Whether your barbershop look is traditional, classic, or rustic, updating your barbershop with modern and sharp barber equipment and services may give you a competitive edge. If you own a barbershop, you may be asking yourself how you can appeal to customers looking for an elevated barbershop experience.
While you may be looking to attract new customers or appeal to the new generation with a modern barbershop, you don’t want to lose your regular customers. They come to you for your consistency and traditional services. Keeping that in mind, we’ve put together a guide for you on how to modernize your barbershop while also staying true to your shop’s personality and feel.
There are many ways to make your barbershop look and feel more modern with either a few simple steps or with a significant renovation. So no matter where you are on that scale, you’ll be able to implement some of these tips to give your barbershop a facelift instantly.
Table of Contents
Modernize Your Barbershop
Renovate Your Shop
If your barbershop hasn’t been updated in a long time and you find yourself struggling to keep up with your growing business, you may want to renovate your shop. Barbershops that are outdated don’t always need to be redone, but taking on a renovation could be highly beneficial — especially if you find yourself running out of space or recognizing that your floor plan isn’t conducive your business’s growth.
If you plan on renovating, think about how you can add in modern design elements and elevate your barbershop with new colors and features. You may not need to remodel your entire shop, but maybe you’re looking at renovating a portion of it, like the shampooing area or the waiting room. Either way, any renovation can stand to positively impact your business and allow you to scale your company’s growth.
Read: Tips to Revamp and Refresh Your Salon
Add a Fresh Coat of Paint
A little paint can go a long way if you or your barbers aren’t feeling inspired by the shop’s current look and feel, you may want to paint your walls a different and more modern color. This tiny facelift can make quite a difference without forcing you to close your shop for significant renovations. For example, creating a statement wall — or painting one wall a bold color — can instantly elevate your shop and give it a new vibe,
Refresh Your Equipment
If your barber chairs or reception desk starts to show some wear and tear, it might be time to update your seats and equipment in your barbershop. Not only will updating your shop make it look more modern, but it will also improve employee morale and give your guests the best service and experience.
Read: Pros and Cons of Growing a Beard
Offer New Services
Newer barbershops offer many services that traditional barbershops don’t provide — for example, steam facials or eyebrow waxing. By offering new services like this or hiring stylists and barbers who provide unique services or can create extraordinary designs, you could appeal to new clientele, as well as allow your existing customer base to try something new. Adding new services can also help differentiate yourself from your competition and the other barbershops in the area.
Stock Up on Supplies
Are there supplies or certain technologies that your business always runs short on or would like to improve? Provide more support to your barbers and give your clients a more thorough service by stocking up on barber supplies often used.
From shampoo to styling tools, a modern barbershop keeps everything stocked and ready to go. While this may not change your shop’s look, it will give everyone more confidence knowing that they have all the tools and products they need to satisfy clients.
Read: Skin Care with Facial Hair
Stay Current on Best Practices
Remember to always stay up to date on best practices about cleaning and sanitizing. Make sure to wash cape between clients or use disposable ponchos and towels when possible. Make sure to change out the Barbicide in your jars as frequently as you should, and consider using UV hot cabinets for hot towels and shaves to improve sanitization.
Add New Signage
While we mainly mentioned renovations and updates that you can do inside your barbershop, you may also be able to modernize the look of the outside of your shop by installing new signage. Choose signage that reflects the modern feel you’re going for and something that catches the eyes of everyone walking by. Because you want your business to stand out, modernizing your shop’s exterior can also be a worthwhile investment.
Read: Sensible Beauty Investments
Create a Social Media Presence
One way a lot of barbershops are reinventing and modernizing themselves is by creating a social media presence and producing high-quality content. Today, consumers are looking for barbers and hairstylists on social media, which is why it’s so important to get out in front of potential clients and create a presence that inspires them to visit you.
So how will you need to modernize your barbershop to support this? Invest in things like ring lights or a photo backdrop so that you can take photos of your clients and post them to social media after they’ve gotten their hair done at your barbershop. Being able to post these images will help attract new customers and make your clients feel special.
Good lighting and a neutral background is key to creating high-quality images that perform well on social media. Even if your barbershop looks like the traditional, classic salon, having an updated social media presence can give your shop a modern feel.
Whether your barbershop needs a major renovation or could use some new services and barber chairs to modernize the space, these strategies should point you in the right direction. Modernizing your barbershop is more than just updating the look of your room. It’s also about creating an environment where your barbers like to work and where your clients feel relaxed and confident.