New to SPMU, help!

[Jessicapmu]

Hi everyone,

I am looking into training in SPMU. I have no previous experience with beauty or business but have a keen interest and am very artistic.
I have been researching different courses but there are so many and they vary so much in price! my Uncle is a business man and is going to loan me the money to do the course and he is also giving me lots of advice. He believes that a cheaper course would be just as good as my own 'talent' would carry me through and i would save a lot of money which I could put into setting up my own salon/clinic. I am not so sure. He really likes the look of a company in warrington Called 'Aspire', has anyone heard of them? i have tried to contact them to get more info about the course but haven't heard back yet. I have found some things on their website a little vague which puts me off.

Also, I have been so excited for this new career move but after reading some of the posts on here it seems there are a lot of people not making much money doing spmu and now I am worrying whether it is worth taking such an expensive gamble. can anyone give me some words of advice? I'm feeling a bit lost now.
thanks

 

[PamieD]

What made you want to go into it?

 

[Jessicapmu]

What made you want to go into it?

I love beauty and have always been passionate about makeup. I want a career, something that I don't have to work night shifts away from my little boy, something that I could be great at and be successful

 

[PamieD]

I think it's important to understand that despite the name, SPMU is tattooing. So you'll be a tattooist, not a beauty therapist. SPMU, like laser/IPL, is a miscellaneous treatment so it's neither beauty nor medical. It's usually put under an umbrella of beauty therapy for the sake of qualifications and because mostly beauty therapists tend to train in it.

I won't go into detail about this but there's a considerable amount of stalemate about how to regulate SPMU and how it's used. It's very boring but in short, I know 2 well known SPMU experts and they both roll their eyes at the way it's promoted as a way to earn £££s per year. It doesn't work like that. Beauty treatments depend on a set number of clients every week or every few weeks (a traditional salon or beauty therapist) OR a steady turnover of new and infrequent clients (an event makeup artist for example, which involves traveling). So for SPMU you need the latter. However because it's not a beauty treatment you'll have a restricted pool of potential clients, because SPMU has a yuck factor for a lot of the public. So if you do want to go into it, and there are of course successful SPMU artists, then you have to understand that you won't be marketing it in the same way as a beauty treatment. It's tattooing at the end of the day, and IN GENERAL clients tend to travel to someone who has become well known for it instead of whoever is nearest. You need to spend a lot of time building up referral channels rather than doing the usual website-facebook-leaflet drop of beauty therapy.

I'm biased of course, so take that into account. It just seems to me that the only ones making money are at the top of the tree. But if you want to go and do it then don't take any old course, find someone you trust and has a good reputation. Go and have chat with them before you hand over any money. Be GOOD at what you do, then you'll turn the odds in your favour. If you want to be successful you have to do more than the minimum.

If you love beauty and makeup there are so many avenues to take. Not just treatments but sales, manufacturing, even taking a degree and specialising in cosmetic formulations.

 

[Jessicapmu]

I think it's important to understand that despite the name, SPMU is tattooing. So you'll be a tattooist, not a beauty therapist. SPMU, like laser/IPL, is a miscellaneous treatment so it's neither beauty nor medical. It's usually put under an umbrella of beauty therapy for the sake of qualifications and because mostly beauty therapists tend to train in it.

I won't go into detail about this but there's a considerable amount of stalemate about how to regulate SPMU and how it's used. It's very boring but in short, I know 2 well known SPMU experts and they both roll their eyes at the way it's promoted as a way to earn £££s per year. It doesn't work like that. Beauty treatments depend on a set number of clients every week or every few weeks (a traditional salon or beauty therapist) OR a steady turnover of new and infrequent clients (an event makeup artist for example, which involves traveling). So for SPMU you need the latter. However because it's not a beauty treatment you'll have a restricted pool of potential clients, because SPMU has a yuck factor for a lot of the public. So if you do want to go into it, and there are of course successful SPMU artists, then you have to understand that you won't be marketing it in the same way as a beauty treatment. It's tattooing at the end of the day, and IN GENERAL clients tend to travel to someone who has become well known for it instead of whoever is nearest. You need to spend a lot of time building up referral channels rather than doing the usual website-facebook-leaflet drop of beauty therapy.

I'm biased of course, so take that into account. It just seems to me that the only ones making money are at the top of the tree. But if you want to go and do it then don't take any old course, find someone you trust and has a good reputation. Go and have chat with them before you hand over any money. Be GOOD at what you do, then you'll turn the odds in your favour. If you want to be successful you have to do more than the minimum.

If you love beauty and makeup there are so many avenues to take. Not just treatments but sales, manufacturing, even taking a degree and specialising in cosmetic formulations.

Thank you for taking the time to reply and give me advice. It is definitely the only avenue of 'beauty' i would be interested in working in as it the artistry side of it that attracts me. once upon a time I did dream of being a tattoo artist so i thought this could suit me quite well. Are you a spmu technician?

 

[PamieD]

No problem, I think tattooists are actually way ahead of defining and protecting their profession compared to beauty. SPMU companies are a bit like Game of Thrones for the position of defacto standard! I'm just so fed up with people getting ripped off, sometimes upwards of 5 figure amounts. I did train years ago in SofTap but it was only possible to get the inks imported at the time. I looked into the safety of these inks and that's what got me involved more in the health and safety and policy aspects of certain treatments. It's quite a can of worms to say the least. Good luck in whatever you decide to do