Pricing help

[kirsty91]

I have recently qualified in shellac and need to get some clients to help build my confidence and also get a chance to get photos to add to my Facebook page. What would be a good start off price to help get some practice in on clients? Most people around my area charge £15 for a shellac manicure. I thought about doing a £10 deal for a month until I feel a bit more confident or do you think this is too cheap? Also how much more would you charge for French/ glitters etc.

Thanks for any help!x

 

[CFBS]

£15 for a shellac manicure is too low I think. Is this what your 'posh' salons are charging around you or just oddbods dabbling in nails?
I charge £23 for standard shellac, £26 for shellac with glitter or foil, £30 for full on nail art.

I would suggest you price yourself at whatever your most expensive local salon is charging and then run an offer for 1 - 2 months, For example 20% off perhaps.

My prices include a mini solar oil & home care advice sheet on their first appointment and free removals with a minimum spend of £5 on treatments.
I do state a removal price for other brands or acrylics so I don't get caught out!

I also have lots of other nail bods around me charging ridiculously low prices but i'm still busy because my nails STAY ON and clients will pay for good service.

Be brave, charge properly and be the best!

 

[kirsty91]

Yeah £15 is mostly done by people doing nails on the side. I'm just worried I won't be able to pick up clients as lots of people will go to the cheapest around. Most salons around here average about £25 for a basic shellac.

 

[nailpod]

Good Lord NO that is wayyyy to cheap! When I worked in London doing nails after work (I had office job in central London) I did week ends and evening appointments in 2008 I was charging £15 for basic overlay back then!!! (Tips and acrylic gel etc was more) That was 8 years ago!

 

[pure]

Unless you want to fight for the same clients as the unqualified wannabes then you must charge more to ensure you get a better quality of client.

Where are you working? Home, mobile, renting space?

 

[kirsty91]

I'm only just starting out working at home. Originally I thought £20 for a standard shellac and then work extra for French or glitter. Is this still too cheap or would that be a reasonable price to charge?

 

[NailtechJoe]

In my case, I have plenty of "nail techs" who are charging ridiculously low prices for gel manicures in my area and it is very frustrating to see my prices being undercut when I don't take shortcuts. The lowest one I can find is priced at £9 for a gel manicure - no mention of training, insurance or gel brand. I charge £22 for Gelish as an example and for the first appointment, I do a full manicure and then gel prep which takes me about 1 hour and 30 minutes (with old lacquer removal) to get really good results. It seems people are more attracted to the cheaper option. As a side comment with regulatory bodies, I just often feel that being part of the Guild is a waste of money (£85) as IMO, not much is being done in brand recognition, public awareness and regulating cowboy nail techs.

Another story I know which is publicly available on facebook in my area; a nail tech filed down the nail plate to the bed when doing acrylics in a well known nail salon.

 

[attitude]

On a side note, I once had a Biosculpture tech file a hole through my thumb nail.