in to ‘barber shop talk’, a phrase popular in the US but not so much in Australia. He also compares the US’ trendy fashion in hairstyling, to the shoe business.

“They were on J’s [Jordans] since forever, right? Barbering is behind the times as well. We only started having fades very recently in the grand scheme of things,” he says.

Differentiating is proven to give new business an advantage against their competitors. In hairdressing it can include exclusive packages, special deals or even specific quality. Bourke says that when growing a hairdressing business, a loyalty program can help out massively.

“It could be a points system, or include retail products, like if you get a certain amount of visits say 10% off on products,” she says.

One of Bourke’s co-workers already has a loyalty program set up. If a client gets a certain number of blow waves, the next one is free. Initiating programs like this allows for small businesses to maintain that loyal client base and Bourke says it’s something the business plans to implement in the future.

Another trend for small hairdressers nowadays is to have an online presence to increase exposure across social media platforms. When asked about the key focus to help the business grow, Bourke said it was undoubtedly social media.

“Exposing yourself, posting promotions, boosting word of mouth and getting yourself to grow,” she says.

Estioko has been in operation for only 15 months and has already exceeded over 3,000 followers on Instagram. The young barber has seen his biggest growth from online platforms like TikTok and Instagram, saying that they are bringing in more customers than business cards and word of mouth ever could.

“We are in this golden age of social media, it’s been described to me like a gold rush,” he says.

“Push social media ten times more because the more eyes you have on the business means the more people that are going to be coming into the business,” he says.

Amassing over 100,000 views on his short, eye-catching Instagram Reels videos, he encourages others who are building their businesses to follow a similar path.

“You have the easiest access to reach so many people for free. It’s a big driving factor of why I think businesses can get out there,” he says.

“You can be the best barber, best hairdresser, best whatever in the world. But if people don’t know who you are, how are people going to come down to you?”

Article: Mason Loring is a second-year Bachelor of Media and Communications (Sports Media) student at La Trobe University. You can follow him on Twitter at @_MasonLoring

Photo: Selective Focus Photography of a Barber by Luis Quintero is available HERE and used under a Creative Commons license. This image has not been modified.