[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":280},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-20-raise-rule":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"description":266,"extension":267,"howToSteps":268,"itemList":268,"meta":269,"navigation":270,"path":271,"publishedAt":272,"readMinutes":273,"seo":274,"stem":275,"tags":276,"updatedAt":268,"__hash__":279},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-20-raise-rule.md","The $20 raise rule: how to price your services",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":254},"minimark",[9,13,16,32,37,40,46,65,70,77,90,93,97,100,103,109,115,121,127,132,136,139,146,149,170,174,177,180,186,190,193,199,205,211,215,218,221,225,238,242,251],[10,11,12],"p",{},"A common pattern I've heard from stylists building this product with us: prices set once when they went out on their own, then left alone for years. Whether that's actually most stylists, or just the ones who end up talking to us, I genuinely don't know.",[10,14,15],{},"What I can show you is the math on why pricing drift matters, and a rule of thumb for what to do about it.",[17,18,21],"blog-aside",{"label":19,"type":20},"A note on the claims in this post","note",[10,22,23,24,31],{},"The inflation figure cites the ",[25,26,30],"a",{"href":27,"rel":28},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bls.gov\u002Fnews.release\u002Fcpi.nr0.htm",[29],"nofollow","U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI release",". The dollar amounts in the examples are illustrative — substitute your real numbers.",[33,34,36],"h2",{"id":35},"the-two-question-test-a-heuristic-not-research","The two-question test (a heuristic, not research)",[10,38,39],{},"Two questions to ask yourself:",[10,41,42],{},[43,44,45],"strong",{},"1. When was the last time you raised your prices?",[10,47,48,49,52,53,56,57,60,61,64],{},"If the answer is \"over 18 months ago,\" your real take-home has likely shrunk in nominal terms. Per the ",[25,50,30],{"href":27,"rel":51},[29],", the all-items CPI rose ",[43,54,55],{},"2.7% in 2025"," and accelerated to ",[43,58,59],{},"3.8% year-over-year by April 2026"," — cumulatively, roughly ",[43,62,63],{},"5–7% over the past 18 months",". Your supply costs and booth rent are generally moving with that backdrop. Prices that don't move have lost purchasing power.",[10,66,67],{},[43,68,69],{},"2. When a client books with you for the first time, what's their reaction to your prices?",[10,71,72,73],{},"Pay attention to this one. ",[74,75,76],"em",{},"(This is observational, not data — but it's a useful prompt.)",[78,79,80,84,87],"ul",{},[81,82,83],"li",{},"\"Whoa, that's expensive\" — you're at or above market for that client.",[81,85,86],{},"\"Wait, that's it?\" — you may be priced below what the client expected.",[81,88,89],{},"A neutral nod and a confirmed booking — likely in the right zone for them.",[10,91,92],{},"A single client's reaction isn't a signal; a pattern across many is. If you're hearing \"wait, that's it?\" several times a month, the data point is worth taking seriously.",[33,94,96],{"id":95},"the-20-rule-my-rule-of-thumb-not-industry-research","The $20 rule (my rule of thumb, not industry research)",[10,98,99],{},"The rule I use when I help stylists think about pricing: the next time you raise prices, raise every service by $20. Not 10%. Not \"I'll add $5 to the cuts and $10 to the color.\" Twenty dollars per service, across the board.",[10,101,102],{},"Three reasons I land on this number, all judgment, not data:",[104,105],"stat-big",{":value":106,"label":107,"prefix":108},"20","my rule-of-thumb stylist-price increment","$",[10,110,111,114],{},[43,112,113],{},"$20 is small enough that most regulars don't react sharply."," A $120 color going to $140 is not a price change most clients change behavior over. Whether they do depends on the relationship; the rule assumes you have one.",[10,116,117,120],{},[43,118,119],{},"$20 is large enough to move your annual income meaningfully."," Math, plainly stated: if you do 30 clients a week, $20 per ticket × 30 clients × 50 weeks = $30,000 a year of new gross revenue. After supplies and taxes, somewhere in the $15,000–$20,000 range of actual additional take-home. Those exact numbers depend on your tax bracket, supply costs, and what fraction of services see the raise — treat them as illustrative.",[10,122,123,126],{},[43,124,125],{},"$20 normalizes to round numbers."," $65 cut → $85. $120 color → $140. $215 balayage → $235. Easy to communicate.",[128,129],"money-bars",{":caption":130,":scenarios":131},"{\"An illustrative week at 30 clients before and after a $20 raise across every service\":{\" The math\":\"$600\u002Fweek × 50 weeks ≈ $30,000 of additional gross revenue at the assumed volume. Substitute your real numbers.\"}}","[{\"label\":\"Old prices (30 clients\u002Fwk)\",\"amount\":3450,\"amountLabel\":\"per wk\",\"variant\":\"neutral\"},{\"label\":\"After +$20\u002Fservice\",\"amount\":4050,\"amountLabel\":\"per wk\",\"variant\":\"gain\"}]",[33,133,135],{"id":134},"the-script-a-template-not-validated-copy","The script (a template, not validated copy)",[10,137,138],{},"Tell clients before they show up. Don't surprise them at checkout — that's how relationships break. Two weeks before the new prices kick in, a text along these lines:",[140,141,143],"text-template",{"to":142},"Sarah",[10,144,145],{},"Hey Sarah — quick note: I'm updating my prices starting June 1. Cuts going from $65 to $85, color from $120 to $140. First time I've raised them since 2024. Wanted you to hear it from me before you booked. Same work, same time slot, just the new number. Excited to see you on the 14th.",[10,147,148],{},"Three things this is designed to do:",[150,151,152,158,164],"ol",{},[81,153,154,157],{},[43,155,156],{},"Tell them the date."," No ambiguity.",[81,159,160,163],{},[43,161,162],{},"Give a reason."," \"First time since 2024\" — implies inflation, supplies, normal economics. Doesn't apologize.",[81,165,166,169],{},[43,167,168],{},"Keep the relationship in focus."," \"Excited to see you on the 14th\" puts attention back on the appointment.",[33,171,173],{"id":172},"the-clients-you-may-lose","The clients you may lose",[10,175,176],{},"You will probably lose some clients when you raise prices. How many depends on your book. I don't have aggregated stylist data on price-raise churn to cite, so any number I quote would be invented.",[10,178,179],{},"The clients who leave for $20 were probably going to leave for $30 next year, or $40 the year after, or someone closer to their house. Real loyalty rarely breaks for $20.",[181,182,183],"pull-quote",{},[10,184,185],{},"The clients who leave for $20 were going to leave for $30 next year, or someone closer to their house, or any reason. In my experience, real loyalty doesn't usually break for twenty dollars.",[33,187,189],{"id":188},"when-not-to-raise","When NOT to raise",[10,191,192],{},"Three situations where the $20 rule doesn't apply yet:",[10,194,195,198],{},[43,196,197],{},"1. You're new to the area."," Under 12 months in the salon and no stable client base yet — hold off. Raise once you have a 6-month retention pattern.",[10,200,201,204],{},[43,202,203],{},"2. You just raised them."," If you raised prices within the last 12 months, wait. Annual is the right cadence to me; biannual is fine; two raises in a year erodes trust.",[10,206,207,210],{},[43,208,209],{},"3. Your work has actually gotten worse."," The honest one. If you're rushing, exhausted, or in a slump, fix that first. Raising prices on declining work is the path to losing clients who otherwise would have stayed.",[33,212,214],{"id":213},"what-raising-prices-changes-besides-the-money","What raising prices changes besides the money",[10,216,217],{},"A subtle thing I think happens when you raise prices: your relationship with the work shifts. Charging $85 for a cut you used to charge $65 for tends to make you slightly more deliberate. You take a few extra minutes. The consultation gets more careful. Your work, marginally, may get better — not because you decided to be, but because the new price asks you to be.",[10,219,220],{},"I'm framing that as a hypothesis, not a finding. But it's a useful one to test on yourself.",[33,222,224],{"id":223},"references","References",[150,226,227],{},[81,228,229,230,233,234],{},"U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. ",[74,231,232],{},"Consumer Price Index News Release."," ",[25,235,237],{"href":27,"rel":236},[29],"bls.gov\u002Fnews.release\u002Fcpi.nr0.htm",[33,239,241],{"id":240},"related-reading","Related reading",[78,243,244],{},[81,245,246,250],{},[25,247,249],{"href":248},"\u002Fblog\u002Freading-your-bank-statement-like-a-stylist","Reading your bank statement like a stylist"," — the monthly system that tells you when a raise is due.",[10,252,253],{},"Next up: Vagaro for solo stylists — should you?",{"title":255,"searchDepth":256,"depth":256,"links":257},"",2,[258,259,260,261,262,263,264,265],{"id":35,"depth":256,"text":36},{"id":95,"depth":256,"text":96},{"id":134,"depth":256,"text":135},{"id":172,"depth":256,"text":173},{"id":188,"depth":256,"text":189},{"id":213,"depth":256,"text":214},{"id":223,"depth":256,"text":224},{"id":240,"depth":256,"text":241},"The two-question test for whether your prices may be off. Plus the script for raising them without losing the regulars who matter.","md",null,{},true,"\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-20-raise-rule","2026-05-22",6,{"title":5,"description":266},"blog\u002Fthe-20-raise-rule",[277,278],"pricing","money","YawwHc4Dh1rBnFWQEff69AK2qQlM-cdsmhFtbAhDFqk",1780931717931]