How to Become the Service Business Everyone Wants to Work With

I waited five months for this appointment.

I wasn’t alone—her schedule was booked out months in advance.

Clients flew in from different states just to sit in her chair.

She wasn’t the most famous stylist. She wasn’t even the most experienced.

So, why were people—including me—willing to wait, pay premium prices, and travel just to get an appointment?

It wasn’t just about the hairstyle.

It was something much deeper—something most service business owners completely overlook.

And that one thing is what made her the go-to choice.

Let’s break it down.

Goddess locs are my favorite hairstyle to wear. This style not only looks good, but it protects my hair.

And when I want them done right, there’s only one person I trust.

How does a 26-year-old build a thriving business when other hairstylists in her space struggle?

She did something many service business owners overlook. 

Positioning.

According to the American Marketing Association (AMA), positioning is a marketing strategy that establishes a brand's place in the minds of consumers.

To put it simply, positioning answers the question; What do you want to be known for?

You see, my hairstylist didn't want to simply be known for doing hair. In her field, there is no shortage of stylists, hair braiders, etc. In fact, in her locale, there are at least 3 hair salons within a 3-mile radius.

Everyone is offering a similar type of service.

Everyone is good at their craft.

Everyone is aiming to serve as many clients as possible.

There was no real way for her to compete and become profitable.

So she pivoted. 

1. Internal Audit

She took an inventory of her service offerings. She evaluated what services sold the most and the clients that were booking them. She tracked everything from sales, number of appointments, client retention, and new clients acquired. From that data, she was able to narrow her services to a few high performers. Instead of offering everything to everyone, she focused on the services and clients that had the highest rebooking rates and were the most profitable.

2. Customer Research

As a stylist, she's in a unique position to get to know her clients on an intimate level. 

What is it about hairstylists that make you so comfortable with sharing all your business? Anyway, I digress.

Through her conversations with her clients, she was able to uncover keen insights that would shape the future of her business. Her clients shared the styles they wanted but were afraid to try. The impact of lifestyle on their hairstyle choices. The timeframe between changing hairstyles and how they managed in between. 

3. Competitor Research

Hairstyling is perceived to be a highly competitive profession. One sector of styling is hair braiding which tends to be very crowded. Yet, it takes some work to find a hair braider who not only does good work but doesn't put a lot of tension on your scalp while braiding. In my hairstylist shop alone, there were two other hair braiders. It was up to each stylist to build their clientele. 

My hairstylist started to observe the other stylists. She looked at their work, the length of time for them to administer a service, and their clientele. One notable aspect of her competitors was they relied on word of mouth for new clients. She realized that within her own business and her competitors, the ebb and flow of a full calendar heavily relied on client referrals. 

With this realization, she decided to pivot her service to premium clients. She also wanted to transition from relying on referrals to a system that would give her more exposure and inbound appointments. She elevated her booking experience and built an online presence. 

4. Defined Her Unique Value

Armed with insights from her clients, and competitors and checking in with herself, my hairstylist now had the information she needed to position her services uniquely in the market. She was able to take a macro view of her business and see where the gaps and opportunities were.

The insight that led to the game changer for her business came from her clients. She serviced two types of clients. The first wanted braids. The other type came to her to take care of their dreadlocks. In her discussions with the clients who wanted braids, she learned they were interested in dreadlocks but did not want to commit to the permanent nature of wearing them. This insight uncovered a problem that she could solve. She created a new service offering temporary faux locks to her hair-braiding clients.

The faux locs hairstyle is not new. Many hairstylists can do it. However, she developed a unique technique that made her faux locs look like real dreadlocks. She perfected the technique in a way that made it unique to her. Which meant it could not easily be duplicated. This new service would cost more to perform which meant she had to charge a much higher price point. She knew this would not be a problem because based on her client research, she knew they would be willing to pay the price for the service.

5. Marketing System

Now that she had all the pieces together, she wanted to create a way for her business to run on autopilot. Running her hairstyling business was one of several endeavors she was focused on and didn't want it to consume her life. Part of the reason she started doing hair was for more autonomy. 

She knew relying on referrals wasn't sustainable. She also knew she didn't want to spend all day posting on social media. The middle ground she found was to choose one social media channel that she enjoyed but aligned with her clients' buying behaviors. She also built a funnel that will convert her audience on social media to booked appointments. The bonus would be increased visibility of her business from a wider audience.

She decided to double down on Instagram. She aligned marketing her business to her services. By setting up her workstation to be camera-ready, she filmed herself performing the services and showed before and after pictures of her work. Since Instagram is a visual platform this worked exceedingly well for her business and preference. She optimized her social media profile for potential clients to learn about her services. The easy-to-use booking process walked new clients through her onboarding process and ensured they knew what to expect ahead of their appointment. This worked wonders as each step built trust between her and her audience. 

This process worked so well for my hairstylist that she's now booked out months in advance. Service businesses are a dime a dozen. For every service offered, the client is wondering "Why should I choose you?" 

I help my clients answer this question and more during our breakthrough strategy sessions.

Because the goal is not to be one of many. The goal is to be the only one.

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