Does offering a range of treatments bring more clients?

[claireyfairy]

just after a bit of advice pls i currently offer shellac, mani, pedi and spray tans. I am struggling to get regular clients although i have not really advertised much only fb page, word of mouth and couple of free sites and my website.
I am only able to work part time at mo around children so dont need to be mega busy just enough to tick over really.
I dont know whether to invest in a few new treatments eg eye treatments, waxing that sort of thing or just concentrate on what i do at the mo. Do you think offering a range of treatments helps to bring in new clients? the other thing is its all so expensive to set up each treatment so im torn between spending on new courses and kits for that treatment or spending on more colours of shellac, advertising etc.... sorry for long post. any thoughts welcome. thank you x

 

[ADiva1]

just after a bit of advice pls i currently offer shellac, mani, pedi and spray tans. I am struggling to get regular clients although i have not really advertised much only fb page, word of mouth and couple of free sites and my website.
I am only able to work part time at mo around children so dont need to be mega busy just enough to tick over really.
I dont know whether to invest in a few new treatments eg eye treatments, waxing that sort of thing or just concentrate on what i do at the mo. Do you think offering a range of treatments helps to bring in new clients? the other thing is its all so expensive to set up each treatment so im torn between spending on new courses and kits for that treatment or spending on more colours of shellac, advertising etc.... sorry for long post. any thoughts welcome. thank you x

• Why are you struggling to get new clients?
• Are you really confident with all of the treatments you already do?
• Are you available at the times clients want to have treatments?
• If you had the chance to increase your hours, would you?
• Do you really want to build a sucessfull business? (Just that you mentioned you don't need to have alot of clients to be busy).
• Which other treatments do you want to add to your service?

Before you add anything else and spend more money, think how you will be able to fit all if it in realistically. Why not build on what you already have?

 

[Nicolahayley]

Hi,

I agree with everything the last geek mentioned... However I'm not being rude I'm really not... But I wouldn't waste your time investing in new treatments if your not interested in putting the work in... If you have a business you shouldn't just be wanting to tick over, you should be wanting to excel and grow bigger... If you can't offer that time needed and full support from yourself then there's no point doing it,

There's a real difference between a therapist who's just doing it for money and another one absolutely loves their job and has pride in their work... Which one are you??

 

[tan1]

I have mainly did nails, but since offering other treatments (mainly HD Brows and lashes) I have increased clients. Yes it is expensive but definitely worth it in the long run.
The main thing i have found with increasing regular clients is to work more hours. I too intended to work around my kids (just day time hours) but I have found I needed to offer more hours so do a few later days a week (only til 6:30pm) to accommodate these clients. Hope this helps


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[Becca@PolishedToPerfection]

The only thing I would say is perfect your skill at one treatment before adding more treatments. I'm only qualified in shellac and mani/pedi at the min and I want to make sure I'm good at that before moving onto more nail treatments (acrylic, gel etc) and eventually beauty (eyelashes, eyebrows etc) xx

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[claireyfairy]

Thank you for your replies. I dont think you have to be working full time and be stretched to capacity to be a good therapist, you could have only 5 regular clients and give them the best service you can. I dont want to be working more than the hours i have set aside i just want to be busy during this time and when i am able to work more when my children older i would like to grow what i already have. My question is am i limiting the clients i attract by only having a few treatments. for examlpe i had an enquiry the other day from someone who had seen my advert asking for waxing which i dont do, had i have offered waxing perhaps this client would then have been tempted to come back for shellac or a spray tan or pass on my card to a friend.....

 

[claireyfairy]

thank you tan 1, that is what i meant. I am flexible with hours as my partner works all different hours so i am able to do some days, weekends, eves at different times, i am always happy to fit people in as long as the children are covered. I also agree with you becca butterfly about mastering one thing before moving on to next x

 

[persianista]

I think your limiting your clients only by limiting the hours you can work. Maybe keep it small for now and expand when your children start school and you can do more clients.

 

[laurakate]

Being a small part time business does not make you any less of a business/hard worker/passionate person than if you were full time.

Being your own boss can be whatever you want it to be. ..it can be a main source of income or a way to make pocket money doing something you enjoy.

I am in the process of setting up as a small business aspiring to be working on a part time basis and at this early stage I'll feel proud if I can get just a few clients a week. Because my job is also my hobby i am happy to pay for training that will diversify my services and my skills.

I should add that I've come from working for other people in busy employed roles so this is where I've built my skills up but one of my reasons for going self employed is for personal development. When working for others the learning curve got slow and I was doing the same thing everyday whereas working for myself i can put whatever i like on my treatment menu. So ironically although I'm working less hours i am able to diversify and maintain my own interests more.

I think you should add more treatments if you feel ready. It could still increase potential interest regardless of how many treatments you do per week (probability and all that)

Good luck with it

 

[laurakate]

Thank you for your replies. I dont think you have to be working full time and be stretched to capacity to be a good therapist, you could have only 5 regular clients and give them the best service you can. I dont want to be working more than the hours i have set aside i just want to be busy during this time and when i am able to work more when my children older i would like to grow what i already have. My question is am i limiting the clients i attract by only having a few treatments. for examlpe i had an enquiry the other day from someone who had seen my advert asking for waxing which i dont do, had i have offered waxing perhaps this client would then have been tempted to come back for shellac or a spray tan or pass on my card to a friend.....

Training keeps more options available to clients and keeps your enthusiasm going. I see no reason as to why you shouldn't book onto a waxing course tomorrow (just be sure to check that it leads to a recognised qualification).

I think it's ok (within reason) to be getting your skills up in several treatments at a time. The same is required of you when you take nvqs in nails and/or beauty so it can be done...in fact I would go as far as saying that if you're working on mastering a small handful of treatments at once it means if you fancy a break from one thing you can come back to it after practicing another thing

 

[claireyfairy]

Thank you Laura Kate for your advice and positivity, its tricky when your own to know the right decisions to make which is why I find salon geek so helpful but I must admit sometimes I feel new and small aspiring therapists get a bit shot down in flames. I appreciate everyones point of view though thankyou, lots to think about x

 

[PinkSwoon]

Hi Claire, my advice would definitely be to perfect the skills you do have. Nobody wants a jack of all trades & people will begin to know you for your specialist treatments 1 step at a time x

I also completely disagree with the poster that said you should aspire to be bigger/be more. No disrespect to the poster obviously but some people like to take it at their own pace, do it as a hobby because they love it & money is just a bonus or don't even want to be a big business & are content being small. Do what feels right for you x

 

[StephsTherapies]

Hi Claire, my advice would definitely be to perfect the skills you do have. Nobody wants a jack of all trades & people will begin to know you for your specialist treatments 1 step at a time x

I also completely disagree with the poster that said you should aspire to be bigger/be more. No disrespect to the poster obviously but some people like to take it at their own pace, do it as a hobby because they love it & money is just a bonus or don't even want to be a big business & are content being small. Do what feels right for you x

Completely agree with this!


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[hazeleyes]

I've recently decided to train in waxing so I can offer it as well as nails and lashes but I guess I've been asking myself the same question.... I think it's up to you- if you only offer one specialist service, but you good at it... One of the best- renowned for it even that's just as good as offering loads in my opinion. I've just got the itch to train more and want to offer a few things to increase my chances out here!

 

[laurakate]

I tend to take quite a general approach to training and like to learn a broad range of things in total because I feel I need to know about something in both detailed theory and practice before I decide if it is something I want to specialise in/take further.

I thought id be more nails than massage when I did both level three courses at the same time but post college my employed roles were more massage with a bit of nails. My point being that being versatile can open more doors for you and you can always specialise later as you become more self aware as a professional and aware of the industry and your role within it.

 

[Beau-ty]

Maybe get some feedback from the clients you already have - What else would they like you to do, at least to begin with they will spend more and time with you and you can expand on other clients when you are ready. Do a recommend a friend scheme x

 

[Kawaii]

I had a similar dilemma. I'm trained in makeup, spray tanning, manicure and pedicure. I'm currently studying NVQ Level 2 in Nails Services. I thought about offering nails only and specialising in that area. As much as I love nails I also love eyelash and eyebrow treatments. I'm not enjoying spray tanning and makeup as I thought I would so I've decided not to offer them anymore. I'll only do it for family and friends if they ever ask but I won't put it on my treatment menu.

Learning about nails takes a lot of time and practice which is why I'm focusing on that first. I would rather offer a few treatments (nails, lashes and brows) and be excellent at those before moving onto new treatments. I know it can be difficult in this industry because there's so many courses out there. I've been guilty of wanting to do everything at once however I realise I need take one step at a time.