Just came across this one here in Spain and I know it is a concern to nail technicians everywhere ... so your opinions please!

My friend has just opened a beautiful new salon and for the first three months she has been offering 'Forever' French (Back fills to some) rebalances at the same charge as a normal rebalance service by way of a promotion. NOW the three month period is up and she is frightened to start charging the normal price for this service! She thinks everyone will up and go to the competition! :shocker:

Or how about you out there who have been charging the same price for the past thousand years?? Is it time for a change? Are you scared of the consequences?

Let me know what you think and I'll let you know what I think.

geeg... xx

hi geeg

I am just about to open a new salon in my area and i am doing the same sort of thing as your friend offering a promotion on a full set so at the end of the month i will probably be in the same predicament, but if my clients like my work and like my salon i am sure they will want to pay just that little bit more than the lady renting a chair in my local hairdressers.

I will let you know

Hi, I'm a novice tech just starting out working from home and charges are a bit of a sore point with me :frust: .Because I have a salon just around the corner with a well established client-base, I feel I need to be cheaper to attract some attention, also I'm still quite slow being a novice and am nervous that people wont want to make allowances for this and may expect me to be A LOT cheaper.I also know that if I begin too cheaply I wont have the nerve to put my prices up later on ops: I must have revised my price list at least 30 times in the last few days and am still undecided with what to go with

I was like you a couple of years ago. What does the other salon charge? I looked around at the other nail places before setting my prices and I decided that I would do friends and family for £10 to start with and any other unsuspecting member of the public for £18. I explained I was new and they didn't seem to mind. My price was set at £18 until I felt my standard of nails equalled or was better than the other places. I only did 3 sets at £18 as I saw the standard of the nails being done locally and charging £25 plus and I was appalled!

I say go for it girl, get yourself out there and as long as you are safe and hygienic and produce a good set of nails then the client is not going to worry too much initially about your speed.

You should not try and compete on price but on quality. If you are not in a salon situation then there will be no boss putting pressure on you to get done in an hour. I work from home and do a full set in 1 1/2 hrs but sometimes it goes to nearer 2 if we end up chatting too much.

I hope this helps and I hope you gave thought to what I said in my e-mail a short while back to you.

and btw thanks for the kind words about my airbrushing.

Like everyone it is very daunting when starting out to decide where to price your service.
When I opened my salon I took advise from an established friend who pointed out the pitfalls of being too cheap and then unable to raise the price.
Her advise was to offer my service at an opening rate but to quite clearly display what the RRP was. After the offer period it was then quite easy to charge the going rate without clients getting the wrong impression of a massive price increase overnight.
Lynda

Thank-you Fiona and Lynda for your advice on not being too cheap.I know that I need to learn to value what I can do ops: .I think for me things are not helped by the fact that the current enviroment I work in is a bit 'rough and tumble' and so are the girls They have started to share my interest in nails but almost from a mickey-taking point of view as they all now buy vulgar cheap stick on things -and we're talking pence here -then they turn around and say "You're going to charge "HOW MUCH!!" as they wave these disgusting things in front of my face as if they are in some way comparable I know,I know - I need to get out of that horrible place- and I will!.In fact I'm off out today to do the rounds of the local salons to get some of their price lists and I wil go from there.Cheers peeps

Hi Guys, Just thought of a litttle quote that comes to mind every time I think of the 'prices' subject. My Calgel educator looked at me in total disgust when I told him I was going to begin at a low rate to try and get noticed and he said " Look girl,you go around charging 'Bacons shoe' prices and you are going to get 'Bacon shoe' customers" :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: Well I thought it was hilarious anyway! (appologies to anyone who may shop at Bacons).

I am the most gutless person in the world.
I need to raise my fill prices. I have needed to for ages. I have some clients who insist on paying me more for fills than what I charge. lol I guess I am a little worried about charging more than people can afford.

But you know what holds me back the most...that darn pocket lifting. If I was very confident that my product was going to hold up I would not be so hesitant to charge more. How can I raise my prices when people's nails are having problems? Of course there are always going to be clients who are just hard on their nails but when I get pocket lifting on my own nails despite my every effort ...there goes my confidence.

I am working to remedy this problem though..I need a couple more weeks to judge results.... then we will see about a price increase... Feb is my 3 year anniversary as Christie's Nails (in Ocean View Hair Salon). So I think it is time for a price increase.

I said I'd tell you what I think so here are a few things to think on!

Fact #1 ... It is not being cheaper than the other guy that will attract a larger client base - it is being better than the other guy!

Fact #2 ... If you loose a few customers after a price increase, the ones who stay who are paying more, will compensate for it and you will be no worse off AND have room for more new customers.

Fact#3 ... all new customers will accept your prices at face value.

Fact#4 ... Do you know of any other service that has kept its prices steady for more than 3 years, Christie???

One thing is certain, we as technicians have to deliver 'the goods' to our clients/customers. But we as suppliers have to make increases from time to time as world money markets fluctuate, and YOU as a technician cannot keep absorbing these increases whilst your overheads increase. It is a legitimate business move to make increases when necessary. Stop feeling guilty about it and making assumptions about what your clients can and cannot afford. Nails are still a small luxury when compared to other things that women want!!

Well said Gigi...

Remember market perception... I know of a tek in London that wanted to drop a shed load of her clients... so she did what any normal tek would do and...

Raised her prices to an ungodly amount...

She is now busier than before... mostly with celebs.

People think that if they pay twice as much for a service with you than with all the other guys... you must be twice as good....

hmmm... lession to learn here? :study:

What a great topic this was.
Thanks again to the nail geek for a great place to read and learn from others.
I posted earlier that I started out a bit cheaper but with the recommended price dislayed. I have tonight amended all my price lists to reflect the charge that I now believe I can confidently ask for. If I do experience any problems I log on immediatley and questions are answered by all you like minded people from all over the world.
It is very daunting for a new technician to be super confident but with the support of the forum, the skys the limit guys!

Lynda

I want to actually be twice as good...
We are hardest on ourselves aren't we?

I agree with the GEEK. I recently went to work in a small salon, 1 hairdresser, 1 massage therapist, myself, and the owner, which is also a nailtech. She has a full book, and isn't excepting any new clients, so any new clients I will get. When I was getting ready to get started in there, I talked to the owner about what her prices were. I thought that since I was new I needed to be cheaper than her, probably by a lot, especially since she had been doing nails for 8+ years. Well, she told me that she knew it wasn't really any of her business but she was going to tell me anyway!!! She told me, don't you dare put your prices cheap!!! You will never make a living doing nails for $20 a set. She started out at premium prices for our town, and is still at it. She is makiing all she wants to make. She started out at $42 a full set, and $22 a fill U.S. So, I thought ok, we'll see. I think it's easier to come down on prices than it is to go up on them, so I thought ok, I will give it a try. Well, l am getting new clients now, none have complained about the prices. They don't blink an eye. Even knowing I am new. They also are talking to me about how nice my set up is, how relaxing it is and how nice for it not to be in the middle of a salon with a bunch of kids running around. I really think people are willing to pay for good atmosphere as well as good customer service. They are all willing to let me work out my kinks on them. They understand that I am new, although I don't just volunteer that information. If they ask how long I have been doing nails, well I will tell them, but I don't just volunteer the information either. So, I think it has helped me too with my confidence too, in knowing that people are willing to pay $40 for a full set of nails, and not think twice about it. I feel like I am offering them "cadillac" services, and that is the type of clientele that I want the "cadillac" clients. Well, hope that all makes sense. So far it's working for me. Slowly but surely. I know that it will take a while to build a book. It isn't going to happen overnight, so I am working on getting my name out there, and setting myself apart from the others in town. I want to give my clients the "cadillac" services!!!!!!! :queen: :king:

That sounds great.. I would think that would totally build your confidence that someone will pay a higher price for your work and not blink an eye about it. They see your are professional and know your stuff...you went to school... I think most people figure that if you went to school then you know what you are doing..not realizing how hard we are on ourselves.

Also when you work at a higher end salon..the clients figure that the owner has standards and would not hire just anyone to do nails..

I never offered up that I was new at nails either..and when someone did ask I always started counting from the day I started nail school...not when I got done..heehee

I am so glad everything is starting out well for you Shelley...