Throw the towel in?

[Joannesnails]

Hiya geeks :hug:

Things are starting to get ontop of me now with my beauty bussiness everyone keeps making appointments then canceling them like today had one booked she text and said sorry i cant make it some lady booked in for her and her friend the other day and canceled both and a few days before that two ladies in one day just didnt turn up at all and the rest of the days no-one is booking, and im starting to slack now because of it , its making me not want to advertise because i just have no faith that people will turn up for their appointments, ive tried having a no-show fee but that didnt work out. And i dont know if i should continue and do more courses or just throw in the towel? I dont know how to stop this from happening its making my job not enjoyable :irked:

 

[beautyseeker]

I know how you feel hun. I did all that training and all anyone seems to want is waxing!?***!!!:cry:

Sometimes I feel what is the point. There is a new Asda opening near me, am seriously thinking of taking a job there.

 

[Joannesnails]

Yeah im thinking of taking up another job too becuase i just cannot rely on the money that its bringing in some weeks im stacked up to my eyeballs in nails then some weeks its nothing then others its just 1 manicure or something. Thats why im always skint

 

[beautyseeker]

Me too not a penny this week, but I have had a bad cold and could not take any clients without coughing on them. But only two the week before! I am finding its just too hard. I want to train in nails so need to save up - but save up what? So I'm off to the job fair tomorrow to apply and see what happens.

 

[oey]

Joanne - it can be incredibly tough in setting up a regular client base.

Dont forget the saying - when the going gets tough the tough get going. First of all what range of services are you offering now? How are you offering/advertising your services?

I do feel it is important for those in business to analyse any knock backs you get - so what delving have you done with these clients to find out why really didnt turn up or cancel? Have you analysed why your clients arent coming back every 2 to 3 weeks?

Dont give up!

 

[cabinkel]

Do you think the clients that dont come back are just "one off, special occassion" people, or do you think there is something you are/are not doing? It is very tough to get up and running, I would say that it took me a good 8 months to get enough clients to be working a full 4 days a week, which is what I wanted. Have you tried things like reccommend a friend promotions, offers of the month, loyalty card schemes etc? Even saying to clients you already have, "please feel free to tel all your friends about me". When I started, I also had a questionaire prined that I asked clients to complete with questions such as "how did you find your treatment with me today? Was there anything I could have done better? Things like that, it helps to see if what you are doing is meeting clients expectations. It may help:hug:

 

[Joannesnails]

I offer Manicure, Pedicure, Gel nail extensions , Some nail art im not too confident with that one as yet and Gel overlay on nautural nails. I am also booking courses for waxing , lash and brow treatments. You see a member of my family is a beauty therapist too and we work together and do the same courses so we can both advertise together and take on the load together she takes on one part of advertising and i do the advertising in windows and leaflet drops.

My prices are average not too much. The problem isnt getting clients in its the clients not actualy coming for their appointment . I have ruffly 5 or 6 regulars who come back to me xx

 

[RedAdmiral]

Its time to get out that business plan and review what you put down for qs what are you hoping to achieve and how will you do it.
If you have to get back on the streets with leaflets and attract a different clientele than that is what you have to do.
How many people live in your area? how many clients do you have on your books. it maybe time to re-evaluate who you are attracting.
search on the site, ask questions, and if that doesnt work maybe you should pay a marketing agency to help you.

HTH's

 

[weezie]

It took me about 8mths too to get busy. Don't forget it is the easter holidays at the moment so many people are away. I was run off my feet last week but am quieter this week. The important thing is to try to keep hold of clients once they have booked you this is how you build up a client base.

Consider what it may be that is stopping them from re-booking. :hug: Ask yourself:
Are you on time for your appointments and do you stick to your treatment lengths?
Do you use professional products?
Do you have the right equipment?
Do you have a professional but friendly manner?
Do you carry out the treatments to a high standard?
Do you leave them with information on your treatments and your contact details?

They are investing in you so you need to think what it is that could give you the edge over your competitors be they other mobile therapists or a salon.:hug: Think about contacting all the people who you have been to and offering them some incentive to have another appointment. If someone cancels ask them when they would like to reschedule their appointment to.

 

[Joannesnails]

Yeah thats right i wil give that a try today because it must be something im doing wrong or something im not doing, thanks for your help ladies x

 

[weezie]

The thing you may be doing wrong may be something so simple to change so please don't give up until you have tried again. It is so easy to suddenly feel passionate again all you need is a little confidence boost. You have as much chance of making a success of your business as the next person, especially as you really want to succeed. :hug:

 

[cabinkel]

I also think its aways good to keep an open mind, and not be set in our ways etc. If something is not working, change it. Good luck with it all, keep plugging away and be confident in he treatments/service that you are providing x:hug:

 

[Kim Lawless]

Don't give up yet. It really does take time to build up a regular client base. What I would say though is, ask for honest feedback on your services. It's no good our mates telling us 'Oh, I you're nails are fab', when in fact they're not. Get an impartial model to give you honest feedback on your service, how long it took, marks out of ten. I'd even ask for a few mystery shoppers to see how you deal with their call etc. All these things go towards ensuring that your clients come back. xxx