Hi guys

I am in the middle of creating my portfolio for my NSI assessment on L&P - and my tutor is expecting anywhere between 10 and 30 sets of sculpts. I am struggling to get clients so my next plan is to do a mass leaflet drop in my area and say models needed for acrylic nails etc for £10 a set....do you think this might get me some clients and some much needed $$ at the same time? Or do you think it will upset people?

My thinking was that it would kill many birds with one stone:

1. Get me the clients i need
2. Get me practice on strangers
3. Get me used to making appts
4. Gte me used to working in peoples homes
5 Make me some money to cover materials

I would appreciate everyones honest opinions....i know most people wont even read the leaflet but if say 10 people out of 500 do then thats £100 and most of my portfolio done....what d'ya reckon guys?? Love xxx

this may work hun but be careful about your wording and the cost of the leaflets as any cash you get would be offset by how much you spend on them in the first instance

surely you would still need student insurance of some kind to work on general public? especially if they are paying???

Hi
I've recently completed my foundation with NSI and I didn't do anywhere near 30 sets for my portfolio. I think I had 11 sculpts, 2 tip and overlays and 3 backfills/rebalance in mine. I used my nail trainer for a few sets of sculpts too and my own hands for a few.

Don't you have some friends that might help you out too? You could soak them off for them after or you never know they might get to like them and want to keep them.

I didn't charge for mine at the time because I really needed the help but I need put some leaflets in a shop or two asking for models for a small fee covering costs but I didn't get any response in the time available. hth x

OMG i didnt know that this kind of thing was included on a foundation course. How can you do 10 - 30 sets in the duration of the course which im persuming is over just seveal days? Is this the same for creative's foundation? How will they know that you've done between 10-30 sets unless they see sets for themselfs?
Sorry...i havent done a foundation course yet and im just confussed! lol

As for your question...i didnt think you could charge for a service unless you had insurance....and to get insurance you need to be quilified already. But i know what you mean by covering your expenses xxx

Think you have a point there Kelly

They ask you to take before and after photographs of every set you do and client consultation forms, or at least that is what I have to do, I train with NSI too

No it is not the same for a creative foundation course,
at creative you are assessed on the work that you do on your model in the class room and the home work that they set you,
also the several days are not one after the other, they are spread out over a couple of month to give you time to complete your home work and get some practise in hth
The guild offer student insurance hth

Just for the record you need three clients for the creative foundation 5 day course on days 3,4 and 5. In addition you use a nail trainer which you can buy or hire for the duration of the course. Don't panic, miracles are not expected!!!

You could do this, although as some people have already said, you will definitely need to get some professional/treatment liability insurance cover. This isnt expensive and is available from various companies.

The only thing I would reconsider is sending leaflets out to the general public. These are the people that will be your target client base once you are qualified, and people can be inconsiderate. If you do a set of nails whilst training that are not quite as good as a set they would get from a salon, they will tell their friends "xxxx did my nails and they're crap", they wont mention that you;re training or that you charged them a training rate, and you could end up with an undeserved bad reputation.

Do the leaflets, but rather than posting them door to door, give them to your family, even the more distant members, your friends, and ask your friends to pass them to their mums/sisters etc too. If you can keep your training sets confined to friends and family, albeit extended friends & family, you can then start afresh by sending leaflets out to the general public once you feel confident enough to do a really good set of nails and not worry too much about the inevitable mistakes you will make whilst training.

There;s no right or wrong answer, but that's how I would do it.

Do i need 3 different clients or could they be the same person? I have a nail trainer already.
Thanks for the helpful info btw

I used the same person

I used the same person also....i had enough trouble finding that one let alone trying to find 3!!! LOL!
xx

Thankyou girlies

Thanks for everyones help - but i am insured!!! I definitely wouldn't be working on public if i weren't and also i am producing the leaflets myself.

I am aware i dont NEED 30 sets of nails and the course duration is as long as you need to complete portfolio - my assessment is not until November so i can afford to put a bit more effort in. I know i could just do 10 sets but if my practical wasnt up to much on the day then a portfolio of 20-30 good sets would really help (from the assessors mouth!).

Ta xx

As you were.......xx