Will my clients follow me if I change salons?

Under every question I get about going independent, this one is hiding. Will they come with me? If the answer is no, none of the other math matters.

So let’s look at the actual numbers, from both sides of the front desk and from a stylist who did it. Then I’ll walk you through the method I teach my own students.

Who this is for, and who should wait

This is for a stylist with a full book who’s thinking about leaving a commission or booth-rent salon. If you’re straight out of school, here’s how I put it: “When you’re first leaving school, you probably don’t need to go independent. You need to go to commission.”

And if a quiet room sounds better to you than a busy floor, I’ll be straight with you there, too: “If you like a lot of alone time and don’t want the community of a salon, maybe a suite is right for you.” Either way, read whatever you signed before you read the rest of this.

How many clients actually follow a stylist?

The honest answer is a range, so I’ll give you three numbers from three different angles. The one everyone quotes comes from a Phorest consumer survey reported by Salon Today, where 84% of Americans said they’d be likely to follow their favorite stylist to a new location. Your regulars book you, and the building is just where you happen to be standing.

Now for the other side of the desk...

Salon coach Nick Mirabella, writing to warn salon owners, reports 30 to 50 percent of a departing stylist’s clients following them out the door within 60 days. Read that from your side of the chair. The people whose business depends on clients staying put already budget for losing up to half of yours, before you lift a finger.

And then there’s one stylist’s real result. Adrienne, who I interviewed for the Success Story lesson in my Beauty Empire Blueprint course, kept 80 to 85 percent of her book when she went independent. Her tip is to collect client contact details quietly before you announce anything, and it’s step one of the client plan in my course, too.

If I had to say it all in one line, it’s this: “Will your clients follow you? Short answer, yeah, if you do it right. You have to make it easy for clients to follow you.”

Here are all four numbers side by side...

• 84% of Americans say they’d likely follow their favorite stylist, per a Phorest survey reported by Salon Today.
• 30 to 50 percent of a departing stylist’s clients actually move within 60 days, per salon coach Nick Mirabella.
• Adrienne kept 80 to 85 percent of her book, per Bex’s course.
• 48% of American hairdressers and cosmetologists already work for themselves, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

When and how do I tell my clients I’m leaving?

Tell them once your new spot and start date are real, and only then. Clients follow certainty, so “I’m moving somewhere, sometime” makes people nervous, while “I’m at my new place on Georgetown’s square starting the 15th, want me to book you now?” makes people say yes.

From there, your last four to six weeks of appointments become your announcement plan. In Module 2 of my course, I teach students to go through clients in the order of their upcoming appointments, reach out to each one personally, and then contact everyone from the past year, even the ones who haven’t been in for a while.

The clients in your chair get to hear it from you face to face while their color processes. Here’s the script, and it’s short...

“I’ve got news. I’m going independent, and I’d love to keep doing your hair. You’ve got a standing appointment with me if you want it. Can I get you on my books at the new place before you leave today?”

Notice the last line.

The most effective step in this whole playbook is rebooking them on the spot, because a client who walks out with an appointment at your new place has already followed you. One more thing I tell every student: keep your prices and your schedule the same to start, so the one thing that changes for a client is the address.

How do I make it easy for clients to find me?

Your job is to be where they’ll look. Adrienne told me the biggest thing in her move was making sure clients could get ahold of her. So for everyone you can’t tell in person, your personal Instagram bio, your booking link and your Google presence should all say the same thing the day you announce: where you are now, and how to book.

My students who lose clients are almost always the ones nobody could find.

One caution, since agreements differ: check anything you signed before you mass-message a client list you exported. Your own public profiles, where clients come looking for you, are yours.

How do I leave without burning bridges?

The graceful exit is real notice, warm words about the salon you’re leaving, and zero drama on the way out. This industry is small and owners talk to each other, so the stylist who leaves gracefully keeps every door in town open. The resignation letter template in Module 1 of my course gives two weeks’ notice and thanks the salon for your time there, and that’s the tone to keep.

Most owners have watched the 48% of the profession that’s self-employed walk this road before you. And the line I hear most from stylists who finally make the move is, “I don’t know why I didn’t do this a long time ago.”

The good owners will shake your hand.

What if only half my book follows me?

Even done perfectly, some clients won’t make the trip, and your plan should survive that. Run your numbers at 50, 70 and 100 percent of your current book, using the break-even math I walked through in how many clients you need to go independent, and if the 50 percent case still works, you’re free.

Some of them just take a little longer. What I’ve found is that a client who doesn’t follow you right away sometimes goes to your old salon once, sees somebody else, realizes they can’t do it the way you do, and follows you for the next appointment. I kept seeing new clients over my first six months, so don’t worry if people are slow to follow in the beginning.

Adrienne’s take: losing a few opens the door to the clientele you actually want.

So weigh where you land by how fast it refills a gap. This became one of my rules when I built bex+Co.: a beauty pro going independent shouldn’t also have to become a one-person marketing department overnight.

bex+Co. is a Shared Workspace Salon™, and a membership on our floor comes with a profile on a site clients actually search, locations that market to bring new guests into the building, and a floor of pros who send each other overflow. That’s how your book refills. Here’s how the whole model works, and whatever you tour, ask who brings new guests in.

★★★★★

At bex+Co.^® I have complete freedom over my schedule. It lets me actually enjoy my life outside of work, something I never had before. I've met some of my best friends here. It gave me confidence, support, and a community I didn't expect to find.