Starting your Business as a Nail technician

My first journey into the world of self employment was pretty daunting.

I set up my manicure table at the front of a hairdressing salon, in the window – like I was on show!

I didn’t know the owners of the salon, I didn’t have any clients and I had just quit my bank job.

SCARY!

I was pretty nervous to start with, but the excitement of setting up my little corner and embarking on my own business journey was exciting!

I must admit, that first year was tough. Some days I had no clients at all. I had some clients who were not very nice – bitches if I’m honest!

So if you are a nail technician starting out this post is for you!

Here’s what I would tell myself if I could go back to that time:

1. Keep going – you’ll have days where it seems like it’ll never pick up, but it will.
2. Use that time to practice your skills – offer free services to local business staff in return for their recommendation
3. Continue your education. What new services can you add to your menu that will attract new clients?
4. No matter how much someone is paying you, that does not give them the right to be rude to you.
5. Remember, you are the expert. Even if you feel you have a lot more to learn, you already know more than your client about your service – don’t be afraid to offer advice and share your knowledge.
6. By sharing your knowledge and genuinely helping your clients you are building trust. If they trust you and like you, they will buy from you.
7. Have products available to retail to your clients. Eg, If you are telling them they need to oil their nails, have cuticle oil available for sale.
8. DO set goals. Answer these questions: How much do you want to earn in a week? How many services do you need to perform to achieve that? How many per day? Then map out a plan of what you need to do to get there. Think about your pricing, and extra add ons to increase your clients average spend – nail art, hand massage, retail sales are all worth considering.
9. Don’t let anyone tell you your job is not important. You are helping people feel good about themselves – it’s an essential service!  

Do you have a question about starting out in the beauty business?

Email me and I’ll see if I can help – I might even write a blog post about it!

xox

Julie