The Hair Biz Sizzles in Sluggish Economy

One of the fun things about doing guest television appearances for the networks is getting your hair and make-up done by professionals. Most of the stylists aren’t employees, but rather they are self-employed so in addition to picking up tricks of the trade from them, I also like to ask: "How's business?" Does the beauty business hold its own in a sluggish economy? Most say, "So far so good." The reason they believe that it’s doing okay is because typically their customers aren't living paycheck to paycheck so they aren't likely to skimp on personal care services.

To further my research from the network make-up chair, I asked my friend Pete, who owns several salons and has been in the industry for more than 35 years. He concurred with my findings. However, he noted that some customers may stretch the time in between salon visits a little longer when times are tight. For example, if you regularly book salon appointments every four weeks, you might decide to go every five weeks instead.

My informal research reflects the national data on the salon-industry's vitality. There are some 75,000 beauty salons in the expanding beauty business – a $16 billion industry. When you add an additional 5,000 men's hair salons and barber shops to the picture; hair care and personal services equals a lot of small business jobs!

A U.S. Department of Labor projection shows that between 2002 and 2012, the salon industry is expected to add 111,090 jobs. By 2012, the industry will include 865,000 workers, a 14.7 percent increase over 10 years. In addition to these numbers, many cosmetologists and stylists choose to be independent contractors renting space from salon owners and managing their own business needs.

So at the end of the day, it seems the salon business weathers an economic downturn fairly well. Personally, I think I'd give up a lot of things before I'd let anyone see the gray hairs sneaking through. How about you?