Advice on becoming a mobile beauty therapist

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Ayesha Rajput

Member
Joined
May 1, 2018
Messages
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Location
Birmingham
Hi all,

I seriously need help!!

I completed Beauty Therapy Level 2 and 3 in 2014 and have got both qualifications. Since then I have been stuck working in a call centre! It has been ever so difficult to find a job within the beauty industry as they want somebody who has experience which I did not at the time and plus I do not feel comfortable working on men! Hence why I have been stuck in an office ever since and I am dying to get out!! I am ever so passionate about building a beauty career but at the same time am ever so stuck as to where do I start from? How will I do this??

The main treatments I intend on carrying out are: Facials, Massages, Waxing, Eyelash and Eyebrow treatments, Nails.

Here are a few questions:


The main thing I am worried about is walking in to a strangers home! Can I trust them? Its abit of a risk isnt it.. and then on top what if they don't pay me? Thats the main thing I am concerned about. Is it always best to take a deposit??

Secondly,

How will I go about carying out these treatments. I am aware I will need to take a couch with me, thankfully I do drive!! I should take a trolley aswell right?

Carrying out Facials - I will need water all the time, how will I go about doin this? Will I have to keep rushing to the kitchen/toilet to get water in my bowl?

I am scared of pets!! I guess I can tell the client to keep them away?

Its always best to carry out treatments on a couch right?

Its always best to take out insurance right? Which company would you recommend? And what is insurance exactly for?

Lastly, do you still have to have a job on the side whilst being a mobile therapist? Or do you earn enough?

How do I promote my work?

Please please help me guys and try to answer every question I have asked.. I know some of the questions in here may be a bit weird lol but its really important for me to know as I l literally do not know anything about mobile!!

Thank you so much in advance I really do look forward to all of your replies!!

Xx
 
Ok here goes... Your business, you can work on whoever you want. If you dont feel comfortable working on men then don't. I go to see new clients all the time and never had a problem, i've also never had people not pay. (I do still get nervous though, i think its only natural). The client won't mind you getting water. Beauty couch is needed. There are a lot of insurance companies just google search, its very important, a client could have a reaction to something and could try and sue you or you could spill a pot of wax on their carpet etc. Keep your job and do mobile beauty untill you can build regular clients, it takes a few year to build a business. Xx
 
Hope you don’t mind me jumping on but I’m due to qualify in level 2 soon... I want to carry out the same treatments as you minus massage but I’m concerned about waxing and how messy it could be in someone’s home. Hoping someone will give tips on that x
 
Hope you don’t mind me jumping on but I’m due to qualify in level 2 soon... I want to carry out the same treatments as you minus massage but I’m concerned about waxing and how messy it could be in someone’s home. Hoping someone will give tips on that x
I bought a king size sheet to place under my couch for waxing, or you could even buy a extra large oilcloth (plastic table cloth) which will be much easier to clean wax off of. Couch roll over any area the wax pot is on. Your first wax in someone's home is a little daunting but once you've done one, you'll be fine! Just be mindful where you walk when carrying a wax loaded spatula to the couch
 
My personal opinion about being mobile is quite negative.
As you might want to do all of the above things, a customer might decide to get quite a few treatments and that is going to be quite hard carrying all that around, however there are the special beauty therapist bags, I wouldn't take a trolley with me.
The mobile beauty bed.. it might be mobile but it is unbelievably heavy. A bit no no for me, as I struggled to carry it up second floor to my own flat.
Also as mobile therapist, they might have children or family wondering around and that could mean that the treatment is not done properly etc.. Some people don't even have a space for the beauty bed so it can be quite difficult. Pets etc I'm sure can be arranged but they do want to get the treatment done in their home for a reason.. that either being health or personal circumstances such as childcare which is fine however might make it difficult for yourself

I am only doing eyelash extensions however started off not long ago. Your own little thing might be going much faster as you would offer a variety of things instead of just one like me.

I started off couple months ago and it has been fabulous.
First thing: Set up a Facebook page/website. Internet is a big thing these days and a lot of people will want to see your work/promotions online as well as easy messaging is available there through internet. I personally only have a Facebook page, no website.
There after, start promoting. My most promotions have gone into local selling/buying pages on FB and the Marketplace. It seems to be quite popular in our area as over the past couple of months, I would say I had over 40 girls, which many are returning customers.
I did put up an offer stating that I am new, and basically looking models to build experience and build a portfolio.
Thereafter I set up a little corner in my living room ( it is quite large, I know it might not be for everyone, therefore being mobile might be your only option ).

Now once the offer is over, I am still getting the returning customers and few new ones every week ( not as many as at the beginning which was like 15 girls a week).
I also study and have a part time administrator job. I think to begin with you need to have the office job at the side, just for your own sake to feel more secure, but slowly you could reduce your hours. You should maybe give it a month to see how it all goes and determine if it's working for you or not. I would personally do the office work and in my free time take on some girls to practice on and get returning customers.

I might not have answered all your questions but I hope this is helpful somehow

Zane x
 
Hey, do you have room at your home to carry out treatments?

This is meant with no disrespect but seeming as nervous as you are I'm not sure mobile therapy is for you. You have to be pretty robust, because you have no idea what you're walking into and you need to be able to face every situation confidently and be in control.
 
Hey, do you have room at your home to carry out treatments?

This is meant with no disrespect but seeming as nervous as you are I'm not sure mobile therapy is for you. You have to be pretty robust, because you have no idea what you're walking into and you need to be able to face every situation confidently and be in control.


Hi Fay,

No I don't unfortunately. I really wish I had a spare room. I am quite a confident person and I believe I can definitely build my confidence up. I posted my ad on gumtree and already had 2 people reply back to me for waxing!! I'm just confused as to where to start. I don't have a bed or anything. I was just going to take my wax pot with me. Is this okay for the first few times? Also, should I get insurance out before I go? I came across 'Salon Gold' do you know if this is any good?
 
I bought a king size sheet to place under my couch for waxing, or you could even buy a extra large oilcloth (plastic table cloth) which will be much easier to clean wax off of. Couch roll over any area the wax pot is on. Your first wax in someone's home is a little daunting but once you've done one, you'll be fine! Just be mindful where you walk when carrying a wax loaded spatula to the couch


That sounds pretty good! I posted my ad on gumtree and already had 2 people reply back to me for waxing!! I'm just confused as to where to start. I don't have a bed or anything. I was just going to take my wax pot with me. Is this okay for the first few times? Also, should I get insurance out before I go? I came across 'Salon Gold' do you know if this is any good?
 
Ok here goes... Your business, you can work on whoever you want. If you dont feel comfortable working on men then don't. I go to see new clients all the time and never had a problem, i've also never had people not pay. (I do still get nervous though, i think its only natural). The client won't mind you getting water. Beauty couch is needed. There are a lot of insurance companies just google search, its very important, a client could have a reaction to something and could try and sue you or you could spill a pot of wax on their carpet etc. Keep your job and do mobile beauty untill you can build regular clients, it takes a few year to build a business. Xx

Hi thank you so much for your reply. I posted my ad on gumtree and already had 2 people reply back to me for waxing!! I'm just confused as to where to start. I don't have a bed or anything. I was just going to take my wax pot with me. Is this okay for the first few times? Also, should I get insurance out before I go? I came across 'Salon Gold' do you know if this is any good?
 
My personal opinion about being mobile is quite negative.
As you might want to do all of the above things, a customer might decide to get quite a few treatments and that is going to be quite hard carrying all that around, however there are the special beauty therapist bags, I wouldn't take a trolley with me.
The mobile beauty bed.. it might be mobile but it is unbelievably heavy. A bit no no for me, as I struggled to carry it up second floor to my own flat.
Also as mobile therapist, they might have children or family wondering around and that could mean that the treatment is not done properly etc.. Some people don't even have a space for the beauty bed so it can be quite difficult. Pets etc I'm sure can be arranged but they do want to get the treatment done in their home for a reason.. that either being health or personal circumstances such as childcare which is fine however might make it difficult for yourself

I am only doing eyelash extensions however started off not long ago. Your own little thing might be going much faster as you would offer a variety of things instead of just one like me.

I started off couple months ago and it has been fabulous.
First thing: Set up a Facebook page/website. Internet is a big thing these days and a lot of people will want to see your work/promotions online as well as easy messaging is available there through internet. I personally only have a Facebook page, no website.
There after, start promoting. My most promotions have gone into local selling/buying pages on FB and the Marketplace. It seems to be quite popular in our area as over the past couple of months, I would say I had over 40 girls, which many are returning customers.
I did put up an offer stating that I am new, and basically looking models to build experience and build a portfolio.
Thereafter I set up a little corner in my living room ( it is quite large, I know it might not be for everyone, therefore being mobile might be your only option ).

Now once the offer is over, I am still getting the returning customers and few new ones every week ( not as many as at the beginning which was like 15 girls a week).
I also study and have a part time administrator job. I think to begin with you need to have the office job at the side, just for your own sake to feel more secure, but slowly you could reduce your hours. You should maybe give it a month to see how it all goes and determine if it's working for you or not. I would personally do the office work and in my free time take on some girls to practice on and get returning customers.

I might not have answered all your questions but I hope this is helpful somehow

Zane x
Hi Zane,

Thank you so much for your reply! I posted my ad on gumtree and already had 2 people reply back to me for waxing!! I'm just confused as to where to start. I don't have a bed or anything. I was just going to take my wax pot with me. Is this okay for the first few times? Also, should I get insurance out before I go? I came across 'Salon Gold' do you know if this is any good?
 
Hi thank you so much for your reply. I posted my ad on gumtree and already had 2 people reply back to me for waxing!! I'm just confused as to where to start. I don't have a bed or anything. I was just going to take my wax pot with me. Is this okay for the first few times? Also, should I get insurance out before I go? I came across 'Salon Gold' do you know if this is any good?
It would be hard to wax without a bed, you can buy mobile ones on ebay to get you started. And insurance is a must before you do any treatments. I'm with salon gold and had no issues with them xx
 
That sounds pretty good! I posted my ad on gumtree and already had 2 people reply back to me for waxing!! I'm just confused as to where to start. I don't have a bed or anything. I was just going to take my wax pot with me. Is this okay for the first few times? Also, should I get insurance out before I go? I came across 'Salon Gold' do you know if this is any good?
You'll need a beauty couch and as donnamich said you can pick them up on eBay. You'll also need some towels and a couch cover alongside some couch roll or a plastic couch cover. The towels are for the client to cover up if you're doing leg, underarm or intimate waxing. Salon Gold are good but there are lots of beauty insurances available. Good luck
 
Hi Zane,

Thank you so much for your reply! I posted my ad on gumtree and already had 2 people reply back to me for waxing!! I'm just confused as to where to start. I don't have a bed or anything. I was just going to take my wax pot with me. Is this okay for the first few times? Also, should I get insurance out before I go? I came across 'Salon Gold' do you know if this is any good?


For starters, I bought a bed for only £10.. It was used however, did the job. However, I would say I was quite lucky (found it on Marketplace on Facebook), however you will need to put a bit in to start up, but trust me, it will pay off. Waxing is something that if you done well, you will have plenty of returning customers. You can start off with something that is not going to be requiring as much input and while at the appointment, query people if they would be interested in the rest that you do.
In this case, you just need to start and I think from there it will all work out
 

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