Free Barbershop Business Plan Template (Word + PDF) and Sample Plan (2026)

By The Zarla Team · Updated October 2026

Download the free barbershop business plan template as Word or PDF, read a complete sample plan for Trinity Street Barber Co., and get the numbers first: typical startup costs of $36,887–$118,048, what owners really earn, the licenses you'll need in the US and how to write every section — or make the plan yours in five questions.

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Barbershop business plan at a glance

Starting a barbershop in the US typically costs $36,887–$118,048. Typical monthly costs run $2,379–$4,797 before owner pay and tax. The average US men's haircut in BarbersTake's February 2026 sample of shop menus: $41.

Licenses and permits in the US (6 in all): state barber license; shop (establishment) license; and booth-rental and contractor rules — the rules vary by state.
The plan: eleven sections, from the executive summary to what a lender, a landlord or an investor will ask for, written from five questions — free, no sign-up to write it.
The sample plan on this page: Trinity Street Barber Co., Fort Worth, TX — a fictional barbershop, fades, beard work and hot-towel shaves from three chairs — the owner behind the first and two rented to licensed barbers.
The first 30 days: 9 steps, starting with “Read your state board's rules for the shop license, any inspection before opening, and what it asks of booth renters”.
Downloads: the fill-in template as Word and PDF, and the sample plan as PDF — free, no email address.

Facts checked October 12, 2026. Every figure is a published US range, not a quote; the sources are listed on this page, which covers how to write a barbershop business plan, the complete sample plan and the free template.

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The numbers first

$36,887–$118,048to start a barbershopTypical US range, required lines

$41the average US men's haircut in BarbersTake's February 2026 sample of shop menus

$200–$400a week to rent a barber's chair in most US markets, in Vagaro's 2026 guide

45–55%of service sales — a commission barber's typical share, in Zenoti's 2026 guide

Startup costs

What it costs to start a barbershop

Typical US ranges, whole dollars. Optional lines are marked and left out of the total. The struck-through lines are what a Zarla plan covers, with the reason beside each; the generator turns this table into your own list.

Barbershop startup costs
Item	Low	High
Build-out of a former salon or barbershop: plumbing, electrical, floors, lightsA planning range — no source we could open prices an independent shop's build-out. A second-generation space, a former salon or barbershop with the plumbing in, is the low end; the top is the lowest leasehold-improvement estimate in V's Barbershop's 2026 franchise disclosure, $60,000 — an estimate that, in its words, “also includes an allowance of $25 per square foot paid by the Landlord”. Franchisors budget more to build to their own specification: $70,000 to $200,000 for a Great Clips salon, from a “vanilla shell” with the HVAC, electrical and plumbing already in, and $85,000 to $175,000 for a six-station Roosters shop, in their 2026 disclosures.	$15,000	$60,000
Security deposit and first month's rent (800 to 1,200 square feet)Two months of the rent line below: one month as the deposit — what V's Barbershop's and The Barbershop's 2026 franchise disclosures say landlords usually ask — and the first month. 800 to 1,200 square feet is a planning range for three or four chairs and a waiting area; Roosters' six-station shops take 1,000 to 1,400.	$2,934	$5,204
Three or four barber chairs and stations, a UV cabinet and a towel warmerKeller International's list prices: its Economic barber chair at $899 to a US-made Collins Cavalier at $3,299, styling stations at $359 to $399, a small UV sterilizing cabinet listed at $189 ($139 on sale) and a UV towel warmer at $239 — three Economic chairs at the low end, four Collins chairs at the high end.	$4,202	$15,220
Clippers, a trimmer and a foil shaver for your own chair$0 if you already own your kit. New, at Andis list prices: its Master clipper ($119.99), Outliner II trimmer ($79.99) and ProFoil shaver ($79.99) come to $279.97, and its Recon clipper ($249.99), GTX-EXO II Gold trimmer ($199.99) and ProFoil shaver to $529.97. Booth renters bring their own.	$0	$530
Opening supplies, backbar and retail productsThe Barbershop's 2026 franchise disclosure budgets $2,000 to $3,000 for opening inventory, expected to last 30 to 45 days — a franchisor's figure, for its larger shops.	$2,000	$3,000
Signage and interior brandingThe Barbershop's 2026 franchise disclosure budgets $5,000 to $10,000 for signage, and Roosters' $6,000 to $12,000 for exterior signs — franchisors' figures.	$5,000	$10,000
Insurance, the first year: business owner's policy and professional liabilityInsureon's medians for barbers (April 2025): a business owner's policy — general liability and property — at $817 a year and professional liability at $596; workers' compensation adds $839 once you have employees. A landlord may ask for a general liability certificate before you sign the lease.	$1,413	$2,252
State shop (establishment) licenseIllinois $40 (its 2016 application form), California $50, New York $60 for four years, Texas $78 for two years and Pennsylvania $160; Florida's statute caps the shop license fees at $150. Your city or county may add a business license.	$40	$160
Business registration (LLC) and EINAn LLC is $40 in Kentucky and $300 in Texas; the EIN from the IRS is free.	$40	$300
Legal and accounting set-up and a lease reviewThe Barbershop's 2026 franchise disclosure budgets $500 to $3,000 for professional fees — a franchisor's figure; V's Barbershop budgets $5,000 for an attorney to review the lease.	$500	$3,000
Booking and point-of-sale software (first year)Mostly included with ZarlaOnline booking, invoicing and a client list come with your Zarla plan — you may still want a point-of-sale system for the counter. For comparison, Square Appointments is $0, $49 or $149 a month per location, and Booksy $29.99 a month plus $20 for each extra team member.	$0	$1,788
Website with online booking and Google Business ProfileIncluded with ZarlaYour Zarla plan includes the website — your services and prices, a map and an inquiry form in the first draft, with your services set up for online booking — and walks you through your Google Business Profile. Having one built by a freelancer typically runs $500 to $2,000 — a planning range.	$0	$2,000
Launch marketing: the first three monthsA planning range for a grand opening, local ads and social posts. The Barbershop's 2026 franchise disclosure recommends at least $10,000 over its larger shops' first three months — a franchisor's figure.	$1,000	$5,000
Working capital: two months of running costsTwo months of the monthly lines below, while your own book moves over and the other chairs fill.	$4,758	$9,594
Typical total (required lines)	$36,887	$118,048

Startup ranges: four barbershop franchise disclosures on Minnesota's public registry — V's Barbershop (March 2026: leasehold improvements from $60,000, an estimate that includes a $25-a-square-foot landlord allowance; deposit one month's rent; a $5,000 lease review), Great Clips (March 2026: $70,000 to $200,000 from a “vanilla shell” with the HVAC, electrical and plumbing in), Roosters (amended February 2026: $85,000 to $175,000 for a six-station shop of 1,000 to 1,400 square feet; exterior signs $6,000 to $12,000) and The Barbershop (April 2026: opening inventory $2,000 to $3,000, signage $5,000 to $10,000, professional fees $500 to $3,000, grand opening at least $10,000), each a franchisor's figure; Keller International's list prices (Economic barber chair $899, Collins Cavalier $3,299, stations $359 to $399, UV cabinet $189 list, towel warmer $239); Andis list prices for clippers, trimmers and shavers; Insureon's barbershop medians (April 2025: business owner's policy $817, professional liability $596, workers' comp $839 a year); state LLC fees (Kentucky $40, Texas $300) and the IRS (a free EIN); Square Appointments ($0, $49 and $149 a month) and Booksy ($29.99 a month plus $20 a team member) — checked October 12, 2026. Ranges are what a small operation typically pays in the US; replace them with real quotes as you get them.

Monthly costs

What it costs to run each month

Typical monthly operating costs for a small operation, before the owner's own pay.

Cost	Typical monthly range
Rent (800 to 1,200 square feet)	$1,467–$2,602
Power, water, phone and internet	$200–$500
Blades, disinfectant, neck strips, capes and backbar for your own chair	$150–$400
Towels and laundry	$50–$150
Insurance	$118–$188
Booking and point-of-sale software (included with Zarla)	$0–$149
Marketing and social content	$200–$600
Card processing on your own chair (about $7,000 of sales)	$194–$208

Typical total: $2,379–$4,797 a month. Monthly ranges: US average retail asking rents (CoStar about $22.00 and Colliers $26.02 a square foot a year, CRE Daily, July 2026), Vagaro's supplies figure, Insureon's monthly medians (business owner's policy $68, professional liability $50, workers' comp $70) and Square's in-person card rates (2.4% to 2.6% plus 15¢ a payment) — checked October 12, 2026. Lines marked (included with Zarla) are what those tools cost separately — with Zarla they are part of one monthly plan.

How much a barbershop makes

A barbershop earns from three places: the owner's own chair, the rent or the share from every other chair, and retail on the counter — and the model decides which. Renting a chair, a barber pays the shop $200 to $400 a week in most US markets (suburban and smaller-city shops at the lower end, big-city shops $500 or more), keeps every service dollar, buys their own supplies and pays self-employment tax, in Vagaro's 2026 guide; Booksy's 2026 guide puts mid-tier chair rent at $500 to $1,200 a month. On commission the barber keeps roughly 45% to 55% of service sales (Zenoti's 2026 guide) and the shop covers the rent, the supplies, the booking and the walk-ins; Great Clips' reporting salons, where stylists are employees, spent 49.25% of sales on labor in 2025, in its 2026 franchise disclosure. Owning the shop means paying the startup and the monthly costs below and earning the rent or the shop's share from every other chair. Pay data covers only part of the trade: the US Bureau of Labor Statistics puts employed barbers' median pay at $18.37 an hour, $38,210 a year, tips included (May 2025), but four in five barbers are self-employed and not counted. Franchise filings show what shops take in, not what owners keep: Roosters, whose shops generally have six stations, reports average sales of $487,106 (median $461,761) for its 67 franchised shops open all of its 2025 fiscal year, and Great Clips' reporting salons kept 19.77% of sales as operating cash flow in 2025, before the franchisee's own pay, income tax and depreciation. For the sample shop in Fort Worth — BarbersTake's sample averages $40 a cut in Texas — about 175 cuts a month in the owner's chair at around $40 is about $7,000, and two chairs rented at about $300 a week add about $2,600.

$41 — the average US men's haircut in BarbersTake's February 2026 sample of shop menus
$200–$400 — a week to rent a barber's chair in most US markets, in Vagaro's 2026 guide
45–55% — of service sales — a commission barber's typical share, in Zenoti's 2026 guide

Prices and earnings: BarbersTake's February 2026 sample of US barbershop menus (about $41 on average, $40 in Texas, chains $23 to $28), Vagaro's June 2026 guide (chair rent $200 to $400 a week in most US markets, supplies $150 to $400 a month), Booksy's May 2026 guide (mid-tier chair rent $500 to $1,200 a month), Zenoti's July 2026 guide (a commission barber keeps roughly 45% to 55% of service sales), the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (barbers' median pay $18.37 an hour, $38,210 a year, May 2025, tips included; four in five barbers self-employed), and franchise disclosures' Item 19 (Roosters' 2025 fiscal year: average sales $487,106, median $461,761, 67 shops; Great Clips 2025, its 2,376 reporting salons: labor 49.25% of sales, operating cash flow 19.77%) — checked October 12, 2026.

Rules: the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (Class A barber 1,000 hours, $50 application, establishment license $78 for two years, the booth rental permit removed from January 1, 2023), California's Board of Barbering and Cosmetology (1,000 hours since 2022, $125 exam and license, $50 establishment license, no scheduled inspections) and its Labor and Workforce Development Agency on the ABC test, the Florida Statutes (900 hours; shop fees capped at $150), New York's Department of State (license $40, practical exam $15, shop $60, Area Renter $60), the Bureau of Labor Statistics (every state requires barbers to be licensed), Pennsylvania's barber law and fee schedule (1,250 hours, shop $160, inspection before opening, manager-barber), Georgia's board rules (master barber 1,500 hours or an 18-month apprenticeship, Barber II 1,140 hours; the owner's sanitation course), the shop registration form in Illinois (2016, $40), the IRS's worker-classification guidance, the Labor Department's February 2026 proposal, and the Texas Department of Insurance on workers' compensation — checked October 12, 2026.

Licenses and permits

Licenses, permits and insurance for a barbershop

What you need before you can legally trade in the US. Rules vary by state and city — confirm each item with your local licensing office and an accountant.

Requirement	What it means
State barber license	In the US every state requires barbers to be licensed, the Bureau of Labor Statistics notes, through a barber board or a combined barbering and cosmetology board. Training runs from 900 hours in Florida and 1,000 in California and Texas to 1,250 in Pennsylvania and 1,500 for a master barber license in Georgia (1,140 for its Barber II license), where an 18-month, 3,000-hour apprenticeship also qualifies for the master license; New York takes a state-approved school course or a two-year apprenticeship, then a practical exam. Fees are small: $50 to apply in Texas, $125 for the exam and first license in California, $40 for a four-year license plus a $15 practical exam in New York. Every barber in the shop needs their own license. Check your state's board.
Shop (establishment) license	In the US the shop is licensed separately from the barbers in it in the states checked here, before it opens: $78 for two years in Texas, $50 in California, $60 for four years in New York, $160 in Pennsylvania and $40 in Illinois (its 2016 form); Florida's statute caps the fee at $150. Pennsylvania inspects a shop before it opens; California's board doesn't schedule inspections — its inspectors visit at random. Check your state's board.
Booth-rental and contractor rules	In the US renting out chairs follows state and federal rules. New York requires each barber who works in a shop without being the owner's employee to hold a $60 Area Renter license. Texas dropped its booth rental permit in rules that took effect January 1, 2023: the shop keeps a list of its renters, and each needs their own station, chair and disinfectant. California issues renters no license of their own, holds the owner responsible for everyone working in the shop, and treats a renting barber as an employee unless conditions in its labor code are met. The IRS weighs who controls the work and the money — hours, prices, tools — and the Labor Department proposed a new contractor test in February 2026, still a proposal as of October 2026; check its status. Put the arrangement in writing either way.
Who can own and run the shop	In the US several states let someone who isn't a barber own a shop, with conditions: New York's shop owner license doesn't let the owner cut, and an apprentice may not own a shop; Georgia's shop owner completes a board-approved health, safety and sanitation course; Pennsylvania puts every shop with more than one barber under a manager-barber or another licensee in charge. Check your state's board.
Business registration, EIN and local licenses	In the US many owners form an LLC with their state — $40 in Kentucky, $300 in Texas — and take a free EIN from the IRS. Your city or county may require a business license and a certificate of occupancy, and the build-out's plumbing and electrical work may need permits.
Insurance	In the US a landlord may ask for a general liability certificate before you sign a lease. Insureon's medians for barbers (April 2025) are $817 a year for a business owner's policy, $596 for professional liability and $839 for workers' compensation. Most states require workers' comp once you have employees — Texas doesn't require most private employers to carry it — and a shop's liability policy generally doesn't cover booth renters, who need their own; check your state.

How to write it

How to write a barbershop business plan

The sections a lender, a landlord or an investor expects to see — and what goes in each one for a barbershop. Trinity Street Barber Co.'s sample plan below follows this outline exactly.

Executive summary

One page, written last: what the business is, where it trades, who it serves, what it costs to start — typically $36,887–$118,048 for a barbershop — and where that money is coming from. Someone who reads nothing else should still know the whole plan. For Trinity Street Barber Co. below, that page says: fades, beard work and hot-towel shaves from three chairs — the owner behind the first and two rented to licensed barbers in Fort Worth, TX, $75,574 to start.

Products and services

What you offer and how you charge for it. For a barbershop that usually means men's haircuts and fades; beard trims and line-ups; and hot-towel straight-razor shaves. Keep the base offer simple and price the add-ons separately.

Market analysis

Who pays, and why they'd pick you: men within a 10-minute drive who want the same barber every two to three weeks; fathers bringing sons for a first haircut and then a standing appointment. Name the two or three local competitors a customer would compare you with and the one thing you do better. Skip the market-size statistics — a lender wants your customers, not the industry's.

Marketing strategy

How those customers find you: Google Business Profile and Google Maps — “barber near me” and “fade near me” plus your neighborhood; word of mouth — a clean fade is the ad; and Instagram and TikTok clips of cuts, transformations and the shop. Put a cost and an expected result beside each channel, and say which one you'll start with.

Operations plan

The week to week, plainly: online booking with a no-show fee so the books stay full and predictable; chair rent or commission agreed in writing before a barber's first day — it decides the shop's whole cash flow; and renters on their own station, chair, tools and supplies, taking their own payments. If the plan can't say who does what on an ordinary Tuesday, it isn't finished.

Startup costs

Every line you'll spend before you start, with a running total — typically $36,887–$118,048 for a barbershop, and the two biggest lines (build-out of a former salon or barbershop; three or four barber chairs and stations, a UV cabinet and a towel warmer) move it most. The table above is the starting list; replace each range with a real quote as you get one.

Financial plan

Typical monthly costs ($2,379–$4,797 a month for a small barbershop, before your own pay), the monthly sales you're aiming for (Trinity Street Barber Co. plans on $9,600 a month), and how many months it takes to recover the startup budget. Use ranges until you have quotes, and never invent a revenue forecast to make the page look full.

Milestones, risks and the appendix

The first 30 days as a dated to-do list. Trinity Street Barber Co.'s begins: read your state board's rules for the shop license, any inspection before opening, and what it asks of booth renters. Then the risks, said out loud: barbers who rent chairs can leave and take their clients with them — the shop's own name, reviews and booking are what keep the regulars coming back. Then the licenses and permits you'll need, and what a lender will ask for beyond the plan: two years of personal tax returns and a personal financial statement, for a start.

The sample plan

Trinity Street Barber Co. is a fictional barbershop in Fort Worth, TX — fades, beard work and hot-towel shaves from three chairs — the owner behind the first and two rented to licensed barbers. The plan below is exactly what the free generator writes from five answers, in the outline above, with every number calculated from the figures on this page rather than invented. Read it as a worked example, then make it yours.

Make this plan mine Download the template (Word)Download the template (PDF)Download this sample (PDF)

Business plan

Sample plan · fictional business

A complete barbershop business plan: Trinity Street Barber Co.

Fort Worth, TX · Startup plan · a fictional barbershop, written by the free generator from five answers

Executive summary

Trinity Street Barber Co. is a new barbershop in Fort Worth, TX offering men's haircuts and fades; beard trims and line-ups; hot-towel straight-razor shaves; and kids' cuts and father-and-son appointments. The owner cuts in the first chair, the other chairs are rented to licensed barbers or worked on commission, and repeat clients on online booking keep every chair busy.

Startup budget: $75,574 across 14 items, funded from savings. Target: $9,600 in monthly sales.

Twelve months from now, success looks like this: About 175 cuts a month in the owner's chair at around $40 — about $7,000 — and two chairs rented to licensed barbers at about $300 a week each, about $2,600 more: about $9,600 a month, with every client rebooked before they leave

Products and services

Trinity Street Barber Co.'s core service is men's haircuts and fades. Prices are posted on the wall and online, every client is rebooked for two to three weeks out before they leave the chair, and retail on the counter is sold by the barber who just used it.

Men's haircuts and fades
Beard trims and line-ups
Hot-towel straight-razor shaves
Kids' cuts and father-and-son appointments

Market analysis

The customers are men and boys within a short drive who want the same barber every few weeks, professionals who book a lunchtime fade online, and anyone with a wedding, an interview or a photo coming up.

Men within a 10-minute drive who want the same barber every two to three weeks
Fathers bringing sons for a first haircut and then a standing appointment
Professionals who book a lunchtime fade and beard trim online and want to be out in 30 minutes
Grooms, wedding parties and anyone with a photo, interview or date coming up

Marketing strategy

Most clients will find Trinity Street Barber Co. on Google and through word of mouth — searching for a barber near them, then following a friend's fade back to the chair that cut it. Reviews on the Google Business Profile, daily cuts on Instagram and a website with prices, barber profiles and online booking turn that into a standing appointment.

Google Business Profile and Google Maps — “barber near me” and “fade near me” plus your neighborhood
Word of mouth — a clean fade is the ad; every client's head walks around town for two weeks
Instagram and TikTok clips of cuts, transformations and the shop
Walk-ins from foot traffic, a lit sign and a barber pole on a busy street
A website with your services, prices, each barber's profile, reviews and online booking

Operations plan

The owner cuts full-time in year one, runs online booking with a no-show fee, keeps the shop to the state board's sanitation rules every day, and fills the other chairs on a written chair-rent or commission agreement.

Online booking with a no-show fee so the books stay full and predictable
Chair rent or commission agreed in writing before a barber's first day — it decides the shop's whole cash flow
Renters on their own station, chair, tools and supplies, taking their own payments; commission barbers on the shop's booking, supplies and card reader
State-board sanitation as routine: disinfected tools between clients, clean capes, a logged cleaning schedule
A price list on the wall and online — cut, cut and beard, shave, kids — with no surprises at the chair
Retail on the counter (pomade, beard oil, aftershave) sold by the barber who just used it

Startup costs

What it will take to open the doors, funded from savings.

Startup costs
Item	Amount
Build-out of a former salon or barbershop: plumbing, electrical, floors, lights	$37,500
Security deposit and first month's rent (800 to 1,200 square feet)	$4,069
Three or four barber chairs and stations, a UV cabinet and a towel warmer	$9,711
Clippers, a trimmer and a foil shaver for your own chair	$265
Opening supplies, backbar and retail products	$2,500
Signage and interior branding	$7,500
Insurance, the first year: business owner's policy and professional liability	$1,833
State shop (establishment) license	$100
Business registration (LLC) and EIN	$170
Legal and accounting set-up and a lease review	$1,750
Booking and point-of-sale software (first year)	$0
Website with online booking and Google Business Profile	$0
Launch marketing: the first three months	$3,000
Working capital: two months of running costs	$7,176
Total	$75,574

Typical range to start a barbershop in the US: $36,887–$118,048. Your list is what you decided to spend — replace estimates with real quotes as you get them. Booking and point-of-sale software (first year): Online booking, invoicing and a client list come with your Zarla plan — you may still want a point-of-sale system for the counter. For comparison, Square Appointments is $0, $49 or $149 a month per location, and Booksy $29.99 a month plus $20 for each extra team member. Website with online booking and Google Business Profile: Your Zarla plan includes the website — your services and prices, a map and an inquiry form in the first draft, with your services set up for online booking — and walks you through your Google Business Profile. Having one built by a freelancer typically runs $500 to $2,000 — a planning range.

Financial plan

The numbers below come from your own startup list and typical monthly costs for a three- or four-chair barbershop in the US. The build-out is the biggest and least certain line — get contractor quotes before you sign a lease — and how soon the other chairs fill, on rent or commission, decides how fast the shop pays it back.

Typical monthly operating costs for a barbershop: $2,379–$4,797 a month, before the owner's own pay.

At $9,600 in monthly sales, Trinity Street Barber Co. would clear $4,803–$7,221 a month before owner pay and tax, and recover the $75,574 startup budget in roughly 11–16 months.

Typical monthly operating costs
Cost	Typical range
Rent (800 to 1,200 square feet)	$1,467–$2,602
Power, water, phone and internet	$200–$500
Blades, disinfectant, neck strips, capes and backbar for your own chair	$150–$400
Towels and laundry	$50–$150
Insurance	$118–$188
Booking and point-of-sale software (included with Zarla)	$0–$149
Marketing and social content	$200–$600
Card processing on your own chair (about $7,000 of sales)	$194–$208

US ranges for a small operation; replace with your own figures as you learn them. Lines marked (included with Zarla) are what those tools cost separately — with Zarla they are part of one monthly plan.

Risks and honest downsides

Every barbershop plan should say out loud what can go wrong. For Trinity Street Barber Co., the real risks are:

Barbers who rent chairs can leave and take their clients with them — the shop's own name, reviews and booking are what keep the regulars coming back
Rent is fixed while an empty chair earns nothing; a chair that stays unrented for a month is its share of the rent out of your pocket
Booth rent that looks like employment — you set the renters' hours, prices or products — can be treated as employment by the IRS or your state
Chains compete on price — BarbersTake's sample puts chain cuts at $23 to $28 against about $41 at shops — so a neighborhood shop has to win on the cut, the shop and the booking
The owner's own chair is most of the year-one income, so a sick week or an injured hand is a week without sales
The build-out is the big unknown — no published figure prices it for an independent shop — so get two contractor quotes before you sign the lease

Licenses, permits and insurance

What Trinity Street Barber Co. needs before it can legally trade in the US. Rules vary by state and city — confirm each item with your local licensing office and an accountant.

State barber license — In the US every state requires barbers to be licensed, the Bureau of Labor Statistics notes, through a barber board or a combined barbering and cosmetology board. Training runs from 900 hours in Florida and 1,000 in California and Texas to 1,250 in Pennsylvania and 1,500 for a master barber license in Georgia (1,140 for its Barber II license), where an 18-month, 3,000-hour apprenticeship also qualifies for the master license; New York takes a state-approved school course or a two-year apprenticeship, then a practical exam. Fees are small: $50 to apply in Texas, $125 for the exam and first license in California, $40 for a four-year license plus a $15 practical exam in New York. Every barber in the shop needs their own license. Check your state's board.
Shop (establishment) license — In the US the shop is licensed separately from the barbers in it in the states checked here, before it opens: $78 for two years in Texas, $50 in California, $60 for four years in New York, $160 in Pennsylvania and $40 in Illinois (its 2016 form); Florida's statute caps the fee at $150. Pennsylvania inspects a shop before it opens; California's board doesn't schedule inspections — its inspectors visit at random. Check your state's board.
Booth-rental and contractor rules — In the US renting out chairs follows state and federal rules. New York requires each barber who works in a shop without being the owner's employee to hold a $60 Area Renter license. Texas dropped its booth rental permit in rules that took effect January 1, 2023: the shop keeps a list of its renters, and each needs their own station, chair and disinfectant. California issues renters no license of their own, holds the owner responsible for everyone working in the shop, and treats a renting barber as an employee unless conditions in its labor code are met. The IRS weighs who controls the work and the money — hours, prices, tools — and the Labor Department proposed a new contractor test in February 2026, still a proposal as of October 2026; check its status. Put the arrangement in writing either way.
Who can own and run the shop — In the US several states let someone who isn't a barber own a shop, with conditions: New York's shop owner license doesn't let the owner cut, and an apprentice may not own a shop; Georgia's shop owner completes a board-approved health, safety and sanitation course; Pennsylvania puts every shop with more than one barber under a manager-barber or another licensee in charge. Check your state's board.
Business registration, EIN and local licenses — In the US many owners form an LLC with their state — $40 in Kentucky, $300 in Texas — and take a free EIN from the IRS. Your city or county may require a business license and a certificate of occupancy, and the build-out's plumbing and electrical work may need permits.
Insurance — In the US a landlord may ask for a general liability certificate before you sign a lease. Insureon's medians for barbers (April 2025) are $817 a year for a business owner's policy, $596 for professional liability and $839 for workers' compensation. Most states require workers' comp once you have employees — Texas doesn't require most private employers to carry it — and a shop's liability policy generally doesn't cover booth renters, who need their own; check your state.

Milestones: the next 30 days

The first month's to-do list for Trinity Street Barber Co., in order:

Read your state board's rules for the shop license, any inspection before opening, and what it asks of booth renters
Walk former salon and barbershop spaces first — the plumbing is already in
Get two contractor quotes for the build-out before you sign a lease
Register the business, take the free EIN and open a business bank account
Decide booth rent or commission, and write the agreement before you recruit anyone
Get quotes for a business owner's policy and professional liability
Price a cut, a cut and beard, a shave and a kids' cut from your costs and three shops nearby
Set up your Google Business Profile and put your website live with your services, prices and online booking
Tell every current client where your new chair is, and ask each one for a Google review

Appendix: what a lender will ask for

This plan tells the story and shows the numbers. If you take it to a bank, expect to be asked for these documents as well:

Two years of personal tax returns and a personal financial statement
A month-by-month cash-flow projection built on cuts a day in your own chair and how soon the other chairs fill, not a full shop from day one
The lease or letter of intent, and the build-out quotes
Your barber license and a record of your book at your current shop
Signed chair-rental or commission agreements with the barbers you're bringing in
Your credit report and the chairs and equipment as collateral

Every figure in Trinity Street Barber Co.'s plan is a typical US range from the tables above or arithmetic on the sample's own startup list and $9,600 monthly sales target — nothing is a market projection. The template downloads above are the same plan with [bracketed] lines for your own business.

Step two

Turn this plan into a website

Add your name and your city to the line, and Zarla builds the website with your services in place. You edit the rest in chat.

Or download the free template (Word)

Keep going

The plan is the thinking. These are the next pieces for a barbershop:

Barbershop business plan FAQ

How much does it cost to start a barbershop?

Typically $36,887–$118,048 in the US, counting every required line in the table above. The range is wide because the biggest items (build-out of a former salon or barbershop; three or four barber chairs and stations, a UV cabinet and a towel warmer) depend on what you already have and where you are. The free generator turns the table into your own list with your own figures.

How much can a barbershop make?

$41 the average US men's haircut in BarbersTake's February 2026 sample of shop menus; $200–$400 a week to rent a barber's chair in most US markets, in Vagaro's 2026 guide; 45–55% of service sales — a commission barber's typical share, in Zenoti's 2026 guide. A barbershop earns from three places: the owner's own chair, the rent or the share from every other chair, and retail on the counter — and the model decides which. Renting a chair, a barber pays the shop $200 to $400 a week in most US markets (suburban and smaller-city shops at the lower end, big-city shops $500 or more), keeps every service dollar, buys their own supplies and pays self-employment tax, in Vagaro's 2026 guide; Booksy's 2026 guide puts mid-tier chair rent at $500 to $1,200 a month. On commission the barber keeps roughly 45% to 55% of service sales (Zenoti's 2026 guide) and the shop covers the rent, the supplies, the booking and the walk-ins; Great Clips' reporting salons, where stylists are employees, spent 49.25% of sales on labor in 2025, in its 2026 franchise disclosure. Owning the shop means paying the startup and the monthly costs below and earning the rent or the shop's share from every other chair. Pay data covers only part of the trade: the US Bureau of Labor Statistics puts employed barbers' median pay at $18.37 an hour, $38,210 a year, tips included (May 2025), but four in five barbers are self-employed and not counted. Franchise filings show what shops take in, not what owners keep: Roosters, whose shops generally have six stations, reports average sales of $487,106 (median $461,761) for its 67 franchised shops open all of its 2025 fiscal year, and Great Clips' reporting salons kept 19.77% of sales as operating cash flow in 2025, before the franchisee's own pay, income tax and depreciation. For the sample shop in Fort Worth — BarbersTake's sample averages $40 a cut in Texas — about 175 cuts a month in the owner's chair at around $40 is about $7,000, and two chairs rented at about $300 a week add about $2,600.

What licenses and permits do I need to start a barbershop in the US?

State barber license; shop (establishment) license; booth-rental and contractor rules; who can own and run the shop; business registration, EIN and local licenses; and insurance. Rules vary by state and city — confirm each item with your local licensing office and an accountant before you spend on it.

Do I need a business plan to start a barbershop?

You need the thinking more than the document: what you'll offer, who pays, what it costs to start, what it costs to run each month and how long the budget takes to recover. A lender, a landlord or an investor will ask for the document — and for things beyond it: two years of personal tax returns and a personal financial statement; a month-by-month cash-flow projection built on cuts a day in your own chair and how soon the other chairs fill, not a full shop from day one. The sample plan above has every section; the generator writes yours from five questions.

Can I turn this business plan into a website?

Yes — that's the point. Your plan's own marketing section says people will find you on Google and through word of mouth; a website is how both happen. Zarla builds your barbershop website from what you've already told us — free to build, pay when you publish.

Is there a free barbershop business plan template?

Yes. The barbershop business plan template on this page downloads free as a Word document or a PDF — no email, no sign-up. It's the complete plan for a placeholder business with [bracketed] lines to fill in, and the typical figures for a barbershop already in the tables. The generator writes the same plan with your own name, city, services and numbers in five questions.

What should a barbershop business plan include?

The sections a lender, a landlord or an investor expects: an executive summary, products and services, market analysis, marketing strategy, an operations plan, startup costs, a financial plan, the risks, licenses and permits, milestones and an appendix. Trinity Street Barber Co.'s sample plan above has all eleven, and the section-by-section notes explain what goes in each one for a barbershop.