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SEARCHStylist and salon owner Sean Michael provides the tools and questions you need to paint a picture of your ideal client and turn those demographics into the bulk of your business.
We don't usually have as much time as we do now. This time is valuable and allows us to create the blueprint for the businesses we have always dreamed of.
Once of the ways to do this is honing in on your personal brand, which in turn will help you find your ideal clientele.
Two years ago, stylist and salon owner Sean Michael had a full book, but it didn't consist enough of what he loved to do most--blonding and balayage. He started to rethink his Instagram strategy: he had been posting a variety of clients sitting in his chair to attract more clients, but not necessarily to attract his ideal client.
"My ideal clients are my world," he says. "They make me love going to work and I want everyone else to feel the same way."
So, what is an ideal client? For Michael it is a woman between 24 and 35 who is on top of the latest trends, shops at grocery stores like Trader Joes, and loves to keep her hair sunkissed and bright. This sounds really specific, right? Well it should be. Michael explains that these are the people you are spending the majority of your day with, and it's important to love who is in your chair. His "ideal client" now makes up 75% of his book.
Michael has a 12-step approach in finding your ideal client that he has turned into educational curriculum to help other stylists. He says all it takes is a little bit of work and a little bit of time.
To start, ask yourself, "what do I love to do in the salon?" What do you love to do that also makes you money?
Think of 3-5 of those clients who check both boxes. Then, break down their demographics of those clients: Where do these people live? Where do they shop? What do they like to wear? Where do they get their groceries? What do they do in their free time? Who are they following on social media?
When you are doing your research, notice color schemes, fonts, and what they are putting out into the world. You can mimic these things in your own marketing and branding. What is your ideal client organically attracted to? From this, create a moodboard which will be a visual representation of how you are going to rebrand and slowly sprinkle this into your Instagram.
Watch Michael's interview with MODERN SALON here:
Finding your niche transcends beyond Instagram. Michael's blonding and balyage clients give him the opportunity to fill his page with content of balayage and blonding that will ultimately fill more seats in his chair or open the door for brand partnerships.
"I started to attract like-minded companies by the end of 2018," Michael says. "I started posting about more products; I never post anything that I don't like. I targeted the brands I wanted to work with."
To learn more, tune in Thursday, April 16 to Michael's webinar where he will uncover all 12 steps to building your ideal clientele. And, download his workbook to uncover your ideal client by messaging him on Instagram.
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