New mobile business advice

[beautybyella]

Hi all, I have started a mobile beauty business offering individual eyelash extensions and spray tans
I am currently training to offer other services. But I am struggling to get any business. I have created social media pages, joined local facebook groups etc. I have created flyers and will be distributing these asap. Have I decided to launch the business at the wrong time of year?! I understand January must be a slow month but wasn't aware it would be this slow. I am trying to be patient but finding it a little disheartening. The area that I live in doesn't actually have anyone else offering these services so I really thought there would be a market for it. Any ideas or advice would be very welcome! Sorry if this has already been covered in a previous post.
thanks

 

[contouraclinic]

Try posting your flyers through people's doors and also ask local businesses to put some at their tills so that people can pick them up.

I've been lucky enough to have a lash client who is a hairdresser with her own home salon, and she has allowed me to advertise via her salon and also to do her client's lashes in there too. It might be worth visiting local hair salons who don't offer these services and seeing if they'll pop a few flyers out to their clients for you.

When you start getting clients you could also offer them a refer a friend discount, which usually makes them go and find a friend to have anything and everything done so they get their discount!

 

[contouraclinic]

Oh, and don't be disheartened! January is quiet, but once you get those amazing regular clients, January will be like having winding down time after Christmas chatting with the clients who genuinely care that you had a good festive season!

Good luck!

 

[beauty bits]

Why not start putting some advertising and packages together for valentines day. It will soon be here and might be a bit of a boost x

 

[KrisKross]

Don't get disheartened.

I started my mobile business in October/November, thinking I'd be really busy in the lead up to Christmas. I kept myself ticking over nicely but most of my clients were ones who had not booked in anywhere in advance and decided at the last minute they wanted a treatment - when their regular place couldn't fit them in they came to me, because I had plenty of availability. On the plus side, more than half of these people are now regulars - or as regular as they can be in three months :lol:.

One thing I've learned is that just because no-one in your area already does whatever it is you offer, doesn't mean that there's a whole client base sat at home waiting for your business to appear on the scene. If people in your area want lashes and tans, they're getting them done somewhere already. So you've got to find out where, and then decide what makes you better... How are you going to tempt them away and then keep them, what are you offering that their current therapist isn't? So you're local, that's a plus point... what else? For example, are you cheaper, have you had better training, are you using superior products? Your advertising needs to then highlight those plus points.

I've started a Facebook page. I'm having a website made which will be ready in a few weeks. I'm advertising on local Facebook selling pages, and websites like Netmums. I've personally found the best response to Facebook selling pages is to post between 6.30pm and 8pm, but post a lot and see when you get the most response or interaction - your Facebook page stats will tell you that. I've posted fliers all over the local area once already and plan on doing that every six weeks or so for the next few months. When logged in as my Facebook page I've "liked" a lot of local bars, restaurants, groups and activity pages and have started commenting on local events and stuff - so people see "My Company" have commented on things and it gets your name out there. I'm going to run an ad in the free local paper. I think the key is to get your name out there, and then do it again, and again and again to get the clients to give you a try. Once you've got them to book an appointment in the first place, then you focus on keeping them coming back.