Hi Geeklings.

I was just wondering if anyone out there actually makes enough mone to live on i.e pay mortgage & normal household bills by working full time as a nail tech? I am currently training (CND) I once ready wish to make the leap of faith. I work in office job at the mo on roughly £20,000 pa. Does any of you make close to that figure or do you rely on partner/parents to help with the finances? I dont wish to be rude but I have bills to pay & cant afford to live on very low wage. Im only asking as been browsing recruitment page & see people offering min wage for experianced nail tech(not after the bloody money Im paying for 121 training lol) This is aimed at techs renting desks/mobile or employed rather than large salon owners.

Many thanks xx

i know someone who rents a station for 55.00 but earns between £250-£350 weekly>

I think if you are good, and you are busy, and you pay a fair and reasonable rent, then there is no reason why you shouldn't make a living. I am not a nail tech, I'm a beauty therapist, so there is a difference, i.e. the ability to cross-sell different treatments, but I am completely financially independent. Apart the financial responsibilty of being a single parent, I also pay the mortgage, I run two cars, we eat well, we go on holiday..... yes I work hard, but that is my choice I guess.

Why don't you do a simple calculation... how many days you want to work each week, how many sets / rebalance you can comfortably do in a day, what your product costs will be, what your rent will be, what your marketing / advertising costs will be.. and there's your answer.

Hiya

thanks for your honest reply I was just wondering because I dont really want to take a massive pay cut. I am planning to offer nail treatments in the eve & weekends to start & then go from there. I work in a large call center & constantly get asked to do nails but im not ready yet. Eventuly I wish to ditch the day job & go full time but need to be realistic with income matters. Im glad you are able to live off your passion & hope one day to do the same. Good luck to you xxx

I am just a Nail Technician, I dont mean that in a down beat way by all means.... I only do nails and only know nails...... Do I make a living yep, do I pay my way yep, but I had to take the bull by the horns, I didn;t have a day job that gave me an addditional income, I had just walked out on a bad marriage and I had to make it work..... I wanted to succeed, I wanted to earn a living, being able to buy food and pay my rent was a number one priority and in the first 18 months I struggled, but I kept going and got there..god know how i survived on all those packets of super noodles and near the end off sell by date food.......... 17 years on and I am happy and still very much in love with my job, it takes time, tears, patience, practice and lots of tenacity to make it.....

It will work out if you want it bad enough, so if you want it bad nough you will find ways to get there xxx
Good luck huni xxxxx

Yes, 20k pa is possible, but you'll only do it in a very high profile and busy salon. There's no way it will happen overnight, I reckon you'll have to be trading for a couple of years to get enough regular clients and build up a good reputation!

I am going to say something that a lot of people will probably disagree with but, here goes... I do not think I would have become as busy as I am if I had another job. Being available all day every day to book clients in certainly gets you more appointments. I left a part time job in financial services 4.5 years ago, it was cushy and I earnt 33k pa. I started my business with no clients (obviously!) but I invested in advertising and I seriously bent over backwards to accomodate people, and to some extent I still do. So, similarly to Ruth, it was my number one priority to survive, and I think it's that instinct, and being hungry, that helps you on the road to success. All the time you have another income and limited hours available to accomodate clients, I don't see how your nail business can take off. There are a lot of techs and therapists who are working for their own pocket money, because they have a partner who pays all the bills. There's nothing wrong with that, but if you have to earn a living then that's another matter. People often say to me (in a kind of pitying way) 'oh all your work must be evenings and weekends, because that's when people want to come...' Erm, NO. I lot of clients work part-time, or shifts, or they're retired, or they come in their lunch break. When you think about it, salons are generally open during the day, they may have one or two late nights but the majority of clientele come during the day. The nail tech I use works Mon-Thurs and her last appt is 5pm. She has every evening and every Friday and Saturday off. (Lucky thing!)

If your a good nail tech then yes you can make a good living! My advice would be to work in a busy salon and build up your client base. If you want to leave and do it from home your clients will probably follow however you need to have a contract and make sure you dont break any of the terms and conditions. I wouldn't advise you try and do it mobile!

Hope this helps xxxx

I think the aim of any self employed nail technician is to earn a minimum amount per hour (mine is $55) and BE BUSY.

I want to be booked 40 hours per week (almost there), so yes, you can make a very nice living from nails.

I think in this era of nails (with quite alot of technicinas) and apparent competition, you have to set yourself aside and do something different to really prosper.