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Starting out, growing your business and building your beauty career.
There are many benefits to becoming a Beauty Tutor, these benefits include: a better work-life balance, improved IT and marketing skills and setting your own schedule. This option is also less physically demanding on the body, if you are a therapist looking to reduce your treatments. There is always a huge demand for these training courses within the beauty industry. You can start your own training business, design your accredited courses and move completely online!
A lot less than you might think!
We have an accredited & insurable Online Classic Eyelash Extension Course for only ยฃ99, or if you prefer to learn face to face, our 1 Day Classic Eyelash Extension Course is only ยฃ199. You will need to start with Classic Lashes to ensure you master the basics and fundamental skills, isolating a natural lash, picking up a false lash and applying to the natural lashes โ plus lots more, before you can progress to more advanced lash techniques. Starting with Classics lets you try out lashes, see if it is a good fit for you and you can always do further courses from there.
If you know you lash extensions is the career for you, we have packages to save you money allowing you to book your Classics and more advanced training in Russian Volume and Hybrid Lash Extensions all together. Choose from our 2 Day Pick & Mix Package (to combine Classics, Russian Volume or Hybrids) at ยฃ349 or our Complete Lash Technician 3 Day (Classics, Russians & Hybrid Lashes) Package at ยฃ449.
Flexible payment options are available to help spread the cost. Learn more here.
Completing your training is only the first step. Lashing will take time to master and get your treatment application times down. Initially it make take you around 2-2.5 hours to complete a full set with those first few attempts, but with patience and practice youโll soon get this down to around 45-90 minutes depending on the look being created. Youโll also get used to your products and tools, working with two sets of tweezers at a time sure does take practice! We recommend working on a training head to begin with and then after 2-3 sets on the block, move onto live models. You could ask friends or family, or advertise on social media offering your first sets at cost price. Ensure you have at least student insurance in place while practising, youโll need full therapistโs level (public liability) insurance in place once you begin charging for your treatments. Practice certainly makes perfect!
We do not tie you in to buying any expensive kits with our courses, our courses teach you the general techniques but are non-brand specific. Once youโre ready to begin practising or even offering your treatments, youโll need products and tools to start lashing. We offer the following optional starter kits all from the ProSpa brand, available to purchase on our website. All are only ยฃ109!
Weโd recommend starting with the Classic Eyelash Extensions kit to get you started with the fundamental skills. The main differences between the kits are the type of tweezers included and the lash curls/lengths/thicknesses depending on the lash look the kit is intended to create. Once you have your Classics kit with the essentials, you may wish to purchase additional lashes and tweezers separately from your preferred supplier to keep your start-up costs lower.
How much you earn depends on how what basis you work, how many hours and how much you charge per lash treatment. If you rent a space within a beauty or hair salon for example, your footfall and potential clients may be greater but so will your business costs. Whereas, if you start out working mobile, while you have to factor in your travel and product costs, youโll typically have lower costs and therefore earn more at least initially. You will need to research the competition in your local area to establish your pricing structure and costs for a full set, infill etc. Think about the product brands youโll be using and take care with your kit to avoid unnecessary wastage to keep your margins high.
Consider that you can typically charge ยฃ35-ยฃ100 per lash set once youโve gained a little experience, you can vary quickly earn back the cost of your training and kit within the first 10-15 treatments.
Once youโre confident in classic lashes, it is well worth learning more advanced skills like Russian and Hybrid Lashes so that you can create WOW lashes that really stand out on social media and word of mouth by clients, to promote your work. You can usually charge a much higher rate for advanced lash work such as Hybrid Lashes over a set of standard Classic Lashes. Volume Lashes and advanced lash mapped looks inspired by the celebrities are all the rage and will have your clients staying loyal to you and coming back time and time again for your expert level work.
You might also want to trial retail products to boost your earnings further and ensure clients maintain their lash results for healthier natural lashes and to avoid contra-actions occurring. Typical retail products include lash serums to help seal the extensions and nourish natural lashes.
The most important thing firstly is that you are confident and skilled in providing your lash services. The second most important thing is that you actively promote your new business. Social media โ namely Facebook and Instagram are best for this. Set up a business page immediately, but do take time to consider your business name, logo and pricing. You want to project a professional image from the start so also consider your personal presentation. Our Online Starting a Business Course will equip you with useful information and opportunity to plan your brand before launching your business.
Youโll need to register with HMRC once you begin offering your services to paying clients. Make sure you keep accurate records of any money earnt and any money spent (receipts for products, traning etc.) as this will be essential for self-assessment purposes for tax. A basic ledger or excel spreadsheet will suffice initially.
Make sure you are completing client consultation forms and hold complete records of client contact details for future reference. These will need to be kept confidential at all times in a secure locked cabinet or on a password protected device. This is essential to meet insurance obligations and for data protection.
Set up an appointment diary and block out any times you donโt want to work or have other commitments. This will make it much easier to plan your working hours. Plan in at least 1 hour per week for business purposes including creating posts or promotions for social media, maintaining client records and day to day accounts etc. Encourage clients to book their next appointment before they leave their current appointment. Have a clear rescheduling / cancellations policy, perhaps included on your appointment cards for clients to keep. You may want to charge a deposit or cancellation fee (charged when rebooking) to help guarantee your earnings each week and build a regular, profitable client base.
Plan future marketing whether that is seasonal events in your beauty space / salon, discounts or promotions that you promote on social media and think about future proofing your business by adding on further treatments with time, based on client feedback of other services they are currently having elsewhere such as brow lamination and shaping. You always need to keep your business growing and fresh! Take time each appointment to do a before / after photo of your work (with client permission) and encourage clients to engage with this on social media to build your brand profile and help attract new clients.
Growing your own lash extensions business will take time and patience, but with hard work and determination is is a very real possibility to achieve your dreams whether that is financial freedom, a positive work/life balance or just doing a job that you are passionate about!
Running a profitable beauty business can be a rewarding yet daunting task! there are so many things to think about when running your own business. This can be challenging when the majority of your day is focussed on delivering treatments. If you’re struggling to find the time to generate new ideas for boosting income you’ve come to the right place! We’ve collated some of our best advice for therapists to maximise profits.
Increase your client base
Whether you are just starting up or have been going a while there may be opportunities to grow your client base. There’s the obvious promotional platforms such as social media/ local magazines, however many marketing experts agree that the networking is an avenue that can be the most beneficial when targeting new clients. For example, there may be the option to have a mutually beneficial partnership with local businesses in your area that compliment the work you do such as Bridal shops or Hairdressers. A ‘you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours’ scenario of promoting each others businesses can boost both businesses profits. If you already have a loyal client base, you can also enrol the support of these clients to grow. Offering refer a friend rewards or hosting launch events within the salon whereby clients can bring a friend/family member along. These events work well along side the launch of a new treatment or product where you can offer taster treatments/demonstrations/product trials or spread out at various times of the year to mark events i.e Valentines day/Christmas.
Increase spend per visitย
If you’re serious about increasing your profit then one clear winning strategy is to encourage your client to spend more when they are with you. Use each treatment booking to your advantage to promote the add on services and retail that you offer within the salon. This doesn’t have to be a hard sell as remember your client is there for a reason, they may have come in to get amazing lashes.. their lashes will stay amazing for longer if they use a lash shampoo between infills! If you’re not retailing product in your salon you’re not only limiting your revenue but you may also be disadvantaging your client by not providing them with a full service which includes education and aftercare on how to maintain their treatment at home.
When up-selling services, consider the treatments that compliment each other the most. This could be adding additional massage onto treatments, adding additional LED therapy onto facials or tinting with Lash extension services. Also consider the benefits of courses of treatments, offering incentives can be an easy way to reward clients for booking courses such as by 6 get one free.
Top tips for retailing product:
Review your treatment menu
A lot can be said for less is more, its important to focus on what you do and do it well vs offering too many services. Think about your niche and what makes you different, why should your clients come to you? It’s these unique differences that you should be promoting at every available opportunity. It may also be time to consider your pricing, when was the last time you increased your prices? Complete some market research into your local area to ensure you remain competitive and avoid underselling your skills!
Research suggests that 35% of people in the UK now run their own side hustle business. Many side businesses start out as hobbies along side your current job, eventually becoming your main source of income! With Beauty services surviving recessions, it makes them the ideal option to kick start something on the side. Becoming a Therapist or Technician is ideal if you’re looking for something to fit around your current life, work and family.
We’ve collated our top tips to support you in making your first steps to starting your side hustle business!Itโs vital that you do your research when looking at starting your own business, be aware of the health and safety policies you will need to adhere to, these can be found on the gov.org website and ensure you have adequate insurance. We provide our students with details of insurance providers to cover you whilst you study and become qualified. If you need that extra bit of know-how to get your new business off the ground, our Online Starting a Business Course is ideal for you as it covers all the important guidance and rules on getting setup, while allowing you to think about your brand, marketing your business and devising a business plan to make starting your own business quick, profitable and successful.
Whilst youโre training you may want to take advantage of student starter kits, these are an ideal way to get started whilst youโre practicing your services on friends and family and can be found on our โstarter kitsโ page on the website. Once qualified you will be eligible to create accounts with local wholesalers to source your equipment. Our courses are not brand specific, meaning your not tied to any expensive product brands and can source your products affordably to maximise your profit as you start-up your business.
In todays modern world the traditional ways of advertising have gone out of the window, with more and more companies relying on word of mouth and visual representations online to ensure their success. Without social media accounts your business is invisible as the majority of clients admit to checking businesses socials out before they book treatments.
Read about ways to promote your new business on social media in our recent blog.
If youโre interested in finding out more about working within the beauty industry and starting your own business, our team are always on-hand to offer guidance and support with choosing the right training courses to get you started, tips on products and kits, feedback on your treatments to build your confidence and more.
Reach out to our team through Live Chat on our website or call us on freephone 0800 999 2277 (option 1) to get started today!
Nail treatments are one of the most profitable services you can offer as a therapist, with year round demand and regular client appointments but whether you’re just starting out as a Nail Technician or you’re wanting to increase the services you offer there is so much variety on the market it can be a confusing landscape to navigate. Keep reading to discover the key pros and cons behind popular nail system on the market to support you with making the best decision for your business. Which Nail system is right for me?
Extensions or Natural Nails?
A question we receive regularly from therapists starting their careers in Nail Technology is should I invest in extensions or focus on the natural nail? The plus side of training in extension systems is that a lot of systems can now be used with and without traditional tips. With many products providing the option of forms to extend the nail or a simple overlay on the clients natural length. Extensions are a profitable treatment if you have the clientele, with treatments ranging between ยฃ25-ยฃ50 a service, they also need regular maintenance so a good option if you’re looking for ways to increase client return footfall.
Acrylics
One of the more traditional methods for nail extensions, Acrylics are still regarded a well loved favourite of Nail technicians. Hard wearing and long lasting they reign supreme in the longevity category, although they loose on the odour front! It’s essential to remove Acrylics correctly, educating clients on the need to revisit the salon for remove is vital for the health of the nails. Acrylics can be used with tips or forms to extend the natural nail. Average cost ยฃ25-ยฃ50 per set depending on the type of finish the client is requesting.
UV Gel Extensions 
Many favour the ease of UV Gel Extensions, quick to apply and self levelling, UV Gel extensions are a great alternative to Acrylics if you want durable nails without the odour. Although they’re not as hard wearing as Acrylics you will still get a couple of weeks out of a set of Gels. Again they can be used with tips or forms. Costings are comparable to Acrylics between ยฃ25-ยฃ50 a set.
Other options that have gained a huge following from clients and therapists a like is Builder Gel in a bottle and Polygel systems, you may have seen multiple posts on socials promoting the benefits of these treatments and there is good reason for this.. ย They’re amazing! Easy to use, versatile and offer a natural look with the benefit of lengthening natural nails they are definitely worth the hype.
The advantage of Gel in a bottle over traditional tub based gel products is the speed and ease at which they can be applied to give additional strength to natural nails. They are a soak-off product so much easier to remove than traditional buff off builder gel products. The Average price for a set is ยฃ35.
Poly Gelย is a revolutionary invention in the nail industry for those of you looking for a product with literally no heat spikes, practically odourless and with significantly less dust during removal.ย There are no monomers, no mixing, and no ratios needed! Itโs extremely mouldable and easy to use, great to speed up treatment timings. The average price for Polygel around ยฃ50 a set
Gel Polishย
Due to the longevity and high-gloss finish, this treatment is particularly popular all-year round. A perfect option if you’re starting out and are looking for a system to work on the clients natural nail. Since Gel polish started it’s boom in the industry most salons have turned their backs on traditional nail polish for their manicure and pedicure services and have instead opted for this longer lasting instant drying alternative! Treatments on average are ยฃ25-ยฃ30.
What now?
All that’s left to do now is getting learning! Enrol for our Accredited Online Nail Courses from only ยฃ99 or book a classroom course from only ยฃ199 for live training with our expert tutors.
In this week’s blog we’re sharing our top tips when it comes to promoting your new beauty business on Social media. In todays modern world the traditional ways of advertising have gone out of the window, with more and more companies relying on word of mouth and visual representations online to ensure their success. Without social media accounts your business is invisible as the majority of clients admit to checking businesses socials out before they book treatments.
What are the benefits of social media? Think of social media platforms as your virtual shop window, it represents everything you want your business to be know for. They’re also a great way of staying connected with clients, building relationships and a loyal client base as well as networking with other businesses.
Here are our top tips for promoting your business online.
The social media platform you choose to use should depend on your client demographic. Younger users are choosing platforms TikTok and Snap chat over Instagram and Facebook. Instagram is a very popular choice for millennials and has an incredible 2 billion person user base! Making it a great choice for a new business. Whilst Facebook still maintains a large 25-35 demographic their largest growing demographic is the 65+ group. Something to consider when starting your socials is the best option for connecting with your target audience.
Ensure that your business account is a representation of the work you carry out within the business, this should be separate from any personal accounts. When people search for your business they want to see images of your nails/lashes instead of your dog!
You only have a split second to grab someones attention when scrolling through their socials. You need to make your posts as impactful as possible, whether it be through images of your work or video clips. To get the best images you may want to invest in equipment such a good quality camera, a ring light and for videos a sturdy camera stand for smooth footage.
Before and after images work incredibly well to showcase the work you do, these are found to get more interaction from users.
It can be busy work starting a business and finding the time to update your accounts may become a challenge. Aim to set some time each week to preschedule and plan your posts for the week to save on any last minute panic posts! Facebook and Instagram are connected through Meta and have useful integrated systems to allow you to schedule posts in advance. There are also companies such as Hootsuite which can do this for you using an app.
Research the times of day that are the best to post on your chosen platform, for example the most used time on instagram is 10am-1pm, with Tuesdays and Wednesdays being the most popular days.
Aim to post once a day and keep your follows engaged by regularly posting stories.
Make sure to take the time to reply to comments and messages on your accounts. By connecting with your followers your building an online community and loyal client base ready to book their next appointment!
Hashtags are a way of getting your posts seen by more people so great for growing your following! You can use unto 30 hashtags per post, however posts with excessive amounts of hashtags are seen as spam so avoid using too many! Creating your own hashtag such as #lashesbygrace can allow clients to follow your work directly! Encourage your clients to use your hashtag to gain a momentum.
The Facial and Aesthetics Industry has boomed over the last decade, with net growth expanding year on year. However there are some challenges with this ever expanding industry. With a lack of regulation and standards comes an increase in unregulated training and clinics lacking the essential knowledge, qualifications and insurance to perform effective treatments.
If you are just starting out it can be hard to navigate where to go for the right training essential to gain insurance. Here is our guide for getting started with Aesthetics.
As Aesthetic treatments are advanced treatments that can impact the skin on a molecular level, you will need to have the skills and knowledge to safely deliver these services to your clients. To gain the most from these advanced courses, before undertaking our Aesthetic training courses, we set the minimum pre requirement as:
Do check with your future insurance provider for these treatments prior to booking as the pre requirements for insurance can vary significantly between providers with some being happy to accept simply an accredited diploma in Facial Skincare, whereas others set the minimum standard as VTCT qualifications at Level 2 and/or Level 3, depending on the specific treatments you wish to be insured for.
Where Level 2 and/or 3 is required, we recommend the following qualification courses which allow you to gain knowledge of a range of treatments for a good all-round beauty skill set. These can be booked and studied alongside our Aesthetics courses to fast-track your studies:
OR
Or for those want to specialise purely in skincare and aesthetics, to fast track your career, save you money on training costs (and as accepted by your insurer), we highly recommend simply taking these courses alongside our Aesthetics courses:
There are a variety of treatments available and these are expanding regularly. Here are some examples of current popular treatments.
In order to gain insurance you will be required to present your insurance company with an accredited certificate. Beware of courses out there which only provide a CPD registered certificate as these are not widely accepted for insurance, as many do not involve hands-on practical as part of the course. An accredited certificate proves that you have completed training with a reputable training provider that meets the standards of the industry and demonstrated practical competence as part of the course. It is important to do your research when decided on which courses to undertake. Here at The Beauty Academy, all of our Classroom based courses are accredited by Associated Beauty Therapists (ABT) and are fully insurable.
Now is the time to start promoting the treatments to your clients. Your current Facial clients are the ideal place to start, these treatments will also attract new clients more interested in instant results! Below are a few ways to get started with promoting the new treatments.
Once you are working in the aesthetics industry or offering these treatments within your own beauty business, you may decide you want to take your career further and begin offering courses or teaching aesthetics treatments to other aspiring therapists and aestheticians. You might like to consider the VTCT Level 3 in Education & Training, which is the gold standard sought by insurers and accrediting bodies to allow you to teach or offer training within these courses. This can be studied on a flexible, fast track basis entirely online from home so is ideal for a busy therapist!
Know your niche
What is your unique selling point?
The Beauty industry is one of the most competitive out there, finding your niche will help you stand out from the crowd and build loyal client base. When you first start out it one of the biggest challenges can be deciding on the treatments you offer within the treatment room. Itโs easy to get carried away with the excitement and end up offering too much.
The easiest way to find your niche is to focus on the treatments that you love to perform, chances are these are the treatments you will succeed in because youโre passionate about them.
Once youโve chosen your treatments consider what makes your treatments stand out, is it your nail art? Perhaps youโre a master at lash mapping or it could be the extra little touches in your customer service. Dedicate your time perfecting those treatments and marketing your unique selling points!
Who is your target audience?
It would be great to say everyone… however, the most successful businesses know that in order to have repeat custom you need to know the customer you are targeting. This will allow you to market your business in the correct way. For example, did you know the largest growing group on Facebook is grandparents? Consider the type of client you want coming through your door and research the best ways to advise to them. Asking those clients directly via surveys and ask what they look for from their treatments will also allow you to customise your treatments to meet those needs.
Premises
Are you looking to rent a salon or buy a premise, perhaps you want to work from home? Each option will have a variety of considerations. Where your business is based will determine the licences and insurance you will need to acquire. You may also consider mobile work, one consideration for this has its own implications for example setting boundaries on how far you are willing to travel.
Costings
The initial outlay for starting a business can soon add up. Will you require a loan to get started? Creating a business plan with a lay out of costings and a plan for paying back loans will help you keep on top of the business finances.
Another consideration for costings is working out your pricelists, the best way to do this is to work out how much it costs you to do the service, from disposables, product usage and what your hourly rate is. ย Most professional product brands will give you an approximant usage of a product to make it easier to work costings out.
Laws and regulations
There are various laws and regulations impacting the beauty industry, itโs important that these laws are adhered to as it may affect your insurance.
The majority of these laws relate to health and safety practices in the workplace, such as storing products and chemicals we use. Recent GDPR laws focus more on how we process our clientโs data.
There are also new laws relating to covid-19 so it is important to regularly review the latest government policies on implementation of regulations.
For a full breakdown visit the gov.org website.
With manicure and pedicure services being staple treatments within our salons and spas, it can be easy to fall into robot mode. Going through the motions, client after client, file paint repeat! Are you looking for ways to change it up? Here are our top 3 ways to increase the client experience, increase bookings and client retention.
Luxury additions to the treatment
Luxury additions can be added to your standard manicure or pedicure treatments for an additional fee. These additions can help the health of the skin and nails as well as increase client relaxation and stress relief.
Paraffin wax– a natural moisturiser, paraffin wax leaves the skin smooth and supple. It can be used in conjunction with other hand/food masks to increase skin hydration. When applied the warming wax increases circulation, making it an ideal addition for client that suffer with cold hands and feet!
ย Heated mitts/booties- increase penetration of skin nourishing masks leading to softer smoother skin and nails.
Additional massage- an additional massage can escalation the clients experience and their desire to want to return. The time it takes for the paraffin wax or heated mitts/booties provides the ideal time to offer a neck and shoulder or scalp massage.ย Reflexology can elevate your pedicure services to a new level. If youโre trained in reflexology, why not start integrating elements of your practice into your pedicure treatments for an extra treat!
Elevating the client experience
In addition to the previous tools, itโs also important to reflect on the overall client experience can elevate their treatment to new luxury heights!ย These experiences can start the moment the client walks through the door, consider the smells they are experience. Essential oil diffusers are a great way to set the tone of a treatment and can be changed regularly. Also consider drinks on offer, is it time to change up the menu?
Adding essential oils, crystals or petals to your manicure/pedicure bowl can increase the luxurious feel to the treatment.
Lighting is also an important consideration, although needed for certain stages of the treatment there maybe times where dimming the lights can increase their relaxation.
โfreebiesโ creating packages between retail and services can increase client retention and retail sales. Examples may include a free nail oil or polish mini with a luxury manicure service.
Themed treatments
Themed treatments work well when linked to special events or holidays, running them for a shorter period of time makes them more exclusive and desirable for clients, leading to increased treatment bookings and sales. When creating a theme consistency is key, layering links to the theme throughout.
Example of a themed manicure/pedicure treatment:
Indulgent chocolate manicure/pedicure
A chocolate related arrival treat of chocolates, biscuits or sweets.
Swap out usual products (scrubs, mask and moisturisers) for chocolate scented products.
Adding a couple of drops of orange essential oil to products, diffusers and water can add to their sensory experience. Orange compliments chocolate scents.
An addition of chocolate paraffin wax will increase the luxury of the service.
Finish with a hot chocolate with all the trimmings while their nails are drying.
With a current market value worth ยฃ560 million, the skincare industry is as popular now as it has ever been. Gone are the days of the monthly facial and on your way. In recent years clients are demanding more from their skin treatments and their skin therapists. With so much available on the market, hereโs our top tips to stay relevant and stand out against the competition.
Bespoke treatments
Personalisation is the key to building a loyal clientele. Clients have their own individual skin concerns, lifestyles and their own preferences when it comes to their treatment. By completing a comprehensive consultation, you will be equipped with all the information you need to design their experience for them.
Donโt feel pressured to sticking to a concrete routine, your facial routine can be flexible. By focussing on the treatment steps that will benefit the client the most, you will get more of a targeted result. For example, a client that complains of dull, rough skin would benefit most from the exfoliation and masking stages, whereas for a highly sensitised skin you may choose to omit exfoliation altogether.
Combining stages can speed up steps, have a more targeted results and allow you more time elsewhere in the treatment. Talk to your skin care provider on how you can mix up your products! Common combos include power cleansing and masking by adding an exfoliant to a cleanser or mask, massaging over a mask or combining retail serums into moisturisers in the treatment room.
Toolsย
The world is becoming more technological, your treatments can be too! Using machines within your treatments can increase the results you can achieve. Microcurrent, Microdermabrasion, LED and more are favoured with professional therapists worldwide for their easy use and quick results.
Manual tools are also becoming more popular, whether itโs a Guava stone for cleansing or a Derma roller for increasing product efficiency they offer you further ways to customise the clients treatment.
Multisensory experiences
Elevate your treatments by customising your clientโs full sensory experiences. By customising these experiences, the client will not only leave with great skin but an overall sense of relaxation and well-being specifically designed for them. ย Ask your client how they would like to feel after their treatment: relaxed or uplifted there are various ways to target this form them.
Taste: consider what you serve your client prior to their treatment. Herbal teas and fruit waters can be a great place to start. Certain blends such as lavender and chamomiles would suit the client looking for relaxation, whereas citrus fruits are the go-to for invigoration
Smell: Smell and taste go hand in hand, complement the drinks you offer with diffuser smells in the treatment room. Beginning and ending your treatments with some inhalations using essential oils can help transition your client in and out of their treatment.
ย Sight: lighting can be a great way to set the mood for the treatment, some therapists will use changeable mood lamps. Also consider the colour of your treatment space, itโs been proven that colours affect moods. For example blues, purples and greens can stimulate feelings of calm, yellow can increase anxiety and reds can be very stimulating.
Sound: not everyone relaxes to the same music, try asking your client what they prefer to listen to during their treatments, they might just surprise you! Some clients may prefer not to listen to any music at all, they may find it distracts them from completely switching off. Ensure background noises, sounds that we become accustom too such as the squeaky chair, phone ringing or dripping tap are all new for our clients!
Touch: donโt save the relaxation for the massage, increase touch throughout the treatment to relax your client. Begin with some pressure points or shoulder rocks to introduce your touch this can increase the clients comfort in their surroundings.
ย
Step 1 is to find your niche
What is it that you know most about or are most passionate to learn about. This will certainly help you keep focused over time on getting your blog established and help you really stand out from the crowd so that you are seen to be offering something fresh, new and different from the competition. If you love nails, what specifically do you love? Are you a vegan and want to herald quality vegan nail products? Perhaps you are a make up artist who came to the industry later in life and have expert knowledge of enhancing ladies with mature skin concerns? Whatever it is, narrow it down and stick with it.
Step 2 is to know your audience and brand yourself accordingly.
Think about who might search for and read your blog. Who do you want to appeal to? Keep this in mind when choosing a name for your blog. You want something catchy, easy to spell (for when people search or share your blog), perhaps a play on words but remember that some phrases can have different connotations so make sure you arenโt going to inadvertently offend anyone. Next think about the look and feel of your blog. Are you appealing to a younger audience in which case you might want pink and girly? Or if you are wanting to be sophisticated for a more high end feel, perhaps a cleaner image. This will carry over into the content you write and post about, also the style in which you write โ whether informal, chatty or more informative and using correct terms etc.
Step 3 is decide how to blog
Youโll need to pick a site to host your blog, perhaps wordpress.com or blogger.com โ thinking back to your audience. A personalised domain is important to be taken seriously so look at services like godaddy.com to get your own unique URL that makes sharing your blog easier on social media and adds to your brand image. Think about whether you will be writing articles, short reviews, will you be hosting vlogs (video blogs) or including lots of images in your blog. If using images, think about whether these will be paid for stock images or whether you will create your own photos. If creating photos, take caution not to breach trademark rights for example and think about the quality of the images, do they fit with the brand profile you are trying to create? You donโt want fuzzy or poor staged images, consider the background for vlogs and your appearance also. Youโll need to plan in time (will you blog in the evenings, weekends or around your children for example?) and any monetary commitment such as to hosting services or for photographic equipment or software.
Step 4 is advertising
The key to making money from blogging (if that is your intention, many blog just to raise their personal or brand profile in their industry or just for fun); is to consider advertising. You might sell advertising space on your blog pages yourself or use platforms like Passion Fruit Apps or join affliate marketing networks like Clickbank. There are also affliate programs you can join for companies like eBay or Amazon or use the ads program through search engines like Google AdSense. You may be paid just to include an advert either as a banner or image on you webpage or you might be paid on a pay per click basis or per impression (when ad displayed to users). You might also once you establish a following, be offered gifts from beauty brands to review. Remember paid-for reviews in this way can affect your credibility and where you are linking to linked company websites this can affect your ratings with search engines such as Google who downgrade sites that feature such promotions, link and advertising so weigh up the pros and cons first.
You also need to think about how you promote your blog which may just be word of mouth initially, perhaps by email or on social media with your existing contacts. You might consider paying for advertising through Google Adwords or Bing Ads to help drive traffic to your blog site. Brand Ambassadorship is another option for beauty bloggers, making contacts with relevant beauty brands and endorsing their products on your blog and personally on your social media as you build you brand. Making connnections with beauty influencers can also help build your audience, provided you choose the right people for your target audience. Contact beauty brands directly too and build connections with their PR team, you want to stand out from the crowd and donโt be afraid to use your beauty expertise when talking with such connections so that they can see your true value in this crowded field.
Step 5 is persistence, patience and staying active
Keep blogging regularly but remember, quality over quantity. Make sure each piece your post follows your original brand plan in terms of the audience, image, voice and message. Make sure you are building creditibility as a beauty expert with the right connections. A quality blog once or twice a week is better than sharing poor quality photos or an inconsistence message every day. Build on content and revisit blogs too to keep existing content alive on your site and help your search engine rankings. Use meta tags that are relevant and update your site continuously. Keep up with the industry by following other beauty bloggers so you can predict trends and stay ahead. It will take time to build a solid following but once you achieve that, as long as you keep quality of content high and regular, youโre following will just keep building and ideas for new material may start to find you (with gifted products or big brands following you). Youโll have days where you feel writerโs block and other days where your ideas flow, just keep going and youโll achieve a blog youโll be proud to be the face of.
Beyond bloggingโฆ
You might find once you start using your existing beauty skills and knowledge to create a blog that you want to take it further, into teaching beauty. With a VTCT Level 3 Award in Education & Training you can teach your own beauty courses, have your courses accredited and begin earning sharing your passion for beauty with others. The VTCT award can be completed entirely online, from home studied at your own pace. Assessment is through coursework and a Skype based online video assessment, no scary exam papers or large group presentations! Payment for the course can be through payment plan to help spread the cost. Whatโs stoppping you? Take the leap to teaching today!
Online demand for beauty products has surged in 2020 and Mintel predicts that value sales of beauty/grooming products through online sales will rise 24% to ยฃ1.9 billion in 2020. The beauty sector in general, has been predicted to grow by up to 21.1% up to 2022, thatโs a huge number of beauty products being bought and treatments being delivered every single day and a huge amount of money being earnt by therapists all over the UK. With unprecented times seen in 2020 through the COVID pandemic and sadly some industries failing to bounce back, it is not surprising many people are looking for other career options and perhaps to follow long-held dreams of working in beauty.
Technology has evolved massively within the last 5 years with aesthetics being one of the largest growing sectors and with money being tighter for many, clients are also keen on treatments that give long lasting or multi tasking results allowing them to save time or money in other areas of their beauty regimes such as tinting, lash lifting (in place of extensions), spray tanning and facials like microdermabrasion giving flawless results that help reduce the need for daily make up application.
Lockdown also saw a huge number of clients getting into DIY beauty at home (and seeing some disasters unfortunately) that made them both appreciate the benefits of a professional but the perks of mobile treatments, with many clients still not feeling fully comfortable returning to salons as yet despite Covid-secure measures. This is great news for those starting out, helping to keep overheads down on premises or renting a room, mobile working also allows you to have flexible working hours or maximise your earnings working just part time around other employment.
Beauty can be broken down into reasonably separate treatment sectors:
Most beauty therapists will specialise in one or two of these areas of beauty, possibly offering the odd add-on treatment as demanded by their unique client base so picking the sector which most sparks your passion is the best starting point. Think about treatments you regularly receive already or beauty products that you canโt live without โ bring this passion into your work and share it with others, all while earning a living.
Think about how you want to train โ do you prefer the idea of face to face courses, is that practical for you in terms of travel, childcare, work shifts etc.? We offer courses 6 days a week across 10 centres so there is likely to be training dates that work for you. These courses are fast track, typically delivered in 1 day so ideal for those who work long hours where longer term study may be tricky. Prefer to take more time over your learning, studying online at your own pace? It might be that our accredited online courses or Virtual Academy training is better suited to your needs โ no attendance of the centre is required for these so they are great for those with caring commitments or who live too far from a centre. Our online courses are also budget friendly and accessible, starting at just ยฃ99 each. Classroom courses start from only ยฃ129.
Think about what is popular in your area โ are there already a huge amount of lash technicians operating in your local area? Maybe you live round the corner from 2 or 3 nail bars. Remember there will always be business for a highly trained technician and other businesses simply signify there is demand but take your competition into consideration when deciding which treatments you start out with learning. Also think about your start-up costs in terms of kit and marketing. Online marketing through social media is free beyond your time and often very effective. A website is also a great investment, even just a free website building platform to get you started with an online presence. Youโll also need to think about where youโll work. Do you have a spare room at home or are you going to work mobile in which case youโll need a reliable car? Factor in any considerations like getting agreement from your landlord to work from home if renting or adding on use for work purposes on your car insurance policy.
Start realistically โ book courses to learn one treatment you will specialise in to begin with or consider a package of suitable linked treatments that will allow you to offer popular treatment packages to clients to boost your earnings. Our Multi Buy Course Packages have all been carefully selected as treatments that work well as a business start-up opportunity and save you money on training in the long run also, versus booking each course individually. Remember we offer payment options to help spread the cost, including 0% credit through PayPal Credit on balances over ยฃ99.
