Specialising did you make the right choice

[jenny2]

Many of u who now me on here will no that unfortunatly due to the present climate and being a new business i have had to make a decission which i hope will be for the best. Because i tend to be very impulsive hubby has helped me with this which is why i no it is the best decission for us as a family just not so sure if it is as a whole.

After talks with hubby, it has worked out that 99% of my clients are mainly waxing clients. Very few if any of these have there nails done, only for speciel occasions. Also the expense of keeping up with current nail trends i have found is putting my business into negative as does not seem to be enough client call.

Waxing is were my heart is. I love everything about it and was looking for other peoples views on this matter and how things have turned out for them after specialising.

I would also like some ideas if possible on marketing this. I was thinking on the lighns of aiming it towards people with specific concerns. Ie allot of ladies that have come to me have embarrasing issues, one lady who contacted me has a complax about her hairy bottom and when she rang she asked if she could come and talk to me as she was very embarresed. I want to get accross that these things are not embarrasing and make it more the norm if u no what i mean.

Also by removing all nail stuff and making my treatment room part of our family home again, i hope that this way we do not have to pay business rates which if i am honest is one of the big issues for changimg how my room functions. Has any one else done this and what is classed as ok in the eyes of the dredded council

Sorry so many questions in one

love jenny xx

ps sorry for spelling errors to hope it ledgeable

 

[collin]

Many of u who now me on here will no that unfortunatly due to the present climate and being a new business i have had to make a decission which i hope will be for the best. Because i tend to be very impulsive hubby has helped me with this which is why i no it is the best decission for us as a family just not so sure if it is as a whole.

After talks with hubby, it has worked out that 99% of my clients are mainly waxing clients. Very few if any of these have there nails done, only for speciel occasions. Also the expense of keeping up with current nail trends i have found is putting my business into negative as does not seem to be enough client call.

Waxing is were my heart is. I love everything about it and was looking for other peoples views on this matter and how things have turned out for them after specialising.

I would also like some ideas if possible on marketing this. I was thinking on the lighns of aiming it towards people with specific concerns. Ie allot of ladies that have come to me have embarrassing issues, one lady who contacted me has a complex about her hairy bottom and when she rang she asked if she could come and talk to me as she was very embarrassed. I want to get across that these things are not embarrassing and make it more the norm if u no what i mean.

Also by removing all nail stuff and making my treatment room part of our family home again, i hope that this way we do not have to pay business rates which if i am honest is one of the big issues for changing how my room functions. Has any one else done this and what is classed as OK in the eyes of the dreaded council

Sorry so many questions in one

love jenny xx

ps sorry for spelling errors to hope it ledgeable

Hey Jenny..good talking to you.

I am a little confused.

You run your business from your home so no matter what treatments you undertake your costs dont rise.

On your nails..well I guess you have already spent the money on training,equipment and stocks so these expenses are now behind you.

I'm not entirely sure that by closing this element of your business down that you will save any money..if you have stocks then you only need to spend more due to having undertaken treatments in the first place which of course means you have generated revenue.

You may well generate some income back into the pot by selling off your equipment however I suspect you would only receive a fraction of the amount you initially invested...let alone your training costs etc.

If waxing pops your cherry all well and good and this is an area you should therefore look to expand on...alternativley couldn't you undertake both nails and waxing in the same room therefore mitigating rates on the second room..im sure there are may therapists who undertake there various treatments in the one room?

In general terms the months we are currently in are the quiet months which are also compounded by the recession we seem to be in however the busier trading months aren't that far off and the recession wont be with us forever.

If you take a moment to sit back and look at your business you are in a fortunate position you work from home and therefore dont have high rental ,rates payments going out and neither do you have high staff wages bill to face at the end of each and every week.

Try looking at things from a different perspective and see if this perspective helps you with your current position.

If running the business is simply not viable and you cant see that it never will be..well there is only one conclusion to draw.

On the other hand it might be worthwhile considering a part time job somewhere (assuming your existing clients dont consume a full working week) and retaining your "more viable" customers and or treatments.

Time to really sit down with a blank piece of paper and make a list of

1)your current overheads and how you can mitigate them(move everything into one room etc)
2) ways to get more customers
3) even consider putting up your prices slightly..are you currently charging enough for the services you offer.
4) how does owning your own business(as it exists today" fit into your lifestyle..does it complement it..I.E. if you were working full time for someone else who would care for the children etc and what cost would that care come into
5)anything you can think of to write down but BE HONEST with yourself.

From all this if you are indeed going to continue then "go do it" if your descision is to persue other means of generating income into the house hold....then "go do it"

Hoping this isn't to much nonsensical nonsense :hug:

 

[jenny2]

hi collin
U have raised some really good points here. I do all my treatments in one room which has road access. Because it is purely used for work i have to pay business rates, by making the room a multi functional room, ie settee tv for me and hubby it will no longer be purely work related making financiel sence in the current market as will have no business rates to pay at all. creating savings.

I have out layed allot of money on nail stuff, but have used a great deal for practise reasons so have not been able to reaplenish with money earnt. were as my waxing is paying for itself making it worth while continuin as am averaging at one new lady per month. Today i even had my first intamate waxing lady come from when i had my training done with kim, i could not beleive it as i was so fingers and thumbs back then and lacked experience. But today after she received my crimbo card and finding were i had gone, she came straight back to me, which i am chuffed with as i was not all that good back then. Which i think says something Even though i have bought more nail stock, nail clients are very few and far between and may get one evry three to four months hence our idea to loose the nails. i will still do pedicures as in the summer my waxing ladys have these done regulary.

Waxing is at my heart and will be my pure focus, looking aound at other salons faciels are very occasional unless u are a spar or offer a high class market. I have done two of these in seven months of being in business and out layed over three hundred to begin with. Plus i feel this treatment is a luxury for many and not a necessasity.

Nails people love em or hate them, for those that love em they have the done regular. I do not have the natural flair for them and if i would not pay for my nails why would i expect any one else do. i have been told by many on here that i am good at mails and by my clients, but to be honest i simply do not have much call for them. The money raiesd from this equipment can be paid into my business giving me scope for enhanci=ng in the waxing department,

I aim to long term become a trainer in waxing, currently i am doing my 7303 and plan to go up to my 7305, i would be interested to find out about introducing a level 3 which at the mo there is no such a thing in our industry for waxing. But for such as nasal waxing and intamate waxing i think this deserves it own right as a higher examination. My whole salers are intrested in me producing and delivering their courses for them also which is an avenue i am contemplating going down

I have looked into a part time job as still am not receiving an income from my room, as have outlayed so much at the begining and will still need to continue to do so if i continue down the nail route. But having children with speciel needs this is showing some what of a problem for me. After like u mentioned paying out on child care there is no point, change for the government me thinks but hey ho

love jenny:hug:

 

[weezie]

Just wanted to add my two pennies worth. I have found facials to be very lucrative after the initial outlay it is a high earner I have not seen a decrease in people having them and also pedicures seem to be very popular too. It's all down to how you market them. I have found offering a variety of treatments has kept me busier as it appeals to a larger client base. If it's just that you heart isn't in other treatments then by all means drop them but as you have already done the training you may find that with a bit of perseverance you will quickly improve and be glad you could offer other treatments to your clients who will go elsewhere for them where they could be having them with you. I thought I would never get the hang of many treatments but it has now become second nature. :hug:

 

[Martin Duffy]

Like Weezie my facials have been very lucrative & I'm not a spa. I agree it's down to how you market them & your own attitude; if your heart's not in doing them & you have a preconceived notion that people can't afford them at the moment then this is what you project out.

Likewise, I feel people like being able to have all their treatments in one place. Once a person trusts you to do one thing they'll often prefer you to do all their treatments. Thus there becomes the risk that if they have their nails etc done elsewhere & come to trust that other person they might just decide to get their waxing done their at the same time to save having to make multiple appointments/journeys.

 

[jenny2]

Hi guys, thank u soo much for your advise. I have always loved facials, i am decleor trained which is a wondefull treatment. I incoperate a back massage into my facials, cleanse, tone, exfoliate hand and arm massage followed by aroma drainage, aroma pressures and aroma massage to finish folowed by a full body stretch.

The two clients that had them loved them and had them as a treat. But and here comes the butt they just seem to be to few and far between.

I have paid for extensive advertising to no avail and i work my floor. But every one books for waxing. So what do i do. I live in a mining village and just can not get them to bight. Yes they come for waxing, because most of them have an issue of some sort. Many are embarresed because of their size or their excessive hair growth and like the fact they come to my home, have not got to walk through a salon and be embarressed

I have a little over fifty clients on my records, at christmas i sent out christmas cards including my fliers and money off vouchers for use in jan. All the ladies that have come back to me because they did not no were i had gone when moved all booked for waxing.

May be your right, may be time will tell. But i really do beleive my regulars for waxing if went to have there nails done some were else would come back for waxing. I no u can never say that, but i just no it. Some of them i have had to work them through their embarressment of even showing their legs and am now at a stage were they have g string bikini, still i have to leave the room as they get embarressed even though i am gonna be seeing everything, so can not imagine them going else were and having to go through it all again.

Ok, i am listening, u say to continue offering faciels and so fourth so how would u market it, show me were i am going wrong:hug:

 

[jenny2]

Ok i am sorry guys but my brain works over time and questions everything untill my answer is completed and their is no argument, mad i no but that is me lol

Ok how many places only offer nails that u no of. Why do people go there? My thinking because they are good, they are doin them day in day out. because they have lots of nail bars they can afford to do them slightly cheaper and they could do a 100 times better job than me in half the time. Why? i ask myself because this is their specialisum.

Ok facials does any salon only offer these and specialise

How many waxing studios do u see, not many i hear u ask. But they are up and coming, from males to females many are seeking out waxing.

So in my area there is only me that offers intamate waxing, nasal waxing and so fourth, i offer a high end wax and pretty much do what these nail guys do,

So the question is it better to do a little of everything and do a good job or be amazing and the talk of the town for being excellent and waxing like a pro.

If u are reading kim sorry to bring u in here or lori for that matter, u both specialise in waxing and by all accounts have done really well at it. now i no kim did once upon a time ago offer nails. But now it is waxing all the way and people seek these guys out from miles away. They probably go else were for nails and stuff but they travel up to an hour even further to be waxed by them. This is my way of thinking

I tell u something, if the industry split up into sections it would be fab. ie your amazing nail tecks, waxing therapist and then skin care therapists. i tell u i would go to the people who specialise over and beyond some one who does the lot.

 

[Kim Lawless]

now i no kim did once upon a time ago offer nails. But now it is waxing all the way and people seek these guys out from miles away. They probably go else were for nails and stuff but they travel up to an hour even further to be waxed by them. This is my way of thinking

quote]

Almost right Jen. I trained with Creative as a nail tech but I wasn't very good so I decided to pour all of my energy into the thing that I love most and that's waxing. I knew when to wipe my mouth and walk away.

To specialise in anything, you need to excel at what you do and have a real passion for it.....whether that's nails, facials etc. This takes time and hard work and doesn't happen over night.

It doesn't mean that you have to give up everything else (I just chose to do that). Take Lori for example, she runs a succcessful company and specialises in skin care also, so it doesn't mean that it's all or nothing. You can excel at more than one thing.

Yes, I am very lucky that I do so well but in these times, if I were you, I wouldn't burn all my bridges. Any money is better than no money so I would say to carry on offering a full service menu and if you happen to get more waxng clients then that's great. xxx