Spending far too much on products

[Belle Vie]

Oh I've been saying that for 2 years! Once I have this, this and this and done that training that's it. It never is! Lol! Always something new or clients say "do you do this?" It makes you think but its true you need to ask yourself about the boat. I've booked a waxing course and I don't think its not going to make my boat go any faster but I'll go now its booked. I have had 2 people ask me today to start massage. I just can't keep up!

How many people are asking you for treatments before you decide to train in it? I get asked every week if I do eyebrows and lashes, but I specialise in nails, I'd much rather team up with another specialist for cross promotion on the things that I don't offer than invest in training for something else that's not really my thing just now. I did my lash training and hated it so that was a waste of time, for me and a lesson learned. Never say never, I might well decide to introduce new services at some time in the future but I love what I do and don't offer treatments I don't love.

Massage isn't just a quick course, you really need to know your stuff and you have lots of skills to perfect already, why add to it? How about looking at your treatments and thinking about how you can make these better first? I have a list about 10 pages long of things I'm doing to improve my business over the next year and that's just specialising in one thing - more than that would be more than I could take on and do professionally.

 

[Lynne Baker]

One of the ways you can deal with clients wanting treatments you don't offer is to team up with a local therapist who does.
I don't offer massage because I have awful osteo arthritis in my hands, but there a local lady who does the most amazing proper massages. She doesn't do anything other than massage so I have a whole page on my website devoted to her and we cross promote.
It works really well and it shows support for other local businesses which I believe to be of paramount importance.

 

[julie25]

Oh I've been saying that for 2 years! Once I have this, this and this and done that training that's it. It never is! Lol! Always something new or clients say "do you do this?" It makes you think but its true you need to ask yourself about the boat. I've booked a waxing course and I don't think its not going to make my boat go any faster but I'll go now its booked. I have had 2 people ask me today to start massage. I just can't keep up!

Yes! Every week I say, right I just need x, y and z and then I have everything... No haha.

Although now I have all my equipment and redecorated I'm turning my attention to courses, I do genuinely need to do a couple of nail refresher courses but would love to train in lash extensions but need to find out if I'm going to get the custom to justify it xx

 

[Beautygirl1977]

How many people are asking you for treatments before you decide to train in it? I get asked every week if I do eyebrows and lashes, but I specialise in nails, I'd much rather team up with another specialist for cross promotion on the things that I don't offer than invest in training for something else that's not really my thing just now. I did my lash training and hated it so that was a waste of time, for me and a lesson learned. Never say never, I might well decide to introduce new services at some time in the future but I love what I do and don't offer treatments I don't love.

Massage isn't just a quick course, you really need to know your stuff and you have lots of skills to perfect already, why add to it? How about looking at your treatments and thinking about how you can make these better first? I have a list about 10 pages long of things I'm doing to improve my business over the next year and that's just specialising in one thing - more than that would be more than I could take on and do professionally.

Thing is I'm pretty busy at the moment without doing massage and the course is expensive (has to be the best!) and its time out of working. I am qualified in every part of the body but torso area. There is a demand for it in my area as not a lot of people doing it but I'm not keen. Wouldn't be this year anyway. I would love to specialise but my clients won't let me! Lol!

 

[Tomme]

Thing is I'm pretty busy at the moment without doing massage and the course is expensive (has to be the best!) and its time out of working. I am qualified in every part of the body but torso area. There is a demand for it in my area as not a lot of people doing it but I'm not keen. Wouldn't be this year anyway. I would love to specialise but my clients won't let me! Lol!

Why not set yourself targets for courses? 6 one day courses maximum or 3 2+ day courses maximum per year? Could you stick to that?
Use the make a poll option on Facebook to find what people really want not what one client wants, you may be surprised at what they ask for.
And limit your "new lines" to a set amount of money per week, re stock what's needed as normal but say about £20 for new lines (one new colour of polish?) when you reach a certain income target? Xoxo

 

[Lynne Baker]

When I was deciding upon a course I went about it in a very logical way.
I looked at the following:
the cost of the course
The cost of taking time out of the salon
The cost of equipment and products required to do the treatment
The cost of adding it to my insurance policy
The price of the treatment to my clients
Then I looked at how many clients I would need to treat to recoup all those costs, and from that I could work out how long it would take before it had paid for itself.

 

[sandwiches]

When ever I see something new. I ALWAYS hear Lynne's words 'will it make my boat go faster' often the answer is no.

Its so easy to get swept along with hype and buzz, do you really really need hot wax and it's training? is it because you want to offer intimate waxing? If no then warm wax is fine regardless of how many people on here say its not!

The couch, check with the manifacture about it's 'load weight' it might seem rickerty but if it can take the weight then you don't need but want one.

Minx, its a summer trend but if you can use Shellac and some glitters they are just as good and you can bespoke them which is a selling point. You know that Shellac can be layered so you don't need all the colours. The new colours for example, they aren't so different from what's already available so I won't be first in line for them. I'll probably skip these and save money. Its so hard when people gush about a product and you start to think you're missing out on an opportunity I know I've been there and wasted £100's because of it.

I've NEVER taken to HD brows because to me it's a tint and tidy service. But when everyone on here was like 'oh my god it's amazing' I thought maybe I'm missing out, maybe this is THE service and will change my business for ever so I asked myself, "will it make my boat go faster" the answer was "no it wont, its a tint and shape service which I already offer" so I saved myself a packet and just bought the brow make up to retail instead.

Edited to say I've just read you're client is over 30 stone. Medical couches have a 30 stone limit so I'm not sure you'd find a beauty couch that would take more. You start getting into specialists equipment which are £1000's.

 

[souz]

for me i look at my spreadsheets and see what i have spent already and what i have earnt, seeing it in black and white makes me appreciate more what im spending so i now only buy what i NEED except for new shellac colours lol