Newbie looking for advice and chat

[Yaisa]

Hey salon geeks, so Iv been a support worker for 10+ years and have finally decided at the grand old age of 32 I’d like to retrain (I did start when I was 16 but quit with only level 1 of hairdresser and a couple of beauty certificates!). I need to do this slowly but surly as I refuse to get back into debt to fund this and eventually plan on on been trained in all beauty and hair related services with my own home salon.
I have facial and gel nails courses booked for next month but would like to get a head start on buying SMALL things, so my question is what advise would you give on bits and bobs and even the bigger things to start buying? thanks ladies and gents xxx

 

[RosieR]

I bet you can't wait!!!
I would ask advice from the course providers , to see if there is a special training pack on offer from them. Or discount code etc . Using the products on the facial/nails courses may be your best option as you will be familiar with brands used ,and can see if you like using them before you make your purchase.

Have you decided where you will do your practise appointments from?
If it is a room from home, then you will need a portable couch for facials which can also be used as a manicure table with 2 chairs either side of it. Good lighting, trolley for facial products, drawers for nail sundries,cotton wool etc.

I would wait until completing the course, again it may help you to get accounts from trade wholesalers as you will get your certificate and insurance after completion.

It's great that you are really keen, but if money is a bit of a worry i would wait just a little longer and buy the right things then and not buy the wrong things now.
Which courses are you doing by the way?

 

[AcidPerm]

Its great that you’ve decided to retrain/ go back to doing something that you’re interested in and you’re definitely not too old to start a new career in hair or beauty services. However, I strongly recommend starting with either, nails, hair or beauty and becoming fairly expert in that field before adding to your portfolio of services. If you try to do everything at once, you will struggle to gain the necessary experience required to become proficient.

Also, good quality training costs money and you need to accept this as an important investment in your future successful business venture. Poor quality training is never a good business investment as you’ll likely end up paying for additional training at a later date after struggling for a while on your own. You just need to read the many threads on here complaining about the poor quality of the 1day course training to appreciate the truth of this.

In addition, it’s very expensive to stock products for lots of different services and if you do beauty, nails and hair, that’s a massive investment in stock lying around and if your turnover isn’t fast, some of it will go out of date and it’s an added insurance risk.

With nails, clients like a choice of colours inc. the latest trends and it can be expensive to keep a wide range of the latest gel colours. Again, don’t bother with cheap eBay products which are often not up to EU safety standards. Invest in a quality brand plus matching lamp and market your business on quality products and service and not cheap as chips offerings. You can’t pay bills if you’re effectively working for a few quid an hour.

What interests you the most/do you like doing best? I recommend that as your starting point and then write up a business plan.

 

[Yaisa]

Thank you both for replying, I will decently invest in a decent couch and a few smaller items, but will take your advice on waiting until the course to buy products, if I’m honest it’s a little over whelming!!
@AcidPerm i completely agree on taking time, I shall be starting with a few select courses to begin with then hairdressing will be way down the line, this is more of a 5 year plan type thing
I have nails and facials booked at the moment and would like to add just 1 more beauty course to that in the 6 months then concentrate on these 3 things to begin with, I have the little bonus I trained in facials and non gel varnish 14 years ago at college so these are more just a reminder xx

 

[blossom]

Fab advice here and I don’t really have anything to add! Just wanted to say I retrained when my kids were small at the age of 37, built up my nail business and then after 12 years of just nails started to diversify with lash lifts and facials etc and now have a full service menu and am working flat out most weeks.
Wishing you lots of success [emoji4]