I worked as a hairdresser for 15 years then started barbering.
If I had it to do over, I'd have entered the field strictly as a barber doing nothing but haircuts.
It isn't as hard on your body being a barber as it is being a hairstylist doing chemical services, blow drys and styles. Also, you can cut a mans' hair in 7 to 10 minutes. Once you have built up your clientele, you can do around 6 to 8 haircuts in an hour. If you only charged $10 per haircut, that's $60 to $80 dollars an hour, plus 6 to 8 tips. Not sure where you live, but the standard rate for a haircut in my area now is $15.00.
If you do a perm, it takes around two hours to do that one head of hair. That gives you one tip plus you have to take into consideration the cost of supplies to do the perm. Such as perm solution, shampoo, blow dry and styling products. That's a lot of time and money. The haircut didn't cost you anything but a paper neck strip. Leaning over a shampoo sink is hard on the back and all the rolling, blow drying, etc, is rough on the hands and neck. Most stylists develop Osteo-arthritis after a few years in the biz as well as back problems.
Once you have built up your clients, you can rent a chair for a daily fee. In many cases, a barber makes a higher percentage than stylists if they work on a percentage basis.
Bottom line, Time Is Money.