What Successful Stylists Do Before Back-to-School
While everyone else is soaking up the last rays of summer, the most successful beauty pros are already thinking ahead.
Back-to-school season isn’t just about pencils and planners. It’s the unofficial kickoff to fall’s busiest beauty stretch. From fresh cuts for first-day photos to full-service glam for fall weddings, this is when your chair gets booked and your income climbs.
But thriving in fall doesn’t happen by accident.
At Rise Salon Suites, we’ve seen firsthand how August preparation leads to autumn wins. Here’s what top stylists, estheticians, lash techs, and PMU artists are doing now to get ahead.
1. Audit Your Pricing and Services
If you haven’t touched your pricing in the last year, this is your moment.
Your experience has grown. Your costs have changed. And your demand is likely higher now than it was six months ago.
Top-performing stylists know that fall isn’t the time to guess what you’re charging or hope your clients “understand.” Instead, they get proactive:
Review your most booked (and most profitable) services
Adjust pricing to reflect your time, skill, and demand
Remove services that don’t serve you
Package seasonal services with retail add-ons or bonuses
Not sure where your prices should be? Apointy’s Salon Pricing Guide offers a helpful benchmark so you can confidently charge what you're worth.
2. Refresh Your Brand Presence
You wouldn’t walk into a new season with last year’s hair color—so why show up with last season’s marketing?
Now is the time to check in on your brand presence:
Update your Instagram highlights and bio
Add recent client photos to your grid or portfolio
Refresh your booking site with seasonal messaging
Update hours or policies based on your fall schedule
If you’ve been dreaming about new branding, colors, or even a logo, do it now before your schedule fills. The same goes for physical branding—think new signage, welcome cards, or suite décor to match the season.
Meevo offers great resources on seasonal brand refresh strategies that don’t require a full rebrand.
Pro tip: If you’re moving into a new suite this fall, it’s the perfect time to relaunch your brand in a big way.
3. Lock In a Suite That Reflects Your Goals
If you’re working in a commission salon—or renting a chair in a space that doesn’t feel like yours—it might be time to consider a move.
Fall is when things ramp up, which means your clients are watching. They want to walk into a space that feels elevated, consistent, and worthy of their loyalty.
When you lease your own suite at Rise Salon Suites, you get:
A space you can personalize
The freedom to run your own schedule
Control over your pricing and services
A peaceful, professional environment
And 100% of your earnings
But here’s the thing: suites go fast in August.
Every year, beauty pros realize (a little too late) that they waited too long to make the leap. Don’t let your dream suite become someone else’s fall launchpad.
4. Set Up Systems That Save Time
Fall means more bookings, more messages, and more moving parts.
That’s why the most efficient stylists use August to organize their systems:
Set up automated booking confirmations and reminders
Create digital forms or intake sheets
Pre-schedule promotional emails and social posts
Organize your inventory and retail display
Build out a loyalty or referral program to boost retention
Tools like Schedulicity make it easy to stay on top of everything—so you can focus on your clients, not the chaos.
Remember: your systems aren’t just for you. A smooth, professional experience makes clients trust you more - and rebook faster.
5. Define Your Fall Schedule Now
Once the season starts, it’s go-go-go. That’s why setting your boundaries now is key.
Do this before September 1st:
Block off time for holidays, personal events, or mental health days
Set realistic expectations for how many clients you can take
Build in breaks (yes, you deserve lunch!)
Automate your hours in your booking platform
When you lease your own suite, you’re in full control. No more asking a manager for time off or squeezing into someone else’s schedule.
You get to run your business with confidence—and your clients respect that.
Bottom Line: Fall Success Starts in August
You don’t have to overhaul everything. But if you take a few intentional steps now, you’ll feel the results all season long.
From upgrading your space to refining your prices to refreshing your brand—what you do this month sets the tone for the rest of the year.
Let’s make this your most profitable, aligned season yet.
Ready to prep for fall in your own private suite? Book your tour today →