Think my prices may be too cheap

[nixnewcastle]

Hi everyone I've recently had a few comments on my prices stating i should be charging more especially with my wedding make ups. I am a qualified Btec beauty therapist and did a years make up artistry course. I used to work at Matfen Hall where i did most of the wedding make ups and also used to work on alot of the make up counters so have a lot of qualifications and experience. I charge £25 for the trial and then £25 for the day but sometimes the bride requests me to come to their house which i really really hate!!!! as i have a very large make up kit and am away from the salon where it is only myself works there. My website is www.butterfly-beauty.com have a look at my prices and let me know what you think. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[hippy-chick]

My friend had this problem when she did wedding hair, and was always told she was way to cheap and started to resent doing them.

Firstly, ring up a few places (obviously not the one near you) to see what their set up is.

then have two prices, one for coming into the salon and one for going to the house.

 

[nixnewcastle]

Thanks for that I think I definately need to put my make up prices up especially if im travelling out to them to at least try and persuade them to come to the salon as I think people take a lend of it sometimes when they could infact come to the salon

 

[Claire-Bear]

For wedding make-up only I charge £50 for trial and make-up on the day. (I have other bridal packages available).
The consultation and trial would always take place in the salon and once the make-up had been decided on I make a note of it and only take that with me for the actual make-up on the day at brides home/venue (don't want to be dragging a large make-up case with me) - usually take a few other items in case other guests decide on the day that they want their make-up done!! (Usually the mother of the bride!!!!)
I too am in the same position as you and have to close the salon if I'm not there!! Therefore I charge £10 for travel in the local area and POA for other areas.
Have had a quick look at your prices and would say that I think the manicure and pedicure prices are very low..............£5.50 for a file and polish!! Wish you were close to me as I'd come to you weekly!!! I charge £8 which is one of the lowest in my area.

Claire
Bare Necessities

 

[Elaine143a]

Dont 4get you get what you pay for generally! If you charging such low prices clients will think they getting low standards for such low prices. I know I other end of country to you, but I personally would be dubious about having my wedding make up done by someone so cheap! You need to charge what you worth, and from your experience I would assume you very good at what you do, so dont undersell yourself!

 

[FlawlessBeauty]

£25 for an hours facial and a back massage, fantastic, i've gotta get myself to newcastle!

If you're concerned, why don't you make a list of all bridal make-up in your area and see where you come.

I also think its a good idea to have a seperate salon and mobile price, or at least a petrol fee. You have to make sure you're covering your costs and getting a bit on top.

good luck x

 

[nixnewcastle]

Yeah I think my prices are way too cheap for my experience and qualifications. Just always scared of clients going else where because of prices in the local area. There is a salon that offers very cheap services, however she is in the process of getting rid of the salon so guess she didn't make a big enough profit to stay open because of her prices

 

[SamMakeup]

Hi Nikki!

I think you have to look at a few factors regarding your prices.

What products do you use?
What area of business do you want to work at most, ie, which is the most enjoyable/lucrative?
Who are you comparing yourself to?

I looked at your website, and purely as a makeup artist's point of view, using one brand only (which it appears to be, but please correct me if I'm wrong) will place you at the corrent price point.

do you want to do lots of makeup work? if so, then change your products to high end items that are designed for bridal work and move away from the beauty arena. If however, working on say massage for example, is something that you prefer to do, and earns you more money, then promote that side of your business.

Are you comparing yourself to other therapists/salons or to professional/exclusive makeup artists? (by this I mean makeup artists who only do makeup and do that 100% of their working life)

If you're comparing yourself to similar businesses, ie salons and therapists, then research the prices that they charge and go from there.

If you're comparing yourself to a professional makeup artist, then make sure you have a comparable kit and a comparable portfolio and then look to make your prices similar.

As for being away from the salon, well you should certainly charge a fuel cost, depending on distance from the salon, but perhaps factor in how long it will take you to get to and from the bridal location, how long you'll actually be in the bride's home (inc setup and dismantle kit time) and decide whether being out of the salon for an hour and a half/2 hours is worth it for £25...

HTH!

Sam x

 

[nixnewcastle]

Thanks Sam, I use MAC, Stila and Bobbi Brown make up as I managed to get a large discount on them when I worked on the make up counters. Most of the salons in the area use what they have lying around and dont really specialise in make up at all so know in the way of salons I am the best in the area at doing make up and the most qualified. Know I should really be charging more but im terrified of not getting the work but i suppose i'd rather have the kind of clients who come to me because im good at what i do not because im cheap

 

[SamMakeup]

depends on what you want out of the business then.

2 possible 'mantras' for you -

work smarter, not harder (increase your prices)
rather have a lot of little, than not a lot of a lot (keep your prices as they are and keep busy).

This is a friend of mine - Mobile Beauty somewhere in Newcastleish area. She's been one of the advisors and advertisers on MAF since 2005 and she started off as a therapist doing the odd bit of bridal here and there (I remember her first portfolio pics!) and have watched her really grow and stretch her wings.

she charges considerably more than you, but really only does makeup work now. And not just bridal work, she does editorial, fashion, photographic, you name it!

My one big suggestion to you would be to get a portfolio of makeup work on your site. The one thing that gets commented on, on my site time and time again is how can a therapist/artist charge XYZ amount without a portfolio to back it up.

by all means, have a look at my site too - Samantha Donald THE MAKEUP ARTIST it's desperately out of date (by about 18 months!) purely down to having baby number 3 (he's 1 now) and rebranding the MAF site, but the basics are there.

Shop around, think about the kind of work you want to do and where you want to move your business into, and be proud of the brands you use.

Absolutely no disrespect to Jane Iredale (who you mention on your site), but it's not comparable to professional lines like Yaby, Screenface, Makeup Forever, which are designed for longevity and photographic work or even the likes of Chanel, Estee, MAC etc, so make sure you mention either well known brands that a customer will recognise (the MAC/Bobbi brown you use etc), or if you are using professional makeup lines, then state that they are.

Sam x

 

[nixnewcastle]

I dont use Jane Iredale, I just trained with them. I use MAC, Stila and Bobbi Brown with some Kryolan for long wearing foundations. Thank you so much for the advice sam and your website is fab

 

[Emma L]

I agree sme of your prices are too cheap. I only charge £35 for trial and make up on the day and i will go to the house for that too. I think Im also selling my self short. You have given me something to think about.

 

[daisyjones]

Your prices are, IMHO, definitely too cheap!

Price is far more elastic than you might think, especially in our industry.

It isn't twice as hard to get someone to pay twice as much for something and sometimes it pays to be one of the most expensive businesses around.

This is especially true when it comes to weddings because people expect, and often actually WANT, to pay more than usual.

It gives them bragging rights because they feel like they are part of an exclusive club!

Penny-pinching clients aren't worth it, just go after the people who are willing to pay to have the right 'experience'!

Hope that helps,
Daisy

 

[angel fingers]

i think a call out fee of £25 in addition to the treatment cost is easily justifiable if you are visiting the brides house.
then its up to her if she wants a visit or will come to your salon.

 

[Emily9]

I think you should revise your prices on your mani/pedi's & nail enhancements. Charge for your expertise and the products used, in my experience i pay for the therapist and not who's the cheapest, i know not everyone is like that as i know from my own salon, never under sell yourself or your worth.

 

[sallymills]

Raise your prices as high as you can!

The more you charge, the less clients you need to see and the more time you can spend elsewhere!!

Whether you use that time to relax, build your business or just obsessively count your money is up to you!

The best thing is, the higher we make our prices (I'm daisyjones's biz partner), the less complaints we have...weird, but amazing!

 

[SamMakeup]

Your prices are, IMHO, definitely too cheap!

Price is far more elastic than you might think, especially in our industry.

It isn't twice as hard to get someone to pay twice as much for something and sometimes it pays to be one of the most expensive businesses around.

This is especially true when it comes to weddings because people expect, and often actually WANT, to pay more than usual.

It gives them bragging rights because they feel like they are part of an exclusive club!

Penny-pinching clients aren't worth it, just go after the people who are willing to pay to have the right 'experience'!

Hope that helps,
Daisy

Really? I've been in the wedding industry for donkey's years, and have rarely, if ever, come across that. In fact, before I started my own website, I used to moderate for the UK's leading wedding planning site, and what I heard most of all was 'why do suppliers hear the word 'wedding' and think it gives them the right to hike up the price?'.

What I do hear a lot of, is women saying 'oh, I'm not paying £150 (the price I charge) to have my makeup done, I can do it myself, and buy the products for less than that'.

well, yes they can. They can also bake their own cake, and get uncle Bob to take their photos, but they don't.

I certainly believe that the price you charge should be reflective, not just of the experience and skill you have, and of the products you use, but also reflective of the work that you do for that particular ocassion.

I do no more hands on makeup application on a wedding day, than I do for a special ocassion makeup (for example!), but I do charge more. The reason? I often have to calm bridal nerves, sit on 4 year old pageboys who decide they like my kit, tie cravats, fix buttonholes, kick out highly strung diva bridesmaids, etc etc. I don't do that when I'm doing the makeup for someone going to the Ballet.

If someone asks me why I charge the difference, then I will say it, but I do actually have it stated on my website, right in the 'bridal services' section, and my prices for bridal are on a whole different page to the other makeup services I do.

I think to increase prices 'just because' its a wedding is wrong, and tbh, a little greedy and immoral, but if you have a genuine reason for increasing them then go for it.

PS, Daisy, only the first bit was a response to your comment, the rest are my generalised feelings and experiences!

Sam x

 

[jade_m_b]

Hi everyone I've recently had a few comments on my prices stating i should be charging more especially with my wedding make ups. I am a qualified Btec beauty therapist and did a years make up artistry course. I used to work at Matfen Hall where i did most of the wedding make ups and also used to work on alot of the make up counters so have a lot of qualifications and experience. I charge £25 for the trial and then £25 for the day but sometimes the bride requests me to come to their house which i really really hate!!!! as i have a very large make up kit and am away from the salon where it is only myself works there. My website is www.butterfly-beauty.com have a look at my prices and let me know what you think. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Hi nicki

i work at matfen, obviously started after you left!

25 for both is very cheap!

most freelance ive looked at charge in a real range varying from 25, - 150. so it is so hard to decide where to put your price range.

it depends whether you want to include your trial in your overall price, and say charge anything from 100-150 for trial and day makeup which is very reasonable, alot of people charge these types of prices, and your doing two makeup applications for this, depending where you travel have a radius you cover and then say after 30mile charge. unless its a large group booking and you include your travelling due to the money you will earn.

Originally i set my prices freelance as 25 for all trials. 35 for bridesmaids, and mothers of bride/groom. 45 for bride on day.

however i feel this is too low for me, as i work full time still at matfen, and have to take the day unpaid so i have to at least earn my days wage and profit, and if you only did the bride it would be a waste of time! i understand you have your own place so would have customers booked in for later on in the day so may be different for you.

sorry this is turning out to be a long message.

i think a fair price is between 30-45 for other guests on the day, and 45-75 for bride on the day.

hope this helps. hows the salon going and when did you leave matfen?

jade x