By: Rachel Hager

A few years ago, I worked behind the chair and managed a couple of well-known salons in my area. I was living and working the way I thought my life would be when I graduated from beauty school and passed the state board. Then 'something' happened. I went from being busy constantly, buzzing in between all the salons I managed, with never a dull moment; to sitting at home waiting for the call to come to get back to work, trying my best to answer the concerns and questions of my employees, while just trying to keep it together myself. We all changed. For us in the beauty industry, we faced some of its worst. Before this, I never stopped to think about what would happen if I couldn't work as a stylist anymore. I didn't think about my finances much more than what I had in my checking account and if it would cover expenses. 

Thankfully, I could get back behind the chair and help my clients. But the questions were still there, and I couldn't shake the feeling of being so unprepared. Many of us changed, switched careers, enrolled in school, and added 2 or 3 side hustles. For me, that's when I took a hard look at how I was earning money. There aren't enough hours in the day to work more than I already was, so that left making more an hour. Simple enough, I could charge more or add more services to my menu. But my clients were hit hard too, and although a slight increase wouldn't rock the boat for them too much, I hoped to earn more than what I felt I could raise my prices to, especially in such a short and pressing time.

Passive Income:

This quest brought me to a few different places, the first and probably most accessible of which is Passive Income. Passive income was something I had heard about through various social media platforms. Now I am no financial expert, but from what I understood, passive income is income that you don't have to do anything to earn... Sounds too good to be true. For me, I took it as income that I didn't earn behind the chair, but as a way I can earn income without having to add more services, clients, or hours in the day. This brought me to every hairdresser's best sidekick (no, not Extra shots of espresso or the new Shampooer) in my retail. I could sell retail to clients in my chair, those walking by, and even those who haven't stepped foot in my salon. That is when I found out about Salon Interactive, where you can have an online retail shop for your salon with little to no effort or stock on hand. I could post my store and pick my products, making commissions on what I sold to my clients. I told friends and family in other states, they told their friends and family, and my little online retail store gave me the extra income I was looking for. 

I know at this point you might be grumbling, thinking, "Was this whole thing one drawn-out Ad? Trying to sell me an online service?" But it was my answer, it was my solution, and it worked for me. I'm not saying this will be what's right for everyone, but I am saying the world has changed. We have changed. It's the era of working smarter, not harder. The stylist that came before weren't given all the options and advancements we have today! We are not still using metal perming contraptions (Yes, that's a real thing!).

If you are interested in learning more about how you could be making consistent Passive Income by using Salon Interactive, check this out.

And the best part about service is that it is free to use if you are with Salon Services Pro, all you need to do is make sure your clients know they can restock through your online store. 

So, if there's one thing that you take out of what you read, let it be this: We don't have to play by the old rules of making more by charging more. We can create other sources of income that complement our business and help our customers! It has been said that Millionaires have seven different sources of income... How many do you have?