I own a small (4 chair) hair salon and we have found a way to differentiate ourselves in a VERY crowded market place. (You might be surprised at how many salons there are in any given city.)

We worked really hard at becoming good (great, even) at our work. There is no one in our market that is better skilled or better educated than my staff. But we don’t have the same marketing budget a larger company might have. So we decided to market what was different about us.

We’re the salon where you can “wear your pajamas and cuss.”

All our marketing is designed to get people to our website where we can give them a peek into the salon and decide for themselves if it feels like their “kind of place.”

It has worked wonders for us.

Also, a few years ago I stopped apologizing for wanting to make a living. I don’t see myself as “the help.” I see my clients as my peers. It is entirely reasonable that I have a standard of living in a range similar to my clients.

You can read our manifesto here: http://azarra.com/howtochoose.htm