Barbershop business plan with chair math and memberships
In a barbershop, the numbers come down to chairs, cuts per barber per day and how many clients come back every two to four weeks. This prompt has your todo.is agent check shops in your neighborhood, set prices and a membership offer, and forecast income from chairs, rentals and products.
The prompt
- Write a business plan for my barbershop, [SHOP NAME AND VIBE], in [NEIGHBORHOOD AND CITY]. It is for [WHO WILL READ IT]. Setup: [NUMBER OF CHAIRS, BARBERS, HOURS AND BUDGET]. Look up barbershops near me with links: prices for cuts, fades, beard trims and shaves, walk-in or booking, hours and what reviews say. Write: summary, shop concept and atmosphere, service list with prices and times, walk-ins vs appointments, a monthly membership idea, barbers and pay ([PAY SETUP]), target clients, competitors, products and retail, marketing, licenses to check, risks, and financials. Build an Excel forecast with cuts per barber per day by weekday, average ticket, membership income, chair rent if any, product sales, rent, utilities and profit by month for year 1. Mark assumptions. Send a Word plan and the Excel file.
What to change
- [SHOP NAME AND VIBE]: Name and feel of the shop, e.g. "Sharp Corner, a classic shop with a modern edge".
- [NEIGHBORHOOD AND CITY]: Where you will open, e.g. "Bushwick, Brooklyn".
- [WHO WILL READ IT]: E.g. "a bank", "my cousin who wants to invest" or "just me".
- [NUMBER OF CHAIRS, BARBERS, HOURS AND BUDGET]: E.g. "4 chairs, me and 2 barbers, open Tuesday to Sunday 9 to 8, $45,000 to start".
- [PAY SETUP]: E.g. "chair rental at $250 a week", "commission 60/40" or "a mix".
Example result
- Summary
- Sharp Corner is a 4-chair barbershop in Bushwick, Brooklyn, open Tuesday to Sunday. Owner-barber with 8 years of experience, two barbers on commission and one chair rented. A clean, music-forward shop with online booking and two walk-in hours every afternoon.
- Services (illustrative)
- • Classic cut: $40, 30 minutes
- • Skin fade: $45, 40 minutes
- • Cut and beard trim: $60, 50 minutes
- • Hot towel straight-razor shave: $45, 35 minutes
- • Kids cut (under 12): $30
- • Line-up only: $20, 15 minutes
- Walk-ins vs appointments
- • Online booking for most of the day so barbers can plan breaks
- • Walk-in hours 3 to 5 p.m. on weekdays for students and new clients
- • No-show rule: card on file for Saturday bookings
- Membership (assumption)
- • Sharp Club: $75 a month for 2 cuts, priority Saturday booking, 10% off products
- • Goal: 70 members by month 9, steady income in slow weeks
- Barbers and pay
- • Owner works 5 days behind the chair
- • 2 barbers on 60/40 commission (barber/shop), shop supplies everything
- • 1 rented chair at $250 a week
- Cuts per barber (assumptions)
- • Tuesday to Thursday: 9 cuts
- • Friday and Saturday: 14 cuts
- • Sunday: 8 cuts
- • Average ticket with add-ons and tips not counted: $44
- Marketing
- • Fresh cut photos with client consent, weekly
- • Local partnerships: gyms, a sneaker shop, a high school sports team
- • Review request by text after each first visit
- Financial summary (illustrative assumptions)
- • Startup costs: $45,000 (chairs, mirrors, sinks, clippers and tools, sign, deposit)
- • Year 1 sales: $236,000 including membership and rent income
- • Shop share after commission: 40% of commission-chair sales
- • Break-even: month 6
- Licenses to check
- • Barbershop establishment license, a barber license for each barber, health rules on sanitizing tools
How to do it with todo.is
- Copy the prompt and fill in your shop name, neighborhood, chairs and pay setup.
- Send it to your agent from the todo.is app or on WhatsApp, Telegram or Discord.
- Your agent checks local shops, writes the plan and builds a month-by-month Excel forecast.
- Ask "what if I add a fifth chair?" or "drop the membership price to $65" to test changes.
Tips for a better result
- Count cuts per day by weekday. Fridays and Saturdays carry most barbershops, and the forecast should show it.
- A membership works when it covers two visits a month at a small discount. It fills slow weekdays and keeps clients loyal.
- Decide chair rental vs commission per barber. New barbers often do better on commission; barbers with a full book may prefer to rent.
- Have your agent draft a short text message for review requests, then set it as a weekly reminder to send to new clients.
barbershop business plan: FAQ
- How many cuts can a barber do in a day? Many barbers do 8 to 15 cuts on a full day, depending on the style and how long fades and beard work take. Use your own average to plan.
- How much does it cost to open a barbershop? The main costs are rent and deposit, chairs, mirrors, sinks, plumbing, tools and signage. Your agent builds the list from your quotes.
- Should my barbershop take walk-ins? Walk-ins bring new clients but make the day hard to plan. Many shops use booking for most hours and keep set walk-in times.
- Can my agent manage my booking calendar? It can add events to your Google Calendar and send you reminders, but it does not replace a dedicated booking app for clients.
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