Nicole Holdaway / Salon Coach

Busy all week and still not making enough?

That's a pricing problem, not a booking problem. DM me SOLO and let's fix it.

For years I thought I was good at consultations.

Turns out I was good at taking orders.

Somewhere along the way, we were taught that a consultation is asking "What are we doing today?" and then trying to make it happen.

But that's not what professionals do.

A doctor doesn't ask you to choose your own treatment. ( well a good doctor 🤣)

They ask questions.

They investigate.

They make a diagnosis.

That's exactly how I approach every client who sits in my chair.

It starts before they even book.

If you're a solo hairdresser, you'll understand this. Your clients don't always have time to pop in for a consultation, and neither do you. So instead of refusing to consult over text, I use it as the first stage of my diagnosis.

Not to formulate colour.

Not to promise an exact result.

Simply to gather enough information to know whether I can confidently book the appointment, how much time I'll need, what investment range to expect, and whether I need to investigate further.

Then, when they arrive, the diagnosis continues.

Throughout the appointment I'm educating, observing, refining and recommending. By the time I suggest a product or talk about their next appointment, it doesn't feel like selling.

It feels like the next logical step in their treatment plan.

Looking back, I don't think the biggest thing that changed my business was my colour work.

It was changing the way I thought.

I stopped taking orders.

I started making diagnoses.

Do you think we're teaching consultations the wrong way?

Please note: Fear is expensive.

Not because it stops you from starting…

Because it quietly shapes every decision you make once you do.

The clients you say yes to.
The hours you work.
The prices you apologise for.

Most new solo stylists think they need better marketing.

They just need the confidence to stop letting fear make business decisions for them.

That’s exactly what Go Solo is built for.

Link in bio to book your clarity call.

I used to walk into work dreading my own column.

Not because I didn’t love doing hair.

Because I knew exactly what my day looked like.

Back-to-back clients.

No room to breathe.

Running late.

Skipping lunch.

On paper, my business looked successful.

But behind the chair?

I was exhausted.

And slowly…

I started to lose my passion for the art.

For a long time, I thought the answer was to work harder.

Take more clients.

Stay later.

But the problem wasn’t me.

The problem was the business model I’d built.

So I rebuilt it.

Not around being busier…

Around creating a business that actually suited me.

Now my days look completely different.

Some days I spend hours with one client, creating beautiful hair without ever feeling rushed.

Some days I fit in smaller appointments around the ones I love most.

Every appointment has a purpose.

Every day has space.

The biggest shift wasn’t my pricing.

It was giving myself permission to stop chasing someone else’s version of success.

Now I wake up excited to go to work.

I get to create hair I’m proud of.

I get paid properly for my time.

And I leave with enough energy to enjoy the life I built it all for.

❤️

The industry evolved the colour. Nobody evolved the money.

Hairdressers have mastered lived-in blondes, expensive brunettes and low-maintenance colour.

But most are still charging with a pricing model built for six-week regrowths and traditional foils.

That’s the problem.

The industry changed.

Your pricing didn’t.

I remember when seeing 6–10 clients a day was just “part of the job.”

No breaks.

Always running behind.

And if I made around $800, I thought I’d had a great day.

Now?

Clients aren’t coming back every six weeks.

They’re investing in bigger appointments, coming less often and expecting a premium experience.

Yet so many stylists are still trying to make yesterday’s pricing fit today’s business.

Last week I worked with just three clients over a 10-hour day and generated $1,500.

That wasn’t luck.

It wasn’t a viral Instagram post.

And it definitely wasn’t about squeezing more people into my day.

It came from rebuilding my pricing around the way clients actually buy hair services in 2026.

That’s what I teach now.

Not how to become “fully booked.”

How to build a business that makes sense in the industry we’re actually working in.

Because if your prices only work when you’re flat out…

They’re probably not working at all.

Comment 🖤 if you’ve noticed this shift too. I’d love to know if you’re seeing the same thing in your chair.

Make me blonde baby 🤍

“Oh honey, I got you 😉”

After spending the last few years travelling, I’ve had to rebuild my clientele for the first time in a very long time.

And honestly? It’s been a great reminder.

Every new client that sits in your chair is an opportunity.

Not just to create beautiful hair, but to create an experience worth talking about.

Because clients become walking, talking advertisements.

No marketing strategy will ever outperform a client who leaves feeling amazing and tells everyone about it 😉

This is exactly what I teach my coaching clients.

Your growth doesn’t come from chasing more followers.

It comes from creating an experience people can’t stop talking about 🤍

Fully booked. Bone tired. And Friday still doesn't add up.

If you know that feeling ➡️ swipe.

This one's for you.

DM me CLARITY when you're done.

Do you hear BOX DYE and freak the FK OUT?

Hairdressers will spend thousands on colour education and then completely wing the consultation.

It’s wild when you think about it.

A client sits down and tells you she’s been using box dye for years and suddenly everyone starts focusing on the box dye.

I’m not.

I’m focused on the conversation.

Because before I care about what’s on the hair, I want to understand the person sitting in my chair.

What has she done?
What is she hoping for?
What has she been told won’t work?
What is she actually willing to commit to?

I’ve had clients sit down convinced they’ve destroyed their hair forever.

Most haven’t.

They just need someone willing to slow down long enough to understand the full picture before creating a plan.

That’s why I’ve never relied on confidence alone.

I rely on process.

The colour is usually the easy part.

The hard part is gathering enough information to make the right decision before you mix the first bowl.

Confidence comes and goes.

A good consultation doesn’t.