How Much Inventory is Enough (and how to avoid over-buying)
Most stylists overthink this. They either buy nothing and lose bookings, or they buy one of everything and tie up thousands of dollars in colors they’ll use twice a year.
Neither is a strategy. Here’s one.
Start with your last 20 installs.
Pull them up. Write down the color and length you used for each. You will almost always find that 3 to 4 colors account for the majority of your work, and one or two lengths do the same. That’s not a coincidence, it’s your clientele. Your closet should look like your client book.
Stock enough for two full installs of your top colors.
Two is the number because it covers the two situations that actually cost you money: the client who books last-minute and can’t wait on shipping, and the consultation that converts on the spot because you held the hair up to her face and she said yes.
If you’re primarily doing single-row volume installs, you need less per color and can carry more colors. If you’re doing mainly two row installs, carry fewer colors and stock up on those colors.
Add one blending piece.
Keep a pack of a lighter and a darker shade on hand for custom blending. This is what turns “I don’t have her color” into “I can build it.” It’s the highest-utility pack in your closet.
What not to stock.
Anything you’ve used once in the last year. Anything you ordered because it looked beautiful in the guide rather than because a client asked for it. Extreme lengths you’ve done twice. Those are order-when-booked colors, and there’s nothing wrong with that, the deposit covers the wait.
The math on why this works.
Hair sitting in your closet isn’t an expense, it’s inventory — and inventory that turns is the most profitable thing in your business. At a 100% markup, a pack you’re holding returns its full cost the moment it goes in someone’s head, plus your installation fee on top.
Review it quarterly.
Your clientele shifts. What you stocked in June isn’t necessarily what you need in October. Fall pulls people darker and more dimensional. Every three months, do the last-20-installs exercise again and adjust. It takes ten minutes and it keeps you from carrying dead stock.