hi all, after lot and lots of practice on my nail trainer Ive started to carry out treatments on friends and family, and they have been all freebies, the other day my friend asked for a set of gels and asked how much i charge? As Im still training and still have lots to learn I havent thought about charging, especially as there doing me a favour in a way so I can practise and Im not sure about charging if they go terribly wrong lol
what do you all think, is it right to charge and if so how much?

Well lots of techs charge a small amount to cover materials while they are training, however, I noticed that you trained with Esential Nails. The problem that you may well find is that your training will not be recognised by any of the insurance companies, and the thing which is of paramount importance is that you MUST be insured for public liability before you charge anybody for your work. You might find that you cannot get any insurance, and so you will not be able to work professionally or charge anyone for your work under this qualification.

Are you thinking about becoming a full time nail tech at any point? If so it would be a good investment for you to look at other training options. You said you didnt get on well training with a tutor in the past but there are lots of training options out there that involve small class sizes and relaxed teaching styles.

i started to train with essentail nails but that wasnt for me, i needed a tutor , working alone when no one can tell you what your doing wrong or right is hard... Im with the herts and essex beauty academy now and finding it so much better , Im doing the level 2 so i can do all the theory work as well as practical, I was looking into insurance but didnt really know where to start?

firstly don't do too many friends!!! lol
i made this mistake and anyone i knew/vaguely knew expected to be my best mate!!!!
charge something -even if its £10 (i started at £5 whilst doin my foundation course) - make them come to you if its poss or you will need to consider petrol costs too.
i used to do soak offs for nothing (big mistake!!!) - even if you charge them a couple of quid for the product.
people still want freebies now!!!

lol il remember that one, thanks for your advice

Ah I see! Sorry I misunderstood and thought it was the other way round (ie you left the tutor training to do E.N - sorry!)

Well provided you get your insurance I would charge a small amount. Personally I charged £5 per set when I first began on the agreement that they may not be very good, then as I developed I went up to £10, and up again to £15, then my prices went up to the full amount of £30 per set.

I would do as many sets of nails as you can, do as many friends as you can, the more practice you can get the better. BUT.... you need to make sure that you are firm with them. Make sure that everyone knows that these are TRAINING rates, not FRIENDS rates, you dont want to leave anyone room to assume that when you are fully qualified and a full time tech that they are still entitled to these special rates.

lol I had to check my profile to see what I had actually wrote about my training thanks for your advice, Ill start looking into insurance x

[quote='chelle;814020] I noticed that you trained with Esential Nails. The problem that you may well find is that your training will not be recognised by any of the insurance companies, and the thing which is of paramount importance is that you MUST be insured for public liability before you charge anybody for your work. You might find that you cannot get any insurance, and so you will not be able to work professionally or charge anyone for your work under this qualification.[quote]

I didn't realise this was correct? Why is it that Essential Nails as a qualification may not be recognised?

Sorry not got the hang of quoting just yet.

[quote=DollBird;814045][quote='chelle;814020].The best thing to do is to ring round some insurance companies, but I know a few techs on here have done training with Essential Nails, tried to get public liability insurance, and been told that correspondance courses arent recognised as professional training and they've had to get other qualifications elsewhere. If you have any doubt, ring round some insurance companies, and maybe start a thread on here asking for opinions from anyone who did E.N training.

Just for those that dont know if you are trained by ESSENTIAL NAILS you can get insurance..both as a student and once qualified...I got both from The Guild... I know others have got theirs through other insurers, but Im not sure which. But I dont think you can go wrong with the Guild its a good company and well respected ...HTH...xxx

definately charge even if only a little, as ur providing a service with personal expense but be firm once u set a low price its hard to charge more, like 'chelle says - make sure they know its training rates not friends rates.

when i was training at college the tutors were forever telling us make sure we charge everyone, like i say if u dont feel comfortable with it, which is understandable, just charge to cover costs

Oh Im confused and worried now.....Im also doing a home learning course with UK Open Learning, will I struggle to get Liability Insurance...who would you recommend?

Have a word with The Guild she is a member on here you can pm her..x

Hey im on the same boat as you- im not that confident so im just charging £10 per full set- it means you aint sitting that length of time for nothing- plus it will go towards products!!

you could always aske them to put a donation in a donation box for you ( make sure its a glass jar or something you can see into then they will have to put a decent amount in there lol)
Personally I think people give a little more if you just ask for a donation. just my opinion