Everyday Business Case Studies
The Barber Shop: Selling Time
How a barber's income is limited by time, why busy hours matter, and how pricing and extra services can raise earnings.
A barber sells time. Each haircut takes a certain number of minutes, and there are only so many hours in a day.
Capacity
If a haircut takes 20 minutes, one barber can do at most 3 per hour. Income is capped by capacity, no matter how many customers want service.
Peak and off-peak
- Weekends and festivals bring queues.
- Weekday mornings may be quiet.
During peaks, customers wait or leave. During quiet times, chairs sit empty.
Raising income
- Adding chairs and hiring barbers increases capacity.
- Higher prices during peak times or for premium services.
- Appointments to spread demand.
- Extra services: shaves, head massages, facials and hair colouring raise revenue per customer.
- Selling products like hair oils.
Costs
- Rent for the shop.
- Electricity, water.
- Supplies.
- Wages for staff.
Competition
Barbers range from roadside chairs to salon chains. Location, service quality and price determine where customers go.
Key lesson
When your product is time, income depends on capacity, utilisation and revenue per customer.
A barber has customers waiting every Sunday but is often idle on Tuesday mornings. He offers a small discount on weekday mornings, shifting some customers and increasing his total haircuts per week.
Time is the constraint; raising prices, adding services or adding chairs increases income.
- A barber's income is capped by time and capacity.
- Demand peaks on weekends and festivals.
- Off-peak discounts, extra services and more chairs raise income.
- Revenue per customer and utilisation matter.
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