Charging while training??

[xxtanyaxx]

hi all, after lot and lots of practice on my nail trainer Ive started to carry out treatments on friends and family, and they have been all freebies, the other day my friend asked for a set of gels and asked how much i charge? As Im still training and still have lots to learn I havent thought about charging, especially as there doing me a favour in a way so I can practise and Im not sure about charging if they go terribly wrong lol
what do you all think, is it right to charge and if so how much?

 

['chelle]

Well lots of techs charge a small amount to cover materials while they are training, however, I noticed that you trained with Esential Nails. The problem that you may well find is that your training will not be recognised by any of the insurance companies, and the thing which is of paramount importance is that you MUST be insured for public liability before you charge anybody for your work. You might find that you cannot get any insurance, and so you will not be able to work professionally or charge anyone for your work under this qualification.

Are you thinking about becoming a full time nail tech at any point? If so it would be a good investment for you to look at other training options. You said you didnt get on well training with a tutor in the past but there are lots of training options out there that involve small class sizes and relaxed teaching styles.

 

[xxtanyaxx]

i started to train with essentail nails but that wasnt for me, i needed a tutor , working alone when no one can tell you what your doing wrong or right is hard... Im with the herts and essex beauty academy now and finding it so much better , Im doing the level 2 so i can do all the theory work as well as practical, I was looking into insurance but didnt really know where to start?

 

[VillageNails]

firstly don't do too many friends!!! lol
i made this mistake and anyone i knew/vaguely knew expected to be my best mate!!!!
charge something -even if its £10 (i started at £5 whilst doin my foundation course) - make them come to you if its poss or you will need to consider petrol costs too.
i used to do soak offs for nothing (big mistake!!!) - even if you charge them a couple of quid for the product.
people still want freebies now!!!

 

[xxtanyaxx]

lol il remember that one, thanks for your advice

 

['chelle]

i started to train with essentail nails but that wasnt for me, i needed a tutor , working alone when no one can tell you what your doing wrong or right is hard... Im with the herts and essex beauty academy now and finding it so much better , Im doing the level 2 so i can do all the theory work as well as practical, I was looking into insurance but didnt really know where to start?

Ah I see! Sorry I misunderstood and thought it was the other way round (ie you left the tutor training to do E.N - sorry!)

Well provided you get your insurance I would charge a small amount. Personally I charged £5 per set when I first began on the agreement that they may not be very good, then as I developed I went up to £10, and up again to £15, then my prices went up to the full amount of £30 per set.

I would do as many sets of nails as you can, do as many friends as you can, the more practice you can get the better. BUT.... you need to make sure that you are firm with them. Make sure that everyone knows that these are TRAINING rates, not FRIENDS rates, you dont want to leave anyone room to assume that when you are fully qualified and a full time tech that they are still entitled to these special rates.

 

[xxtanyaxx]

lol I had to check my profile to see what I had actually wrote about my training thanks for your advice, Ill start looking into insurance x

 

[DollBird]

I noticed that you trained with Esential Nails. The problem that you may well find is that your training will not be recognised by any of the insurance companies, and the thing which is of paramount importance is that you MUST be insured for public liability before you charge anybody for your work. You might find that you cannot get any insurance, and so you will not be able to work professionally or charge anyone for your work under this qualification.

I didn't realise this was correct? Why is it that Essential Nails as a qualification may not be recognised?

Sorry not got the hang of quoting just yet.

 

['chelle]

.

I didn't realise this was correct? Why is it that Essential Nails as a qualification may not be recognised?

Sorry not got the hang of quoting just yet.

The best thing to do is to ring round some insurance companies, but I know a few techs on here have done training with Essential Nails, tried to get public liability insurance, and been told that correspondance courses arent recognised as professional training and they've had to get other qualifications elsewhere. If you have any doubt, ring round some insurance companies, and maybe start a thread on here asking for opinions from anyone who did E.N training.

 

[suzie49]

Just for those that dont know if you are trained by ESSENTIAL NAILS you can get insurance..both as a student and once qualified...I got both from The Guild... I know others have got theirs through other insurers, but Im not sure which. But I dont think you can go wrong with the Guild its a good company and well respected ...HTH...xxx

 

[blutopaz]

definately charge even if only a little, as ur providing a service with personal expense but be firm once u set a low price its hard to charge more, like 'chelle says - make sure they know its training rates not friends rates.

when i was training at college the tutors were forever telling us make sure we charge everyone, like i say if u dont feel comfortable with it, which is understandable, just charge to cover costs

 

[Tinks027]

Oh Im confused and worried now.....Im also doing a home learning course with UK Open Learning, will I struggle to get Liability Insurance...who would you recommend?

 

[suzie49]

Have a word with The Guild she is a member on here you can pm her..x

 

[Sasha1]

Hey im on the same boat as you- im not that confident so im just charging £10 per full set- it means you aint sitting that length of time for nothing- plus it will go towards products!!

 

[angie32]

you could always aske them to put a donation in a donation box for you ( make sure its a glass jar or something you can see into then they will have to put a decent amount in there lol)
Personally I think people give a little more if you just ask for a donation. just my opinion

 

['chelle]

you could always aske them to put a donation in a donation box for you ( make sure its a glass jar or something you can see into then they will have to put a decent amount in there lol)
Personally I think people give a little more if you just ask for a donation. just my opinion

Personally I wouldnt do this.

To be honest, while you are training you really need to learn how to confidently command the fee you want for your work. If you are struggling with this now and shying away from asking for payment, you are going to struggle so much when you become a full time professional and you need to ask for the full price.
Clients are mercenary and they can spot these weaknesses a mile off. If you dont confidently tell them the price for your work, or you try too hard to justify it, they will pick up on this. When they do, many clients will try and take you for a ride, they will make comments like "oooh that's very dear, so and so down the road charges half that", and the tech who isnt confident to maintain their prices will often reduce the price! Similarly, if the client picks up on your lack of confidence they will often use the excuse that their nails all fell off to get you to do free repair work.

Doing Nails for a living is about so much more than just doing nails, and this is a valuable time to learn how to be firm yet friendly with your clients, and a part of that is learning how to confidently charge the going rate for your work.

 

[suzie49]

Personally I wouldnt do this.

To be honest, while you are training you really need to learn how to confidently command the fee you want for your work. If you are struggling with this now and shying away from asking for payment, you are going to struggle so much when you become a full time professional and you need to ask for the full price.
Clients are mercenary and they can spot these weaknesses a mile off. If you dont confidently tell them the price for your work, or you try too hard to justify it, they will pick up on this. When they do, many clients will try and take you for a ride, they will make comments like "oooh that's very dear, so and so down the road charges half that", and the tech who isnt confident to maintain their prices will often reduce the price! Similarly, if the client picks up on your lack of confidence they will often use the excuse that their nails all fell off to get you to do free repair work.

Doing Nails for a living is about so much more than just doing nails, and this is a valuable time to learn how to be firm yet friendly with your clients, and a part of that is learning how to confidently charge the going rate for your work.

I definitely agree with what Michelle has said, please take note, if you start off on the wrong path now it will be very hard to change down the line, and clients DO take advantage...xx

 

[shell28]

Just for those that dont know if you are trained by ESSENTIAL NAILS you can get insurance..both as a student and once qualified...I got both from The Guild... I know others have got theirs through other insurers, but Im not sure which. But I dont think you can go wrong with the Guild its a good company and well respected ...HTH...xxx

Proffesional beauty direct also insure you:green:

 

[shell28]

Ive made the same mistake my best mate was great let my use her nails to practise on but now im qualified and more confident the freebes have to STOP but its hard asking her now as for the last 2 months i havent and i cud kick myself but hey you live and learn

 

['chelle]

Ive made the same mistake my best mate was great let my use her nails to practise on but now im qualified and more confident the freebes have to STOP but its hard asking her now as for the last 2 months i havent and i cud kick myself but hey you live and learn

I think this is your time to bite the bullet and get tough hun!!

These are exactly the sort of people I mean. This friend will probably let you do her nails for free till the day you retire if you let her. Next time she wants to book an appointment with you, tell her that now you're fully qualified and trying to make a living out of this you need to charge her your going rate. You can still do it in a nice way (maybe thank her for all her help in letting your practice on her while you were training, and you hope she'll understand that this is your living now etc).

Be prepared to lose her as a client! But, if you do, dont worry over it. Clients who dont pay are not good clients, and you need to learn that some people will only want nails if you're not making any money out of it! I had four "victims" when I was training. When I put my prices up to £10 because I was getting a bit better but still training, that went down to two, and when I qualified and started charging the full rate, it went down to one. that lady is still a loyal client now, but the other three dont get their nails done at all, they just had them because they were free/cheap.