Starting out

[dmooro]

Hi there,

I was just after some advice. I trained to do acrylic nails last July as a way of boosting my part time income as I wanted to do something that I could fit around the kids. The first advert I placed I only had one young girl reply, the second advert I placed I had one girl reply but that was it, since then although people are happy with the job that I do they don't come back and to be honest I have spent a lot more on advertising than I have actually made!!! Where am I going wrong and how can I kick start this business, I also do acrylic toes as well which I thought would have really took off as I was made to believe that not many people can do them. Has anybody got any suggestions? I would be really grateful.

 

[gillian w]

If they are saying they are happy but not coming back then maybe they arn't really.Or maybe they are at the time but then the nails are not lasting long.
Have you had much feed back from anyone at all.Have you had any honest opinions,are you honest with yourself about the work you are producing.
Its a long slog to produce excellent nails and get known for them and build up a client base.Time is needed after you have done a course to practice and get good at them before you can earn a living from them.

 

[itsallnewtome]

Hi, I qualified just a bit after you and although the clients have taken a while to come in they are now coming. I do L&P and hollywood toes so I had some free postcards made up at Vistaprint - (you only pay for postage). I had the postcards made with a special offer for both nails and toes and then spent days going round the local streets and businesses and posting them. I stated on the offer that it was valid for the first set and then after that normal prices would apply. A couple of days after my clients have been to have their nails/toes done I give them a quick ring just to make sure everything is ok If there are any problems I fix them asap or if they are happy I ask them if they want to book in for a rebalance. I have loads of customers coming back to me now even if there has been a problem because I have made sure that it has been rectified.

 

[dmooro]

That's what I don't understand because family members that I have done their nails are great being honest not perfect like I want them to be but better than I have ever had done myself and my nails last 2 -3 weeks before needing to be refilled and my toes last for 4 - 6 weeks so I really dont understand it

 

[dmooro]

Yes I done the same with the leaflets from vista print and the one time I did have a problem I fixed it straight away as I tell clients that if there is a problem with the nails it is because of something that I have done wrong but what I find is that people tend to be happy with who they get their nails done by and it is sooooo frustrating cos I thought it would be really easy to get this off the ground

 

[geeg]

Yes I done the same with the leaflets from vista print and the one time I did have a problem I fixed it straight away as I tell clients that if there is a problem with the nails it is because of something that I have done wrong but what I find is that people tend to be happy with who they get their nails done by and it is sooooo frustrating cos I thought it would be really easy to get this off the ground

Not sure what to say here without offending you and I do not mean to offend you, but nails is really not a part time business. When you do nails you are entering the service industry which, by its very name, means that you should be available to give that service and not fit people in around you. It's the backward way of looking at what you do. Successful nail techs who have loyal clients have them because the techs are loyal to their clients and not just available part time.

Part time nail techs attract part time business. That is the truth of the matter. When you can give your business your full time attention, then you will start to get full time business.

Your nails lasting on you is a good thing but nails only last as long as the clients give them after care and attention and some do and some don't. Do you retail aftercare products to your clients? Do you carry retail items with you when you do nails? How well do you project yourself as a professionally set up business to your clients? Do you have your business cards on you at all times to leave and to hand out to everyone you meet? Just a few suggestions.

 

[Susie H]

Yes I done the same with the leaflets from vista print and the one time I did have a problem I fixed it straight away as I tell clients that if there is a problem with the nails it is because of something that I have done wrong but what I find is that people tend to be happy with who they get their nails done by and it is sooooo frustrating cos I thought it would be really easy to get this off the ground

How many leaflets have you dropped? The average response is 3 new clients for every 300 leaflets dropped. So you should try to have 5 area's to do and do 1 a week, returning to them in one big circle. Do a search on here for someone called Sassy Hassey she did a great thread on marketing your business, sound advise from beginning to end. But bear in mind that a lot of people don't have nails done on a regular basis. Nothing wrong with the tech its just that for them its an occasional treat.

 

[Sapphire nails]

Hi,

With out offending anyone, i would suggest ignoring the comment about "Part time nail techs attract part time business" YOU WORK TO SUIT YOUR LIFE, life is not all about working and if you want to work part time doing something you enjoy (nails) then do so.
But in saying that when you do have clients call please try not to firstly say " i only do part time" as this will be a put off, let the client choose as much as possible.
Being mobile does take longer to get running as there is no True visual.
Just keep at it, keep business cards with you and dont be affraid to approch people if you see they have their nails done.

Good luck

 

[del3]

Hi,

With out offending anyone, i would suggest ignoring the comment about "Part time nail techs attract part time business"

Why ignore it?...IT'S TRUE!

 

[geeg]

Hi,

With out offending anyone, i would suggest ignoring the comment about "Part time nail techs attract part time business" YOU WORK TO SUIT YOUR LIFE, life is not all about working and if you want to work part time doing something you enjoy (nails) then do so. But in saying that when you do have clients call please try not to firstly say " i only do part time" as this will be a put off, let the client choose as much as possible.

Being mobile does take longer to get running as there is no True visual.
Just keep at it, keep business cards with you and dont be affraid to approch people if you see they have their nails done.

Good luck

No love .. how could it be offensive to hear someone say to ignore my advice??

SERVICE industry means SERVICE .. if you can't offer it as a service then DON'T offer it at all. It just makes a mockery of what we are supposed to be about. First time a client breaks a nail and can't get it fixed immediately because 'it doesn't fit in around you and the family' she will be off to someone else and stay there because THEY ARE THERE.

Lovin this one ...

But in saying that when you do have clients call please try not to firstly say " i only do part time" as this will be a put off, let the client choose as much as possible.

the poster admits that being part time puts people off .. marvelous!!! Then advises to not tell the truth about you and your business " Great way to run a business ... let your clients find out later that you are only available part time and then they'll leave anyway and tell folks you ripped them off.

Please feel free to ignore my useless advise .. but do let me know in afew years who was right and who wasn't. :hug:

 

[Sapphire nails]

Ok so i was harsh in saying "ignor", but i still believe that you can work part time in this industry, i have been working part time for years now, I work around my clients to suit them, but still i only technically work Part time hours. the comment i made about dont say instantly that you are only part time i feel is not at all lying, i feel that this is starting the conversation off negitavely, allow the client to let you know what, where, when once you have heard them out it may comply with your working times, if not then you can inform them with further details.

Maybe i should of worded this better the first time around.

I appolagise to all offened
dont want to make enemies

xx

 

[geeg]

Ok so i was harsh in saying "ignor", but i still believe that you can work part time in this industry, i have been working part time for years now, I work around my clients to suit them, but still i only technically work Part time hours. the comment i made about dont say instantly that you are only part time i feel is not at all lying, i feel that this is starting the conversation off negitavely, allow the client to let you know what, where, when once you have heard them out it may comply with your working times, if not then you can inform them with further details.

Maybe i should of worded this better the first time around.

I appolagise to all offened
dont want to make enemies

xx

So you are saying quite clearly that it is a negative thing to be part time then. Or certainly you are saying that your prospective clients feel it is a negative thing for a nail technician to be part time. So in effect you keep it quiet as long as you can and only inform them if the time they want doesn't suit you. It may not seem so to you but it all strikes me as deception which is in effect lying by omission.

I've known some part timers who have done OK but they are business like and their clients know that they are regular as clock work which may suit some but not all. They are still only a part time business which is what I said in the first place. Maybe even a moderately successful part time business but unfortunately for them only part time successful.

It certainly is not offerring what I call service and you do loose allot of clients to those who do.

PS I am not offended, and I don't make enemies.

 

[c3tor]

Hi I have been working as a nail technition for 4 years now I have 3 children and am a really busy mum. I have to say you need to put the hours in to build your clients and provide a professional service. I have never let a client down always be honest if you haven't got child care say so clients will understand. I spend a lot of time working while they are a school picking them up then working again when my husband comes in sometimes im running wild but this is providing a service but I never ever say i only work part time clients would run a mile.

If you are serious about your buisness it is never part time

 

[Cait]

amused.........
Yes of course part time nail techs DO attract part time business...
seriously that is a given in any industry - you will ALWAYS be (not matter how good you are) ''she does nails part time or on the side'' how can you attract full timeclients ?? you cant is the truthful answer. However I do know some part time techs that make a neat little extra pocket money from friends and friends of friends... nothing wrong with being part time but please dont expect a full time wage from this.

However back to the original question-
''I trained to do acrylic nails last July '' Ok good so you have trained.. thats one up on any other charlatan that thinks they can learn a profession from ebay and dvds.. its now June.. whats been happening in between.. how many pairs of hands have you practised on since.. perhaps your nails look great after your service but speaking from personal experience I do know that the problems start when they leave the salon, prep problems , lifting, discoloration - I would say honestly honestly it took my 100 PAIRs of hands to call myself a professional. Sounds a lot? it is but I rarely get lifting now and my customers return happy and if god forbid something goes wrong Im the first to offer to fix it. When they rebook I always ask if everything is ok with the nails if not then I allow an extra 10-15 mins for the appointment to talk through things with the customer. Also I always send out a text to any new customers letting them know that their opinion matters to me and if there are any questions (not problems) then they shouldnt hesitate to contact me.
Kick start your business and your confidence by perhaps a refresher course, read ALL the tutorials here, do your friends and family's nails (at discount for a period only) and ask them for honest feedback after 1-2-3 weeks and then when you rebalance do the same. I found doing a new set was a lot easier than a rebalance in the early days.

Look, by asking for help you have shown you give a fiddlers, now really learn how to play the tune and expect what you put in to get in return and hopefully you will have a part time business with a relative return.
xx

 

[katmciner]

Not sure what to say here without offending you and I do not mean to offend you, but nails is really not a part time business. When you do nails you are entering the service industry which, by its very name, means that you should be available to give that service and not fit people in around you. It's the backward way of looking at what you do. Successful nail techs who have loyal clients have them because the techs are loyal to their clients and not just available part time.

Part time nail techs attract part time business. That is the truth of the matter. When you can give your business your full time attention, then you will start to get full time business.

I have also tried to start a "part time" business at home and I cant seem to get it off the ground, in fact i just posted a while ago offering my services for free to salons in my area on Saturdays because I want to work in a salon, gain experience and do what I love.

Truth is I have a full time office job that for financial reasons I can't leave at the moment. I adore nails and everything to do with them so when I enrolled with CND I definetly thought I was doing the right thing, now I'm starting to question myself was it just a waste of time if "nails is really not a part time business":irked:

 

[geeg]

I have also tried to start a "part time" business at home and I cant seem to get it off the ground, in fact i just posted a while ago offering my services for free to salons in my area on Saturdays because I want to work in a salon, gain experience and do what I love.

Truth is I have a full time office job that for financial reasons I can't leave at the moment. I adore nails and everything to do with them so when I enrolled with CND I definetly thought I was doing the right thing, now I'm starting to question myself was it just a waste of time if "nails is really not a part time business":irked:

I didn't say it was a waste of time I said you would only get a part time return and you will get a large turn over of clientèle as they will drift off to those who are prepared to be service minded.

You yourself will determine whether or not you have wasted your time by what you make of what you have learned. Your learning curve will be slow by virtue of the fact that you will not easily get the numbers through your hands that you must have to get the practise you need and if there are problems, you may very well loose clients before you get the chance to solve them.

Of course I appreciate that some do not have the courage, or the means or even the support of their families to just give up a job and go for it .. but plenty of us have and been more successful than in any job I could have got working for someone else.

Everyone is different but service is service and if you cannot give that service as and when your clients need it (and they want it immediately if there is a problem) then what you end up with is a part time hobby.

You are in effect the nail doctor ... I'm glad my doctor is not part time .. I wouldn't like to get sick and find it was inconvenient for my professional doctor to treat me. Don't think that the doctor analogy is inappropriate because it isn't .. when clients break a nail it is important to THEM .. just as important as if they were sick to THEM ... a nail tech who values service needs to be on hand to provide it. True nail technicians treat their job as a VOCATION.

As for salon experience .. most salons will not entertain someone even if they work for free, fearing that they are just being used by that person to gain advantage of the salon's clientèle and experience that they will then use for their own benefit rather than that of the salon that helped them. These are the harsh realities, I'm afraid.

 

[katmciner]

I didn't say it was a waste of time I said you would only get a part time return and you will get a large turn over of clientèle as they will drift off to those who are prepared to be service minded.

You yourself will determine whether or not you have wasted your time by what you make of what you have learned. Your learning curve will be slow by virtue of the fact that you will not easily get the numbers through your hands that you must have to get the practise you need and if there are problems, you may very well loose clients before you get the chance to solve them.

Of course I appreciate that some do not have the courage, or the means or even the support of their families to just give up a job and go for it .. but plenty of us have and been more successful than in any job I could have got working for someone else.

Everyone is different but service is service and if you cannot give that service as and when your clients need it (and they want it immediately if there is a problem) then what you end up with is a part time hobby.

You are in effect the nail doctor ... I'm glad my doctor is not part time .. I wouldn't like to get sick and find it was inconvenient for my professional doctor to treat me. Don't think that the doctor analogy is inappropriate because it isn't .. when clients break a nail it is important to THEM .. just as important as if they were sick to THEM ... a nail tech who values service needs to be on hand to provide it. True nail technicians treat their job as a VOCATION.

As for salon experience .. most salons will not entertain someone even if they work for free, fearing that they are just being used by that person to gain advantage of the salon's clientèle and experience that they will then use for their own benefit rather than that of the salon that helped them. These are the harsh realities, I'm afraid.

Every point you have made geeg is absolutely true thats why it gets me down so much. I hate to think also that Im not a true nail tech as much as I try to be, I've worked extremely hard over the last few months to be the best I can but I think I've come to the conclusion that it's not enough to be part time, I also think that although I treat it as a vocation people don't take me seriously not like they would if I was working in a salon, thats very disheartening. The current job I have has suffered a lot (among the rest of the world) with the current economic climate so I'm not sure how safe my job even is at the moment.....I think I'm secretly I'm hoping its not so that I can devote all my time to being a nail technician then and only then I think I will be on the road to be satisfied with myself and not feel guilty for quitting my job. I think today has been very significant in realising that I'm chasing a dream thats not going to come true....just yet!!

 

[geeg]

Every point you have made geeg is absolutely true thats why it gets me down so much. I hate to think also that Im not a true nail tech as much as I try to be, I've worked extremely hard over the last few months to be the best I can but I think I've come to the conclusion that it's not enough to be part time, I also think that although I treat it as a vocation people don't take me seriously not like they would if I was working in a salon, thats very disheartening. The current job I have has suffered a lot (among the rest of the world) with the current economic climate so I'm not sure how safe my job even is at the moment.....I think I'm secretly I'm hoping its not so that I can devote all my time to being a nail technician then and only then I think I will be on the road to be satisfied with myself and not feel guilty for quitting my job. I think today has been very significant in realising that I'm chasing a dream thats not going to come true....just yet!!

Well maybe that is the key .. 'just yet'. No harm at all in gaining all the experience you can in the meantime so that when and IF .... you will be ready to go for it. You are not a 2nd class citizen or nail tech just because you are part time at it ... and your mental attitude toward the job is spot on .. so don't be disheartened. But be realistic and see it for what it is at the moment until such time as you can make the change you want. :hug:​

 

[katmciner]

Well maybe that is the key .. 'just yet'. No harm at all in gaining all the experience you can in the meantime so that when and IF .... you will be ready to go for it. You are not a 2nd class citizen or nail tech just because you are part time at it ... and your mental attitude toward the job is spot on .. so don't be disheartened. But be realistic and see it for what it is at the moment until such time as you can make the change you want. :hug:​

Thanks for the advice geeg.:wink2:

 

[Anna Lee]

I am a part timer earning part time wages and because of that, even after 4 years, I still do not classify myself as true professional.

I never advertise, because I know that if I do, I will not have the time or dedication to fufill all my clients with my part time services.

And because I never advertise, I never complain about not having enough clients either. If you put in part-time hours with part-time dedication and part-time enthusiasm, you will result in part time clients with part-time wages.

So instead of moaning about why I havent got any clients and why my 'business' is not as great as it should be, I use this time to improve myself in every way with more practising and education so that one day, when I am able to enter this industry as a full-timer, I can offer myself as a true professional with full-time commitment giving my full-time services to my full-time clients.

I do not like doing things in halves and I do not like short cuts.