££ charge or not ??

[fayeleebum]

Hello all

I am a trainee tech I guess... I will be starting my star nails course in may (the total tech plus course) And am obviously planning on getting plenty of experience before I advertise myself as a nail tech.

The thing is, I will have to practice on friends and family. Now when I had my tan done the other day the beautician told me that I should definately charge people for a set of nails otherwise i'll end up out of pocket!

I was just wondering what you reckon I should be asking for? I obviously dont wanna be unreasonable but I dont wanna end up outa pocket!
Thanks girlies

 

[CadenceAlex]

Well, I thought like this....

.. not everyone wanted nail sticking on.. so I OFFERED them from free when I had just gotten my certificate - I was grateful for them sitting down for three hours whilst I totally ruined their hands with the most rudimentary nail extensions - yes, I actually made their badly bitten hands look even worse... people would be drawn to their nails and would comment....

.. but thankfully they kept the hideous things on long enough for me to do the infills... (I should have been paying THEM)

... but when I understood a few things, got my time down and was happy that my nails would stay on and my guinea pig could go to the local pub without being laughed at... I started to charge them a tenner for my time! Close friends.

If you offered to do everyones nails at a price, and they didn't want to pay... what would you do? You'd have no models...

 

[tammie jayne]

I agree when i was training what a sight, worse than before i had started, so yeah i wouldnt charge anyone just yet, should be prepared to lose a little money until u get a bit more experience then make loadsa a money :biggrin:

 

[Sassy Hassy]

Everybody has differing opinions on this and at the end of the day it is what you are happy with. Some do it for nothing, some for a nominal charge to cover the cost of the products, some 50% of the going rate. Sometimes it's better to advertise full price, but then say for a limited time only they are at a lower price (to help you improve your timings).

It's a very expensive profession to get into and you do need to recoup your costs. Also if people get their nails done for free they don't tend to look after them very well ( and for some reason friends and family seem to be the most guilty of this!!!!!) which can be a blow to your confidence as you'll assume it's your fault.

 

[bubbabinks]

I've told my family that it's for free until I'm qualified and then they will have to pay.

 

[Tanita]

I so agree with you Sassy!

 

[pinkpink]

Ive just qualified about 3 weeks ago and I had some leaflets made with my full price list on one side and a message on the other side explaining that I am newly qualified and will be offering a full set of any system nails for £10 for a limited period...hth

 

[~Emmsybabes~]

im still trainig now ,in the first few weeks i charged 6.50p just to see how i did and recover some money for the cost of products,then i realised i actually wasnt too bad lol so put he price up to a tenner! and i have more clients now...i suppose i am still out of pocket as i am building up as much stuff as i can but hopefully it will pay off in the end,
and i agree if you do charge clients will look after the enhancements more so you will be able to check for lifting /breakages ect....if you dont charge i bet you 10p they will just pick em' off because they know you will do them a new set!!!
clients have actually said this to me ...they're not bothered if a nail breaks coz they know i will fix it ....i bet they'll be bothered when it costs em' 3 quid to replace it lol :green:

 

[fayeleebum]

thanks guys thats a great help.. I think I'll charge a lil' bit then!:lol:

 

[ADiva1]

Talking from experience, dont encourage 'free' as they'd take you and your skill for granted.

Even if you charge £5 for your first sets then £10 and upwards when you feel more confident would be better than nothing at all.

You have to start somewhere, so goodluck...X

 

[Noodle]

I agree with the comments made here.

Whilst training, I asked clients for a nominal amount, so as to cover the cost of my materials.

Offering "a freebie" may encourage people to ask for this in the future.

 

[pinkgenie]

What I have done since qualifying i man & ped I have said to friends and family and their freinds ect that the first treatment is free then after that they pay! Which has been a success as they have all pretty much come back and paid! With close friends I just say "mates rates" buy me a pcket of ciggies or bottle of wine!

I dont feel confident enough yet to charge for extensions and am ending up out of pocket (not a great deal mind) but I dont care about that at the moment all I care about is perfecting my nails and then once I have done that then i will feel confident enough to charge.

 

[bubbabinks]

How about you give them a price list of what you are charging now with what you will be charging in the future.
Than it wont be a big shock when you have to put the prices up.

 

[beautytherapist]

at the moment i dont charge anything but the people that i do nails on know about my price rise.
Just outta curiosity what do most of you charge when your fully qualified and confident?