Career change?

[Bethany17x]

Hi,

I have been enquiring with local colleges at starting my level 2 beauty course. I would love to then progress on to level 3 and 4 with an ultimate goal of being self employed.

Im really hoping to hear from you about your experiences. I am in a job i like, its stable good hours and just above a basic salary so im comfortable. I have heard from friends who went on to study beauty from school saying it is not worth it, the pay is poor and they wish they would have studied something else. It really puts a downer on my passion for the industry.

Can you please share you experiences and thoughts and where you are today with your beauty career? Id love to hear them..

Thank you xxx

 

[thetanologist]

I will be honest, the pay is poor.

However, i think this depends on many different factors.

I for one am qualified at a level 6. I have gone from being mobile, to owning my own salon/boutique and i am now a educator/trainer.

My pay has increased every time i have moved up my ladder and my overall goal is to own my own training academy [emoji5]️

 

[blossom]

The pay is poor if you work for someone who's paying you by the hour. According to some, owning a salon is extremely financially challenging too.

Once you have some experience, or simply feel confident with what you offer, you could consider going self employed.

I would say once you have built a client base, then working from home or mobile is much more profitable than owning/ renting a room/salon

From what I hear, I earn 2/3 times more on an hourly rate than most people I know so I disagree with the "pay is poor" statement. (I do nails)

It's what you make it. Buy good products, invest in yourself and charge what you are worth.

Don't be disheartened! [emoji4]

 

[PamieD]

Hi,

I have been enquiring with local colleges at starting my level 2 beauty course. I would love to then progress on to level 3 and 4 with an ultimate goal of being self employed.

Im really hoping to hear from you about your experiences. I am in a job i like, its stable good hours and just above a basic salary so im comfortable. I have heard from friends who went on to study beauty from school saying it is not worth it, the pay is poor and they wish they would have studied something else. It really puts a downer on my passion for the industry.

Can you please share you experiences and thoughts and where you are today with your beauty career? Id love to hear them..

Thank you xxx

I think at the end of the day you have to be realistic. This profession has a very high failure rate, and I think that's partly because too many people think it's an easy job (it's hard physical work) and never learn how to really do their treatments to a high enough standard.Training only gets you to the front door so to speak, it's up to you to then improve your skills and learn from experience. There's an art to a lot of treatments, like facials and waxing. It gets reduced to what products are being used or what flashy machine you can buy, but the fundamental reason for success is being good at what you do. And I think there's too much of a sheep like tendency for everyone to do the same treatments, rather than developing their own style and methodology. I ended up specialising in electrolysis, something that hardly anyone does properly anymore as it takes longer to learn compared to other treatments. Massive demand, cheap to run, good money and no one wants to do it! I had to stop at the end of last year due to ill health, and I'm still finding it hard to place my clients with other salons/therapists. Most people use the automated machines, instead of doing it manually. I even offered to train someone up for free when she complained she only had a few clients, and she just pulled a face. More fool her.

But then you also have therapists who do everything right and to a very high standard, but because they're in the wrong location, haven't got nice premises or don't plan for the future they never get off the ground. There's a lot to running a successful business (good client skills, sales skills, business know how, ability to motivate yourself).

 

[littlebear]

I think at the end of the day you have to be realistic. This profession has a very high failure rate, and I think that's partly because too many people think it's an easy job (it's hard physical work) and never learn how to really do their treatments to a high enough standard.Training only gets you to the front door so to speak, it's up to you to then improve your skills and learn from experience. There's an art to a lot of treatments, like facials and waxing. It gets reduced to what products are being used or what flashy machine you can buy, but the fundamental reason for success is being good at what you do. And I think there's too much of a sheep like tendency for everyone to do the same treatments, rather than developing their own style and methodology. I ended up specialising in electrolysis, something that hardly anyone does properly anymore as it takes longer to learn compared to other treatments. Massive demand, cheap to run, good money and no one wants to do it! I had to stop at the end of last year due to ill health, and I'm still finding it hard to place my clients with other salons/therapists. Most people use the automated machines, instead of doing it manually. I even offered to train someone up for free when she complained she only had a few clients, and she just pulled a face. More fool her.

But then you also have therapists who do everything right and to a very high standard, but because they're in the wrong location, haven't got nice premises or don't plan for the future they never get off the ground. There's a lot to running a successful business (good client skills, sales skills, business know how, ability to motivate yourself).

Where are you based?

 

[PamieD]

Berkshire

 

[essentia]

Hi Pamie, We know each other and I agree with all that you write except for the part apart where you mention using automatic machines. I presume you mean by using an Apilus ? In my area most therapists I come across are using a Sterex, which in my opinion just does not have the range to offer that an Apilus does, although it is capable of doing the job. One can be lazy using any machine putting it at the same settings and in one salon I worked at they only ever bought one needle size!! The scope for treatment choice is vast using an Apilus - much more than on a manual machine, but again it depends on the therapist and how creative they are.

 

[PamieD]

Hi Essentia, I don't disagree with anything you say there. Bad treatment is bad treatment whatever the machine. I have both an automated and a manual one. This is a specific problem that only occurs with automated machines, and it really is a problem. It's like trying to drive a Ferrari before passing a driving test. And a machine can have a massive range but there's only a limited amount that can safely be used on skin. I know everyone falls in love with their machines and especially when they have marketing support but the flipside is, if clients believe it's the machine rather than the skill of the operator then they end up seeking out just the treatment instead of finding a good electrolysist. It really hurts the industry, it's the skill above all else that matters.