Wonda
Well-Known Member
Well thought Id post a new thread about a few things, hope you dont mind.
Its been no secret that Ive been struggling recently to get my business running. Ive done all the usual, Facebook page, Website, Yell & Gumtree listings, leaflet drops, voucher donations to schools for raffles, discount offers for new clients, word of mouth etc etc.
However after having no clients for 3 weeks & making only £200 last month, Ive had no other option but to call a day on doing Nails as a career. Being sat in a salon 3-5 days a week doing new nail design wheels, reading Scratch, coming up with promotion ideas, handing out flyers, chatting to hairdressing side clients & not getting any money is too soul destroying for me to continue doing.
So on Friday morning, I informed the salon manager that I was no longer able to continue doing it & that my dad was coming over in the afternoon with his 4x4 & we were going to clear all my stuff out. I made sure I had client record cards from the rare clients I have done these last 6 months, telephone numbers etc. Packed the car when my dad came & buggered off.
Id go mobile but lost my driving licence in February due to the first Epileptic fit in 11 years due to stress, so I then got a push bike to get to work, fell off that & broke my arm which is in plaster until June.
I am very sad that Im not able to continue with it as I do enjoy doing the rare clients I have, but working for nothing is getting me so stressed, that Im stressing that the stress will bring on another fit, its no way to live & my health is the most important thing to me.
So 2013 is turning out to be one hell of a sh!te year.
I wanted to post this as when I was looking at doing this as a career, I found lots of threads about how busy people were & this sort of lulled me into a bit of a false sense of security, yes I know business take on average 2-3 years before making a profit, however if I knew then what I know now if Im honest, I would not have gone into Self Employment as Im now about £5,000 down & broke.
I am a firm believer that its not what you offer, how good you are etc etc, its where you are in the country. Ellesmere Port is full of benefit scrounging people under 30, its the only town where both fast food chains shut down within 4 weeks of each other, its just full of poundshops & pawnbrokers.
Therefore people are not prepared to pay £20-£25 for Gel polish / £25-£30 for Acrylics every few weeks or so.
Yes there are a couple of people who I know have made a go of it, but theyve been at it for nearly a decade. Plus Im fed up of hearing about how cheap the NSS are doing acrylics for £15 with a 20% discount or how people are doing nails as a career with no qualifications or insurance.
Ive ran out of love for the job I started off with such enthusiasm for because of all the cheapness & the general public of this town not being interested in looking after their nails / themselves & all they want is a cheap deal with a discount.
Ive got no plan to get rid of all my stuff, cause at the end of the day Id not get what I paid for it, so I may as well keep using it on the family & friends who might want my skills at some point & give myself fabulous nails for cost price !!
Im not sure how much more Id use this site, I do find some of the things posted a bit too bias towards a certain brand & certain members comments a bit too unproductive & provocative. Its an internet forum at the end of the day, most people will not want to use the search facility, theyll just post a new topic or theyll just want to talk about what new designs & colours are available over other things & people don't want to feel like they've chosen a rubbish brand, when in fact it's not rubbish, it's just different.
However, I do hope that Ive managed to gain enough insight into the business & skill set needed to be able to offer advice to anyone if/when needed, so you never know, I might stick around.
So, my plan is tomorrow, go to an interview for a Contracts Manager job, similar to what I was doing before nails, hopefully get through to the 2nd stage & even more better, actually get the job . But since Im the most unluckiest person everyone I know says I am, Im not holding my breath !!
Its been no secret that Ive been struggling recently to get my business running. Ive done all the usual, Facebook page, Website, Yell & Gumtree listings, leaflet drops, voucher donations to schools for raffles, discount offers for new clients, word of mouth etc etc.
However after having no clients for 3 weeks & making only £200 last month, Ive had no other option but to call a day on doing Nails as a career. Being sat in a salon 3-5 days a week doing new nail design wheels, reading Scratch, coming up with promotion ideas, handing out flyers, chatting to hairdressing side clients & not getting any money is too soul destroying for me to continue doing.
So on Friday morning, I informed the salon manager that I was no longer able to continue doing it & that my dad was coming over in the afternoon with his 4x4 & we were going to clear all my stuff out. I made sure I had client record cards from the rare clients I have done these last 6 months, telephone numbers etc. Packed the car when my dad came & buggered off.
Id go mobile but lost my driving licence in February due to the first Epileptic fit in 11 years due to stress, so I then got a push bike to get to work, fell off that & broke my arm which is in plaster until June.
I am very sad that Im not able to continue with it as I do enjoy doing the rare clients I have, but working for nothing is getting me so stressed, that Im stressing that the stress will bring on another fit, its no way to live & my health is the most important thing to me.
So 2013 is turning out to be one hell of a sh!te year.
I wanted to post this as when I was looking at doing this as a career, I found lots of threads about how busy people were & this sort of lulled me into a bit of a false sense of security, yes I know business take on average 2-3 years before making a profit, however if I knew then what I know now if Im honest, I would not have gone into Self Employment as Im now about £5,000 down & broke.
I am a firm believer that its not what you offer, how good you are etc etc, its where you are in the country. Ellesmere Port is full of benefit scrounging people under 30, its the only town where both fast food chains shut down within 4 weeks of each other, its just full of poundshops & pawnbrokers.
Therefore people are not prepared to pay £20-£25 for Gel polish / £25-£30 for Acrylics every few weeks or so.
Yes there are a couple of people who I know have made a go of it, but theyve been at it for nearly a decade. Plus Im fed up of hearing about how cheap the NSS are doing acrylics for £15 with a 20% discount or how people are doing nails as a career with no qualifications or insurance.
Ive ran out of love for the job I started off with such enthusiasm for because of all the cheapness & the general public of this town not being interested in looking after their nails / themselves & all they want is a cheap deal with a discount.
Ive got no plan to get rid of all my stuff, cause at the end of the day Id not get what I paid for it, so I may as well keep using it on the family & friends who might want my skills at some point & give myself fabulous nails for cost price !!
Im not sure how much more Id use this site, I do find some of the things posted a bit too bias towards a certain brand & certain members comments a bit too unproductive & provocative. Its an internet forum at the end of the day, most people will not want to use the search facility, theyll just post a new topic or theyll just want to talk about what new designs & colours are available over other things & people don't want to feel like they've chosen a rubbish brand, when in fact it's not rubbish, it's just different.
However, I do hope that Ive managed to gain enough insight into the business & skill set needed to be able to offer advice to anyone if/when needed, so you never know, I might stick around.
So, my plan is tomorrow, go to an interview for a Contracts Manager job, similar to what I was doing before nails, hopefully get through to the 2nd stage & even more better, actually get the job . But since Im the most unluckiest person everyone I know says I am, Im not holding my breath !!