Fed up with competing against cheap treatment prices

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Geeky.marie

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Jul 24, 2014
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Devon
I know this has come up before on here but please can anyone give me an idea on how to gain clientele when there are therapists doing say shellac n mani at £10!. Don't know how they can afford it and seeing some of there work it's not even good. I use Cnd for everything. I'm good at my job with many many years expirience. How can I gain more work? I chafe £20 which I feel is a good price. These cheaper prices really are effecting my business xxx
 
I'm sure these people who are charging so little will soon go out of business, but in the meantime why don't you put on some kind of promotion to get the clients in, even if you do half price and charge £10 too and when clients come to you they will see how you use all the correct products and probally do a better job so will hopefully want to come back to you, I know you probaly don't want to charge so cheap but hopefully if you get clients out of it then it will be worth it and if your really worried about it then it may be worth a try x
 
I know how u feel.. A girl posted yday on a site gel polish £8 .. With feet £10.. And she's mobile! I don't know what products she's using and there's no mention of training... It really gets on my nerves..x
 
I have to say that i completely disagree with the suggestion of going cheap and matching what these other people are doing. Clients who want quality and professionalism know that you have to pay for it. Going to £10 will bring in a clientele who are price led. When you then say you're charging them £20 they will leave you and go back to these other people. That's not the market that you want to attract.

It's hard I know but I think you just have to push on through. Perhaps try to specifically target areas where you live where those ladies aren't so driven by cost and get your name out there. Good luck, it's disheartening but you have to know your worth and charge accordingly x
 
No point in being a busy fool. Don't under sell yourself. Do a good job for a proper price and your work will bring them back, word of mouth will bring more. I charge £25 for shellac . There are cheaper out there but they don't have a better choice of colours. Do advertising, marketing, Facebook, Twitter, have a website, you do have to work hard to build a business, if self employment was easy everyone would do it!
 
I know this has come up before on here but please can anyone give me an idea on how to gain clientele when there are therapists doing say shellac n mani at £10!. Don't know how they can afford it and seeing some of there work it's not even good. I use Cnd for everything. I'm good at my job with many many years expirience. How can I gain more work? I chafe £20 which I feel is a good price. These cheaper prices really are effecting my business xxx

I feel your pain. As a mobile tech many years ago, going back nearly 12 now, I was one of very few in the whole city who did mobile nails and my diary was full. I used only CND, as I felt the best products were for me and I wanted to give my clients the best I could. Then the discount salons opened and were charging £10 a set and more and more cheap mobile techs offered the same, and the whole thing went down hill.

I had to undo several sets of damaging MMA nails, which was like concrete..all from techs charging a tenner a set. But...some folks will always go down the cheap route.

I don't do nails now.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Just to add. I recently worked in a salon that stupidly relied solely on Groupon vouchers. Needless to say, it went bust. They couldn't sustain charging what they did and couldn't pay the staff. They found that all their bookings were vouchers with no room for regular paying clients.

So, no, I don't think in the long run it does pay off.
 
I think the rise of the cheap nails, got worse when gel polish become popular. It is not rocket science to apply, and can be bought anywhere if you wont it. Before then it was mainly nail enhancements and you need some level of skill to apply them and make them last. When shellac first arrived im pretty sure there was not a course available. It was easy to use with simple instructions. Now in my area i see lots of office workers and so on, doing shellac etc just on the side. It means nothing to them just a little extra cash. As it is so easy to apply many of these people do quite well. But then i also see lots of posts on here where people are struggling to apply a basic nail polish, vinylux being one. I am not saying gel polishes have been bad for the industry, but i do believe with new technology, you need less and less skills. The only people really winning are the suppliers ,and in my view they have opened up the market to all.
 
I agree with libbylou

This is one of the reasons why I now specialise in lashes - because I couldn't earn out of nails.
The competition is so touch, both by cheap techs, home kits and nss salons and unless your are an exceptional nail tech that specialises in nails and bespoke art I don't think that you can realistically make a living out of being an ok nail tech because there are so many out there.

And nails are hard work, both on your body, your time and your pocket

It's sad but for me that's my experience in the nail industry
 
It is so disheartening - I feel your pain. Being a beauty therapist I am not only competing against cheap nails but cheap tans and brows too! A therapist in my area who is terribly busy charges £8 for gelish/shellac inc rockstar and additives, she uses the true brands. £7 for a sienna tan (not particularly great at these, over spray and literally dripping with tan) she works from her living area where she also offers HD brows for £6 ( not the real deal but clients are driven by cost)
It's so frustrating, I'm new to the industry and have a designated beauty room at home and want my clients to feel like they are in a salon. My prices are less than those in salons but more than the therapist above.
I specialise in semi permanent lashes and have a few clients for these but I really want to push my other services. I considered lvl lashes but she also offers these for £20! Any advice on other treatments that work well for you or how you would push through this?
 
Thanks guys for all your input. I am wondering now whether to see if I can rent a station. Not sure if it will help but don't know what else to try. I'm determined to get my nail business going. Has anyone else tried this root? Xx
 
I think the rise of the cheap nails, got worse when gel polish become popular. It is not rocket science to apply, and can be bought anywhere if you wont it. Before then it was mainly nail enhancements and you need some level of skill to apply them and make them last. When shellac first arrived im pretty sure there was not a course available. It was easy to use with simple instructions. Now in my area i see lots of office workers and so on, doing shellac etc just on the side. It means nothing to them just a little extra cash. As it is so easy to apply many of these people do quite well. But then i also see lots of posts on here where people are struggling to apply a basic nail polish, vinylux being one. I am not saying gel polishes have been bad for the industry, but i do believe with new technology, you need less and less skills. The only people really winning are the suppliers ,and in my view they have opened up the market to all.

Can I just say that why I don't like people undercutting me or other technicians, not everyone that works in an office is doing nails on the side.

I work in a school with no children currently. I do nails in the evenings and will post a special offer to book out my diary over the half terms etc.

I charged £16 when starting out and I'm now increasing my prices after a year to £18 - £22. I've qualified doing courses in stages and have practiced hard. I'm fully insured and I use good quality professional products such as CND and OPI.

I'm booked most evenings with 1 - 2 people a night and regulart clients returning fortnightly despite offers around me for £15 for hands and toes etc.

Just wanted to pop that in there as so many people assume if we have another job that we aren't as good or professional :cry:
 
The way I look at it is these people who are charging €10 for these treatments have to work doubly as hard to earn the €25 I charge for shellac etc. I can put my feet up while they are still slogging away😜
It's the same here in Ireland with mainly mobile therapists charging next to nothing for their services & they are always full but I take in in one day what they more than likely take in two & they are working until 10 at night. As someone saidearlier they are the busy fools! Don't let them bother you as long as you are providing a great service with great products the rest will speak for itself xx
 
I am not suggesting you are not as good. I am just stating gel polish is so easy to apply , it as opened the market to anyone. I also believe when you have a full time job and just do gel polish on the side, i do not class that as a serious business. You get wages regardless, it is just a little extra on side. When you do it as a full time living , and have wages, rents, electric etc to provide, then you see it from a different view point. No offence is ment.
 
Hey folks

Please can I remind you to use the term discount salon or if they are known to definitely be, NSS salons. The ethnicity of the persons owning/working in the salon is irrelevant.

Many thanks :)

Sent from my GT-I9300 using SalonGeek mobile app
 
Personally I would say dont concern yourself with what other people are doing. All industrys change and to survive you need to be able to evolve with that. Concentrate on offering a service that you think is worth what you charge, if someone if charging half the price but doing double the clients that you are they still are earning less than you. If you are worth what your charging then there will be people willing to pay it. its as simple as that... the hard part is finding them, but thats part of the job.
 
I am not suggesting you are not as good. I am just stating gel polish is so easy to apply , it as opened the market to anyone. I also believe when you have a full time job and just do gel polish on the side, i do not class that as a serious business. You get wages regardless, it is just a little extra on side. When you do it as a full time living , and have wages, rents, electric etc to provide, then you see it from a different view point. No offence is ment.

I have a job that pays my bills, so don't have to rely on my nail business to keep a roof over my head (and I do see it as serious with the training and financial outlay I invest in it). But I can completely understand where you are coming from.

I and others like myself don't have the stress when we know that if we have a quiet period we can still pay the bills. Don't get me wrong, I have incentive to make money as it is business and I am clawing back my investment, but it is different for those who are doing this full time for their bread and butter. I really feel for you if it's affecting your income.

I really don't know what to say about this kind of person who is charging these prices, apart from the clients who have been lost will hopefully just be learning the hard way and may return. People are human and get lured by cheap prices, but it doesn't mean they will get the same service.

With regards to it being easy to apply, some threads I have seen here suggest that quite a few people struggle with the whole thing and are having a variety of problems with the longevity. There is definitely more to it than opening a bottle and having some nails in front of you.
 
I've also recently lost a client to buying her own 'gel' nail polish kit you get from the likes of the internet and Sally's

I know there will always be people that choose to find a cheaper option to obtain a gel manicure and that is their prerogative but I like many of you feel slightly disheartened at having invested thousands for proper excellent training with CND using the best products around when things like the mentioned happen.
I am however a strong believer in my capabilities and high standard of work and those that do care about quality service and high standards will return.
 
I have a job that pays my bills, so don't have to rely on my nail business to keep a roof over my head (and I do see it as serious with the training and financial outlay I invest in it). But I can completely understand where you are coming from.

I and others like myself don't have the stress when we know that if we have a quiet period we can still pay the bills. Don't get me wrong, I have incentive to make money as it is business and I am clawing back my investment, but it is different for those who are doing this full time for their bread and butter. I really feel for you if it's affecting your income.

I really don't know what to say about this kind of person who is charging these prices, apart from the clients who have been lost will hopefully just be learning the hard way and may return. People are human and get lured by cheap prices, but it doesn't mean they will get the same service.

With regards to it being easy to apply, some threads I have seen here suggest that quite a few people struggle with the whole thing and are having a variety of problems with the longevity. There is definitely more to it than opening a bottle and having some nails in front of you.

I completely agree with you Nicole.
Just because my nail business is not my sole line of work does not mean it's not serious. Xx
 
It is hard when people can get the same service cheaper but a lot of them will just move on to the next best deal.

Also if their quality of work isn't very great your clients will see this and realize that paying the extra to go to you is worth it!

A girl near me recently started doing acrylic nails from home for half price of the lower range prices in the area.
a client of mine went to her and this girl had said she was qualified.
my client left after having her nails done and messaged the girl as there was no prep done, the acrylics were super bumpy and one of her nails had even fallen off in the car straight after and this girl then admitted to not being qualified or anything! The client then came back to me to have her nails done regularly :)

I definetly would not worry about what others are doing-as all the other comments said they will be super busy for less money :)
 

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