If you're a self-employed / freelance hairdresser there are easy ways you can use technology to boost your business.
We hear from two hairdressers with thriving freelance businesses on how and what they use to get more bookings and keep in control.
“Self-employment is not for everyone,” says Joe, who works out of his studio in Marlow, Buckinghamshire. “Technology has become essential to success. As a freelancer you still have to run a business: pay your taxes, employ an accountant, manage your booking systems, and control your costs. Technology just makes it easier.”
If there is an app for it, then Emma Fowler has it. The Essex-based freelance hairdresser and influencer, who has recently segued into education, is a master of technology, using it to simplify and enhance her business.
Meanwhile Joe Price is building his waiting list with a simple opening page on his website and uses AI to polish his blogs, all while ensuring his existing clients never miss an appointment with his PoS software. They are part of a growing generation of stylists using technology to offer as professional a service as any high-end salon.
Without further ado, here's the three bits of tech they can't live without.
1. Point of Sale System
The list of tech Emma and Joe use is pretty extensive. When asked, the first software they namecheck is their POS. Both have the free version of Fresha. Like a top-end POS, it manages their bookings, sends reminder messages, takes card payments, and provides analytical business reports.
“Having real-time oversight rather than waiting for end-of-year tax reports allows you to react to changes that might impact your business quickly and effectively,” says Emma, who has been freelance for eight years, and now divides her time between online education courses that attract thousands – and only made possible because of Zoom – to working behind the chair in her Witham, Essex, studio. “There are no surprises.”
2. Colour Management System
The biggest innovation for controlling costs within any size of business has been Vish Colour Management, which isn’t free but is still hugely cost-effective, even for solo users. Considered an absolute essential by Joe and Emma, it not only keeps costs low by reducing over-mixing and waste, it also provides real-time oversight of usage, with the option to pass colour costs on to the client, and records full client notes and formula details.
“Who has time to write up records?” continues Joe. “You never have time when you are busy, so you never really know how much waste you have. Colour management systems refine formulas, so I only use what I need for each client and I can charge to cover my costs. Larger salons using it must be saving thousands every month.”
3. Social Channels
Of course, social media is of course up there as one of the biggest drivers of freelancer success.
“Social media changed everything. It’s essential for getting your name out there,” says Joe. “I can use it to quickly fill a cancelled appointment or just keep in touch with my clientele.”
Emma is on every channel, including TikTok. She leverages their functionality but also brings in other tech to enhance her profile, such as CapCut, a platform powered by AI that enables video editing and image design. A recent post about a new product which Emma edited on CapCut for TikTok elicited 25 sales on day one.
“Social has reduced any sense of isolation and they keep you up to date with skills and trends,” she adds.
For both stylists, technology has enabled them to cut their teeth in business management, allowing Emma to build an increasingly successful education division and Joe to consider expansion with his own team in the future. Others are benefiting too, using AI to write up blogs or a bookkeeping app to photograph and categorise receipts. Meanwhile, Emma and Joe remain ever vigilant of what the next new tech could mean for their businesses.
