Do you track performance standards or benchmarks? Chris Sulimay, author of Shop Talk, which details proven ways for industry professionals to grow their incomes, says setting and tracking goals are key making more money. Coming from a multi-generational hairdressing family, Sulimay would know. He has 20-plus years of beauty industry experience as a hairdresser, salon owner, educator, session stylist, artistic director and salon business expert. Here, he shares his tips for rental business success, what to track and just what real-life benchmarks are reasonable, across the country.

“Commit to mastering business basics,” says Sulimay. “When you set benchmarks, you’ll begin to move in the right direction. Numbers that you should track monthly, or ideally, weekly, include:

• The number of clients you need in order to achieve your financial goals

• The percent of your clients who pre-book before leaving the salon. Shoot for 75% .

• Your referrals. What percent of your new clients each month are referrals? To keep a healthy, lifelong clientele, aim for 10%. If just 10% of your overall clients are coming to you based on a referral, you will never struggle to get more clients.

• The percentage of your clients who get upgraded services. Are you offering an upgrade-service to every client or just doing the service they booked? Top earning stylists upgrade 60% of their clients to a new service, which adds up to thousands of dollars over a single year.

• How much are clients buying in retail or home haircare? Think of professional hair care sales as money you earn without having to do any physical work. A great goal to shoot for is $18- $20 per client.

Above, are visuals of known, reasonable standards that will help you set basic business goals. You can use the chart as a reality-check to see how healthy your business is, and where you have opportunity for growth.

Click Here to download the blank tracking sheet image.