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How can barbers and stylists (or any of us) move up, and to the right, of the Ladders of Wealth Creation (LWC)? Remember the image below? It’s from Part 1 of the Ladders of Wealth Creation (view here).
As you can see, the ideal strategy is to move from left to right. To go from trading time for money, to selling services, to selling productized services, and finally to selling things/products.
We all start out on Ladder 1. However, moving from Ladder 1 to Ladder 4 requires that we step outside of our traditional ways of making money and start focusing on “replicating” and scaling our talents and/or products.
Here are some possible ways of moving to different Ladders, specifically tailored toward barbers and stylists. Let’s take a look a few ideas.
Ladder 1 - Time for Money: Most barbers and stylists are independent so this Ladder does not apply. However, most people live on Ladder 2 as they typically work for someone else.
Ladder 2 - Your Own Service Business: This is where most barbers and stylists already reside. You’re trading YOUR time for money within your own services business. If you want to make more money, you have to “do more heads.”
As an individual, there is a maximum that you can achieve so on this ladder, your earning potential is limited.
Ladder 3 - Productized Services: The best way to move to Ladder 3 is to have your own salon or barbershop. You will need to have other barbers and stylists in this shop. You primarily make money by renting chairs/rooms for other stylists to use. Salon Lofts is a business that exists on the top rung of this Ladder. It rents space to services businesses.
Ladder 4 - Selling Products: This is where we all want to be if we want to reach the upper echelon of wealth. Selling things, whether it’s software, physical products, or even digital ads (like Facebook), is the way towards financial freedom. It’s the hardest ladder to climb as evidenced by how so few of us ever reach it - especially the upper rungs.
Selling your own hair care and beauty products is a great way to get started on this ladder. Richelieu Dennis, the founder of Shea Moisture, and his mother, walked away with an estimated $850 million dollars after selling their company to Unilever. Damn!
There’s no question that there is massive wealth to be unlocked in the Black beauty space. Venture capitalists are paying attention too. Mayvenn, a black beauty marketplace recently raised $40 million dollars in a B round of financing to continue to grow its offering.
What’s your plan to grow your wealth and move along the Ladders of Wealth Creation? Leave your comments below!
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