Abby B. Barbering and hairstyling are probably the best beauty skills to have in today’s fast-changing beauty-focused world. There are so many things you can do to build a side income with barbering, whether it’s a passive or active side hustle!
If you’re a hairstylist or hairdresser, I’ve made a separate longer list of side hustles for hairstylists.
*This post may contain affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission (at no cost to you) if you sign up for a program or make a purchase using my link!
13 Best Side Hustles For Barbers
One of the most feasible way of earning a side income as a barber is via brand deals or sponsorships. You’ll need to build your social media e.g. TikTok or Instagram to at least 10,000 followers to start getting brands to recognize you.
My best tip is to build your social account around a single topic i.e. barbering, instead of mixing it with other personal content. Also try creating review contents of hair products right from the start so brands know what to expect!
Barbering is a highly visual niche so you’ll find no difficulty creating online content. Best platforms to start with are TikTok, YouTube shorts and Instagram Reels.
2. Start a YouTube channel for barbering and hairstyling
If you have extra funds to spare, I’d recommend getting yourself a professional camera to create video content. The second best way to earn with social media is by earning with YouTube.
Depending on how much work you can put into it, a YouTube channel takes time to grow. But it’s something you can do concurrently with making short videos for TikTok and Instagram. So why not?
Share videos of your customer’s new haircut (with their permission) or create educational hair wellness content. A new merging trend is “a day in my life” videos where people share their everyday journey for others get inspired.
Make it easier for yourself by having your tripods in a fixed position in your salon or studio to reduce decision fatigue.
Interesting YouTube channels in barbering niche:
| What do I need to start? | – A camera to record – Portable microphone for better sound – A video editing software |
Read: What I spent for my vlogging gear in first 6 months
It can be scary to put yourself on social media and get viral, especially if you’re an introvert. If you’re someone that prefers writing and being anonymous, you can do so with your own blog (like this one).
Make it an educational blog right from the start, instead of a personal one. It helps you get found by Google and reach a wider audience!
You can write blog articles on barbering, hairstyling and even hair wellness if you have relevant skills. Quite similar to YouTube, you’ll need to publish consistently for about a year to make any income with a blog.
Start with this beginner blogging course or check out my free step-by-step guide on how to set up a blog.
| What do I need to start? | – A WordPress Website – Domain name & hosting – Passion to write for a specific niche |
Read: Why I invested in a blogging coach before doing anything else
4. Promote affiliate products or services for hair segment
Are you already a social media influencer on your own? You can monetize your current audience by promoting affiliate products or services.
As a barber, a lot of men may look up to you in getting the best hair products out there! So start by finding affiliate programs for hair products and start promoting them.
Some affiliate marketplaces to check out are Amazon Associates, CJ affiliate, Clickbank, Share-a-sale and Rakuten Advertising. Once a customer makes a purchase via your link, you’ll earn a commission!
Compared to sponsorships, promoting affiliates is a way to earn passively via social media.
| What do I need to start? | – Affiliate products or services you can promote – Social media account with growing followers |
5. Become a freelance writer for content websites
Not everyone wants to go through the hardship of creating a blog and waiting a year to get their first paycheck. It takes extreme patience!
If you’re into writing but want to make an income fast, offer freelance writing services instead! You’ll need to build a portfolio to showcase your writing skills and apply for freelance jobs on sites like Upwork.
Specializing in a niche like hairstyling can help you increase your rates as freelance writers usually earn up to $100 per article (sometimes more).
This beginner freelance writing course is the one I took myself to start my writing career. It has everything you need to start tomorrow and pitch to clients for topics they can’t resist!
| What do I need to start? | – Writing skills – Good command of English or the language you intend to write for – Promote your freelance writing service |
Check out: How to start freelance writing and make money (the ultimate resource)
6. Source and sell hair extensions or wigs online
There are a lot of benefits to owning an ecommerce store, which includes being able to make sales even as you’re asleep. That’s right, you no longer need to earn per haircut when you’re wide awake!
If you’re looking to sell something within your niche and make use of your experience as a barber, try selling hair extensions and wigs. You can do so on marketplaces like Amazon and Etsy, or create your own site with Shopify.
The only challenge is unless you’re becoming a dropshipper, you’ll need to source these products yourself, store them and ship the orders to customers on your own. For this to happen, you’ll also need to put some funds upfront!
I recommend using Shopify to host your store as it’s the easiest to use for beginners. To bring in traffic to your site, set up Facebook ads and Google ads yourself or get someone to do it from Fiverr. You can also market your products to your social media followers for organic traffic.
| What do I need to start? | – Bulk purchase of products to sell – Storage area for keeping stock – Handling of daily operations to dispatch out orders – Online ecommerce store – Social media for organic traffic or use paid ads |
7. Create your own hair wellness supply range
Don’t want to be sourcing others’ products or become a dropshipper? You can be creating your own branded product line.
Most customers usually don’t know what’s the best hair products to get for their hair type – so it’s something you can offer as a barber. For every haircut you give, you can upsell a hair product e.g. hair wax or gel, for the customer to use at home or for a quick fix.
Although the easiest way to get started is to source your favorite hair products for cheap and resell them for profit, others may look to build their own brand from scratch. This will take extra time to set up but it can be worth it in the long run.
You can then set up an online ecommerce store just for hair supplies!
| What do I need to start? | – Right connections for cheap product sourcing – Platform to sell products on |
8. Offer pet grooming services for cats and dogs
Want to use your barbering skills for another market segment? You can offer pet grooming for both cats and dogs!
I find it a little difficult to groom a pet on your own e.g. bathing, hair-trimming, nail-cutting, so it’s good to get a part-timer to help you out. Some pets are tough to handle!
Good thing is, pet grooming pays even more than barbering. Aside from pet grooming, you can offer pet-sitting services on the weekends or on your off-days.
Pet sitters typically make $15-20 per visit and usually take more than 10 visits in one day. That’s easily $400-600 in a single weekend!
Other services you can include with pet sitting:
- Walking
- Home boarding
- Sleepovers and night care
- Training
- Bring to vet
- Basic grooming & care
- Travel trips
| What do I need to start? | – Good skills with pets e.g. dogs, cats – Tools for the service you want to offer – Socializing to get clients |
9. Become a part-time barista at a café in your area
As a barber, you probably have soft skills others might not have – which is essential for any retail job. While it may be tempting to get another retail job on top of your current barbering gig, it’s not the wisest thing to do.
However, taking on a part-time retail role can be a quick fix for you to make an extra income today. So instead, I would suggest taking up coffee-making skills and learn coffee art to become a barista.
It’s a skill that you’ll use for life and can help you build clientele for the long run. For any new customer you serve at the café, you can direct them to your barbering services!
Depending on the hecticness of the café, a barista is a fairly easy-going job and rarely requires professional education. You’ll love it even more if you’re a coffee drinker yourself.
| What do I need to start? | – Professional barista training – Food safety knowledge |
10. Conduct workshops to teach others a skill or create paid online courses
Barbering is a skill you can teach others to make an income with. You can choose between hosting a series of physical workshops or selling pre-recorded courses online.
Regardless which you intend to make money with, you’ll need good social media presence to attract students! Physical workshops relies greatly on your local area while online ones can reach a bigger audience i.e. worldwide.
People are always more willing to purchase a course if it helps them make an extra income themselves. The common price points for a single payment short online course are $30, $47 and $67.
Some sites you can host online courses on:
| What do I need to start? | – A niched course idea – Well thought out module – Tools to record your lessons e.g. screen record, microphone |
Creating courses is too much work for you? Here’s a list of digital products you can make to sell on easy platforms like Etsy. I’ve made a quick guide on how to make these products too!
11. Teach barbering for professional training institutions
Into teaching barbering skills but unsure where to start? Perhaps, the easiest way to grow your confidence in teaching others on your own is to teach for others first.
You can become a part-time teacher for hairstyling schools where individuals get their barber’s license. This way, you’ll familiarize yourself with necessary modules for barbering and minimize the risk of failure at setting up your own courses.
It’s an amazing option if you love working with others and learn from them. You can then replicate the training modules later on!
| What do I need to start? | – Patience to teach and assess others’ progress – Well thought out module – A hairstyling institution in your area to join |
12. Complete online surveys for cash
If you’re looking for something to fill up your spare time and can easily fit into your daily routine, completing short online surveys is an option. It’s doable with just a mobile phone and does not require you to use a computer.
It’s the easiest way to get started with making money online but it’s not passive and won’t make you a huge income. Some survey platforms may not even have enough surveys for you to earn on a daily basis.
Users are able to withdraw their earnings after meeting certain income threshold and completing a number of surveys. How much you can make per survey varies depending on the complexity and time it takes to complete it!
| What do I need to start? | – Your mobile phone – Signing up to online survey platforms |
Want to make $300 this month?
Easy! Just fill up surveys in your free time on Survey Junkie!
Save up for that dream vacation. You deserve it.
13. Start a print on demand side hustle from home
Think it’s too much work to source your own products, build a brand and handle the operations? Want something that you can do on the side and earn passively from? Print on demand is one I recommend.
Print on demand works pretty much similar to dropshipping as you’ll only need to pay for the cost of a product once you make a sale.
However, compared to dropshipping, you’re not selling a ready product that’s available in the market and sold by everyone else. You will be selling merchandises that are printed with your own custom designs!
To get started, you’ll need to create an account with POD fulfillments like Printify or Printful, create designs on Canva then upload them on merchandise such as t-shirts, phone cases, tote bags etc.
Alternatively, you can also purchase ready designs on creative marketplaces like Envato Elements or Creative Fabrica.
You can then choose to integrate your seller account to Etsy or Shopify for sales. Once you’ve made a sale, your chosen fulfillment will handle the printing and shipping of orders to your customers.
You’ll just earn the difference between the product cost and selling price you’ve set!
| What do I need to start? | – Basic designing skills – A laptop to work with – An initial niche and product |
Can’t decide what product to design and sell? Check out my product guides before deciding!
- Tote bags for print on demand
- Tumblers for print on demand
- Phone cases for print on demand
- Posters for print on demand
- Leggings for print on demand
- Jewelry for print on demand
- Candles for print on demand
- Doormats for print on demand
- Hoodies for print on demand
- Pet products for print on demand
- Socks for print on demand
- Pajamas for print on demand
- Blankets for print on demand
- Baby clothes for print on demand
- Wrapping paper for print on demand
- Puzzles for print on demand
- Stickers for print on demand
- Athletic wear for print on demand
- Hats for print on demand
- Journals for print on demand
- Greeting cards for print on demand
- Mugs for print on demand
11 Ways To Make Money With A Barber’s License
These are 11 ways to make money with a barber’s license:
- Work as a part-time barber
- Open your own barber salon
- Become a working partner for a barber salon
- Build a YouTube channel teaching others how to become a barber
- Write articles on barbering topics for your own blog
- Teach barbering courses for professional training institutions
- Create your own hair products to sell
- Offer pet grooming services for furry pets
- Start a mobile barbering business
- Sell hair extensions and wigs online with ecommerce
- Provide hairstyling services for male models and events
How To Start Barbering As A Side Hustle
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how you can start barbering as a side hustle:
- Take up professional training course to get a barber’s license
- Get a part-time barbering role at a local barber or salon
- Decide what kind of haircut you want to specialize in
- Agree to a smaller cut or pay to build your first experience and portfolio
- Capture before and after photos or videos of haircuts you’ve given
- Share photos and videos online using social media e.g. Instagram, TikTok and Facebook
- Direct your online audience to the barber shop you’re working at
- Negotiate to increase your price or commission as demand increases
- Start offering mobile barbering or door-to-door services depending on your schedule
- Post daily on your social media to look active and up-to-date
- Ask customers to submit reviews on Google Maps
- Repeat!
Which Side Hustle Should I Choose?
Unsure which side hustle for barbers you should go for? Here are the top 6 things to consider when deciding which side hustle is best for you.
- How much time can you commit to it?
- Consider how much time you can set aside for your side hustle for weekdays and weekends
- What type of income are you looking for?
- Do you want to make income actively or passively while you sleep?
- What sparks interest & passion in you?
- Choose a side hustle that aligns to your personal goals and interests as it keeps you motivated
- Are you an extrovert or an introvert?
- Different side hustles requires different level of communication with the outside world, are you comfortable meeting new people every day?
- What is your current partner or friend up to that you can leverage on?
- Doing something with a friend or partner makes things easier and more manageable
- How soon do you need to make extra money?
- Not all side hustles make the same amount of money in the same pace, do you need money today or in a year’s time?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
You can become a part-time barber as a side hustle on the weekends and your off-days. It is best to get a barber’s license first to make it a professional side hustle and to allow more opportunities. Part-time barbers are typically paid based on number of haircuts made.
Barbering is both a career and a side hustle for some. Not everyone is able to live off the income of becoming a full-time barber, unless it is supplemented by other streams of revenue. This can include having a YouTube channel, offering event hairstyling services or selling hair supplies.
Bottom Line
There are so many side hustles you can explore for barbers within the hairstyling niche (or even outside of it). Start by writing down your passions and interests, then find a proven way to make money from them.
The best way to get started with side hustles is to just TRY. Choose at least one or two things I’ve shared above and give yourself at least 3-6 months to try it out.
I will always recommend building passive income streams to no longer trade time for money.
Here are 13 best side hustles for barbers:
- Grow your social media to attract brand sponsorships
- Start a YouTube channel for barbering and hairstyling
- Share your barbering knowledge with your own blog
- Promote affiliate products or services for hair segment
- Become a freelance writer for content websites
- Source and sell hair extensions and wigs online
- Create your own hair wellness supply range
- Offer pet grooming services for cats and dogs
- Become a part-time barista at a café in your area
- Conduct workshops to teach others a skill or create paid online courses
- Teach barbering for professional training institutions
- Complete online surveys for cash
- Start a print on demand side hustle from home
I’m not one to brag, but blogging has changed my life. I’ve been able to earn an income passively while on a coffee date and traveling with my family. With everything, it takes time to learn and not an overnight success – to speed things up, get yourself a blogging coach before starting.
These are my blogging resources to help you out:
- Step-by-step guide how to start blogging in your free time
- Why you need a blogging coach right from the start
- Worried of exposing yourself? You can blog anonymously
Photo by Mehmet Turgut Kirkgoz
