Do you know how to price your treatments? Are you charging enough?

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souz

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ok so as the title states are you really charging enough for your treatments to not only cover your costs but to actually make a living from it too!

You have to run your treatments as a business. Each business that operates should know how much it costs just to open the doors and turn the lights on each day. Whether you own a salon, work from home or you are mobile you need to make sure that you are covering all costs.

I get messages and see too many people that just seem to pick a price out of the air or just charge the same as a competitor. This is not enough and doesnt give you enough understanding of your business.

so to work out your prices you need to take into account exactly what you use during each treatment and how long they take you, then you work out how many treatments you get from each bottle or pot. You also need to take into account insurance/electric, how much you would like to pay yourself as an hourly rate, consumables, rent, petrol etc. If you sat down and worked that out for each treatment i think you would be surprised as all the little things soon add up!! This quite often is the reason that businesses fail, one because they are not making money as they have little understanding of their finances and two that they have cashflow problems. You need to put a percentage back into the business so that you have money for more products.

Do not be frightened to charge what you are worth, we are here after all to earn money and make a decent living that we have trained long and hard and more often than not expensively for!!

I hope this helps some of you xx
 
So true and we see it every day here on salongeek.com. Often it seems that would-be technicians are doing many things completely backwards, starting with the nails themselves.

They want to do nail art before they can do nails and that is totally upside down.

So is starting a 'business' and doing a price list before one has taken all the expenses into account, and working out just how many clients a week you need to see to pay yourself what you are worth at the end of it.

Good advice Souz.
 
Good advice Souz.

When I started out (Only just over a year ago) I did take an average price for what competitors were charging to give me a clue. I then worked out treatment costs and what I wanted to make per hour.

I must ask though do all of you geeks pay yourself an hourly wage or do you tend to almost salary yourself?

If I paid myself by the hour I wouldn't be sure where to start as I work regardless of having clients in and work way into the evening, researching etc but I am looking at pushing my business forward and want to take a course to help me (not sure what I should be going for) so need to make sure I am doing it right.
 
thanks gigi,

ive been speaking to a few geeks who i dont think charge enough for the skill that they have and others who just dont know where to start with pricing. I know it can be daunting starting out on your own but we have to make a living!! It is not enough to just be good at nails, we have to learn the business side of things and it doesnt need to be complicated. I am lucky in that I have a business background and my husband had his own business for a long time but i know alot of the geeks out there dont have that.
 
zooks,

i personally have been re investing majority of my money back into my business and myself. I have a goal in mind and I am working towards it, whether it pans out that way who knows but I am doing something I love and feel very passionate about.

You can either pay yourself a basic wage or pay yourself dividends, this is where speaking to an accountant comes in handy! Obvioulsy when you are doing marketing, paperwork etc its hard to say how many hours a week we work but just pay yourself what you feel is a decent wage and leave enough for when you order products, go on training etc

If you want to do a course, see what HMRC have available and business link, some of which is online but contact your local college and ask about business courses, book keeping etc. I am doing a one day course next month in Business and Finance. It doesnt hurt to keep up to date and to refresh what you already know.

hth
 
Thanks for this info Souz, I am sort of getting into that trap, however I got a slap on the wrists with my CND EA last week (a nice slap mind) and just reading this has given me another push. I think I had better sit down and do a proper budget! Xx
 
zooks,

i personally have been re investing majority of my money back into my business and myself. I have a goal in mind and I am working towards it, whether it pans out that way who knows but I am doing something I love and feel very passionate about.

You can either pay yourself a basic wage or pay yourself dividends, this is where speaking to an accountant comes in handy! Obvioulsy when you are doing marketing, paperwork etc its hard to say how many hours a week we work but just pay yourself what you feel is a decent wage and leave enough for when you order products, go on training etc

If you want to do a course, see what HMRC have available and business link, some of which is online but contact your local college and ask about business courses, book keeping etc. I am doing a one day course next month in Business and Finance. It doesnt hurt to keep up to date and to refresh what you already know.

hth

Thankyou Souz. I will definitely be contacting the local college. I pick things up relatively quickly but it's good to have a starting point!

I started paying myself the most minimal "salary" I could and as my business has grown I have been able to justify paying myself an almost reasonable wage. A huge percentage of what I take goes back into the business and I take an amount from that. I'm hoping I've at least got a basic grasp on it.

I also have a goal I am working toward, I am happy with my prices and my business is growing. I just meed to make sure I have all the knowledge to help it do so!

Thankyou again, good thread!
 
Thanks for this info Souz, I am sort of getting into that trap, however I got a slap on the wrists with my CND EA last week (a nice slap mind) and just reading this has given me another push. I think I had better sit down and do a proper budget! Xx


no problem! Let me know how you get on when you start breaking prices down.

Think of it like this...if your treatment price only pays you an hourly wage and pays for your products then your business is not making a profit. Then think BIG! If you took on a salon and had 5 staff and your prices still only reflected paying THEM an hourly wage and the cost of products etc then YOU would be making nothing and effectively just working to pay other peoples wages! Makes sense when its in black and white?? Remember that the next time we say to a client oh dont worry about all the extras just pay me xyz!!
 
Zooks, sounds like you have it covered. Just remember as your business grows so can costs so keep re looking at your finances. Keeping a tight grip on money and where it all goes will stand you in good stead xx
 
Great, glad to know it looks like I am getting something right ;)

I'll be keeping an eye on this thread..
 
And it's important to remember the costs of EVERYTHING. It's easy to calculate the number of services you can get from a pot, but we all need to remember the cost of the primer if used, the brush, the table we're sat at - and the chair, the files, the wipes, the training, insurance, the cleaning products - the list is pretty exhaustive! I don't pay myself a wage every week or month. At the end of the year I go through my books and calculate how much I can afford to pay myself and I can usually pay myself enough to buy a holiday with and have some spare for new products :)
 
Think of it like this...if your treatment price only pays you an hourly wage and pays for your products then your business is not making a profit. Then think BIG! If you took on a salon and had 5 staff and your prices still only reflected paying THEM an hourly wage and the cost of products etc then YOU would be making nothing and effectively just working to pay other peoples wages! Makes sense when its in black and white?? Remember that the next time we say to a client oh dont worry about all the extras just pay me xyz!!

Oh gawd! Now you've put it like that I have loads to do :-(( !! My head is already buzzing from meeting Lynne Baker today who gave me lots of tips! Ok my lovely I will get my A4 pad out and start doing some serious thinking.
Thank you again xx
 
... Which makes me wonder just how can a salon offer nail extensions or spray tans for £10 or some silly price ... !!! ... Take off products, electric, insurance etc .. Pay the staff ... Wheres the actually profit ... None ... !!!
 
... Which makes me wonder just how can a salon offer nail extensions or spray tans for £10 or some silly price ... !!! ... Take off products, electric, insurance etc .. Pay the staff ... Where's the actually profit ... None ... !!!

Because they haven't got the brains they were born with, that's why. They think, "way hay I've made a tenner" and aren't smart enough to think how much they have spent and how much they will have to spend on new products. This is why they are here today and gone tomorrow.
 
Most definitely - I have been asked several times what I charge for nail ext which is £25 ... £35 sculptured or French acrylic (and I haven't raised the price since I started 13 yrs .. If they want to pay £10 that's fine but no way am I going to offer my time and stock to earn £0 - a few clients have gone and regretted it later when their nails have been awful ... They soon come back and tell me ...
Anyway I'd rather have the day off rather than work all day and earn nothing ... Lol ... !!!!
 
Great thread Souz! and great info and advice. It is a REALLY important subject in an industry such as ours (no standardisation, no regulation etc).

I spent a lot of time writing about this in my text book and, by coincidence, wrote a main 'tip' about it as a guest in a new textbook!

so many people really do pick prices from the air with no estimate or understanding of how much they need to make before even going into any income or profit! So many go straight into a mobile service or a 'home salon' and have no idea what their overheads are! So many don't know that car insurance needs to be for business use for a mobile or they are NOT insured when driving to and from an appointment!

:hug:
 
Great thread Souz! and great info and advice. It is a REALLY important subject in an industry such as ours (no standardisation, no regulation etc).

I spent a lot of time writing about this in my text book and, by coincidence, wrote a main 'tip' about it as a guest in a new textbook!

so many people really do pick prices from the air with no estimate or understanding of how much they need to make before even going into any income or profit! So many go straight into a mobile service or a 'home salon' and have no idea what their overheads are! So many don't know that car insurance needs to be for business use for a mobile or they are NOT insured when driving to and from an appointment!

:hug:

thanks mum! (feels weird saying that!) let me know which textbook as i love to readxx

when are we going to have standardisation or a regulating body?? surely with this being the biggest growth sector in this economic climate something has got to give soon? If i knew where to go to do something about it i would!!

TOO MANY people (in my opinion) are "qualifying" as nail technicians and as Gigi said are wanting to do all the fancy nail art etc instead of figuring out how to run a business and STAY in business.

I loved at the event when we talked about a minimum charge for shellac and feel that that is definitely the way to go to stop all this undercutting and price wars between some technicians.
 
thanks mum! (feels weird saying that!) let me know which textbook as i love to readxx

when are we going to have standardisation or a regulating body?? surely with this being the biggest growth sector in this economic climate something has got to give soon? If i knew where to go to do something about it i would!!

TOO MANY people (in my opinion) are "qualifying" as nail technicians and as Gigi said are wanting to do all the fancy nail art etc instead of figuring out how to run a business and STAY in business.

I loved at the event when we talked about a minimum charge for shellac and feel that that is definitely the way to go to stop all this undercutting and price wars between some technicians.


(LOL it's a small 'm' It's a nickname some people call me in my 'line of work')

My textbook (The Complete Nail Technician that's 3 years old already!! 3rd edition too!) The new one won't be out until next year I believe.

I have worked on regulation in one form or another for years and years!! BUT.......there is a new project that I believe does have some chance of working! It will take a while but it is looking VERY good for nails :wink2: Samantha (and others) is giving up her time to work on it and we are quietly hopeful! :)
 
(LOL it's a small 'm' It's a nickname some people call me in my 'line of work')

My textbook (The Complete Nail Technician that's 3 years old already!! 3rd edition too!) The new one won't be out until next year I believe.

I have worked on regulation in one form or another for years and years!! BUT.......there is a new project that I believe does have some chance of working! It will take a while but it is looking VERY good for nails :wink2: Samantha (and others) is giving up her time to work on it and we are quietly hopeful! :)


i will keep everything crossed that it works!:) its been a long time coming but i think we need it now more than ever x
 
This is a really good thread and very helpful but I am so stuck and confused on what to charge my clients, I am completely new to the nail world and have been working hours for nothing at silly prices to get models and a clientele base, does anyone have any advise please on what I should charge, I am trained in Gellux, Acrylics and have my mani/pedi course tomorrow, I don't want to just pluck prices out top of my head but as I have not been doing this long don't even know how many treatments I'm getting out of my products yet so completely lost!

I was charging £10 for Gellux just put this up to £16.50 the few mobile therapists that do Shellac in my area charge £20-25, salons between £28-£35

Acrylics again only charging £10 for models until I become more confident and happy with my results, most mobile therapists are charging between £15-£22 salons are £35

Rockstars £20 no one around does it

Mani / pedi haven't a clue training tomorrow had a couple of calls so quoted about £12 with polish to start no mobile therapists offering this in my area, is this way too low even as a introductory offer, what would be a average price?

Mani/ pedi with Gellux? Help

Deluxe mani/ pedi paraffin wax etc ? Help

Deluxe mani/ pedi paraffin wax etc with Gellux? Help

As no mobile therapists are offering these I feel I have abit of lee way here salons are deluxe are about £40 with Gellux

Any advice would be hugely appreciated xx
 

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