Finding Your Niche In The Beauty Industry

How to Find Your Niche 

(& Learning How to Turn It Into Your Money Maker)

We’re going to open up right here, right now, with a very, very blunt truth—you can’t win every client.

Before you click the tiny X at the top corner of the page, give us a chance to specify. It’s not that we don’t believe in you, it’s not that you don’t have what it takes, and it’s not that you don’t have the drive to sell to anyone.

The reality is there’s no way you could be the ideal cosmetologist for every target market. 

It’s just not possible. Everyone is after something different, something unique, something that could be totally out of your realm of knowledge—and you know what? That’s OK.  

You could literally be the juiciest, ripest, most delicious peach on the market—and there’s still going to be someone who happens along who just doesn’t enjoy peaches. Any business class will tell you this (maybe not in such fun, eccentric terms, but)—you simply can’t sell to anyone. You shouldn’t have to, either.

You don’t need to twist and flex yourself and your services to try to fit everyone and everything—that’s a bad business strategy, friend. And honestly? It stretches you way too thin. Shouldn’t you focus on being the best in your industry within your own niche?

We think so. 

Why, exactly? 

Because when you’re the best at something (not necessarily just one thing—just not all the things), it’s much easier for you to turn your niche into some serious profits. And while we totally recognize that your job obvs isn’t all about the money, we definitely think you understand the numerous benefits of doing something you love and bringing home the big bucks.

That’s entirely the focus behind this blog. 

That being said, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t stay up to date on the latest techniques, styles, and strategies—you need to know how to do those, too (it’s your job and you want to stay relevant). But if you’re looking to find that perfect cash cow for your business, this is exactly where you’ll want to start. 

Finding Your Niche: Where to Start 

First things first, figure out what your unique niche might be. Keep in mind, you don’t need to do just one thing—we’re just trying to avoid you trying to do all the things. 

The cool thing about our field? There are literally so many choices and career paths out there. You can even literally invent your own niche (mobile stylist niche, anyone?)—so, the options are pretty limitless.

Our best advice? Start asking yourself a long list of questions like:

• What kind of work inspires me?
• I’m happiest in my work when I’m _______?
• What do people say that I’m the best at?
• What is my most requested service?
• Other cosmetologists often as my advice and guidance on what?
• Where is there an open space in the market?
• What’s my favorite thing to do within my industry?
• How easily can my niche expand and grow?

These, of course, aren’t the only questions you should ask yourself when you’re niching down, but it’s a phenomenal start. We highly encourage you to participate in this exercise, write down a few niches, and keep reading. 

Another great way to figure out your niche? Chat with your mentors, your boss, your employees—get other people’s opinions and take them into account. This can help you shape your decision, though, your opinion should be the one that receives the most weight—it is your career, after all. 

How to Take Your Niche & Maximize Your Profits 

Marketing 101—Name Yourself the Expert

If you want to maximize your profits in your specific niche, you need to make sure you’re playing hardball in your target market. How do you do this? Name yourself the expert. Obviously, this can’t be baseless—you’ll need social proof, evidence, and something to back up those claims. But if you’re niching down in something, chances are you already have those things. 

Post your before and after photos on social media, offer online tutorials for your niche, market with a vengeance within your specialty.

If you want to funnel in clients for your specialty, you need to make sure your marketing strategies are finely tuned and zeroed in on your niche. 

Client Reviews Go a Long Way 

Having a large number of glowing client reviews within your specialty is going to be an instrumental way of funneling more clients into your salon, spa, or shop.

Why? Because reviews matter—people always check reviews before they put their trust into a cosmetologist. 

How can you get this started? Offer incentives for your happy clients to leave reviews on your site. Need some more tips on this? Check out our post here for how to get your clients to leave you honest reviews. 

Diversify Your Income Stream—Offer Masterclasses 

We’re so over that old attitude about keeping your trade secrets close to the vest—c’mon, y’all, this is 2020, we don’t need to live that life anymore. When you open up and share your strategies and techniques, you open up a whole extra opportunity for diversifying your income stream. 

Let’s say you’re the bomb at balayage. You already have an exceptional rep and you’re bringing in the big bucks—but why not maximize your profits (and your karma, probably) by offering other beauty pros a way to improve their skills. 

The benefits here are two-fold. You’re further cementing yourself as the master balayage artist (it is your niche, after all) and you’re finding new, exciting ways to maximize your profit. 

The cool thing about maximizing profits and turning your niche into a cash cow? The sky is the limit. Seriously, that’s the best part about our industry—if you can dream it up, you can make it happen. One of the perks of working in a creative, market-led field, right?

If you’ve got some serious advice on how our cosmetology community can maximize their profits when it comes to their niche, drop your knowledge on us ASAP. Leave a comment below in our reply section and share with your beauty community—that’s what we’re all here for!