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- Joy Crossingham
- September 10, 2015
- Eyelash Extensions
So you’ve decided to learn volume lashing! Here are 3 of the biggest mistakes lash stylists make… (and how you can avoid them!).
Mistake #1 Training
This is where it all starts and unfortunately too many stylists do not research their options for Volume training as well as they should and often end up making their decision based on price. Choosing a training course because it is the cheapest will only end up costing you more in the future.
Whilst there are a variety of volume lash training courses you can attend, it does not mean that they are all teach the exact same thing, nor do they teach to the same standards. Bare in mind that the difference between “good” Volume training and “amazing” Volume training is usually only a few hundred dollars.
The extra money you spend on amazing training will often be recovered quicker as you’ll be better skilled and able to command higher pricing for your services. In reality, with the skills and confidence gained from high quality training a stylist can recover their course outlay in a few short weeks.
Remember, these days you tend to get what you pay for and as the saying goes, “If you think training with an expert is expensive, you should try training with an amateur!” My advice is to choose wisely. Research the trainer, whether it be myself or another trainer and find other students who’ve attended their training and get their honest feedback.
What is the standard of the students work after attending?
What kind of post course support is there for you if you do choose to attend? How many students will be in the class to how how many trainers?
Some courses will have 10+ students and just the one trainer, I’ve been in a course like this myself and although I’m a quick learner I struggled to pick up everything that was being taught.
Mostly because the trainer was run off her feet trying to give all of us the attention we needed. These are all questions you should be asking.
Another big factor are incentives for attending, do the trainers offer any and how valuable are they to you? Also, don’t restrict yourself to just look at training options in your city, it may be worthwhile to travel for the right training. If you can’t afford the volume course you want try approaching the trainer with a suggested payment plan as doing this will show you’re serious and they will be more inclined to help you if they can.
Lastly, this is a specialised technique that you need to learn correctly from the best trainer you can find if you want to be successful, in high demand and profitable. When weighing up your training options be sure to consider more than just the “price” of the course alone as cheaper in the short term could quite possibly mean more expensive in the long term. Choose wisely!
Mistake #2 Pricing
Undervaluing your skills is a mistake that costs stylists big time! Do not fall into the trap of thinking that just because of the town where you live or some other excuse that people will not pay good money for quality lashes! They will and they do! In fact, pricing your services too low will lose you the same customers that you’re actually trying to attract because they will assume that the reason you are so cheap is because you are no good.
When in your mind you thought you were doing the right thing and offering “value”. My Brisbane eyelash extension salon is surrounded by other lash stylists in my area charging half of what I charge yet they are not even half as busy as I am. Why is that? Because when you offer quality people will happily pay for it.
Will you lose clients by pricing higher than others?
Absolutely! And that’s a good thing. You will lose all the clients who “no show” on appointments and all the clients who only want to pay $100 for a full set of 5D Volume Lashes. But in return you will attract your ideal client. The client who sticks to their appointment times, pays a $50 deposit on every booking and who happily pays $350 for a full set of 5D Volume Lashes and refers you clients just like them.
What’s more, if you do the maths on pricing at even say $120 for a full set that takes 3 hours to complete when you’re new, you’re only working for $40p/h Gross. And that’s only true if you are working a full day with no breaks and no cancellations. Factor in material costs, tax, rent, supplies, etc and you’ll find you could be earning less than $10p/h. So my advice is don’t underestimate your worth, understand what your business expenses are and what you need to charge in order for you to be profitable whilst still (most importantly) providing value to your clients.
Mistake #3 Marketing
It’s all good and well to be a skilled Lash Stylist, but if nobody knows.. how will you ever run a profitable business? Top Stylists need to not only know how to expertly apply Volume Lashes (as they’re soon to become more popular than Classic Lashes) but just as importantly, they need to know how to create the desire for people to want their Volume Lashes. Many experienced stylists do not pay enough attention here and it ends up costing them a lot of business to their competitors.
Understand that the lashes you apply are simply what you get paid on, but creating the desire for your lashes in the first place is where you need to focus much of your time and creative effort. This is true for both Volume lashes and Classic lashes. Set up a website, be active on Facebook / Instagram etc, add value to forum discussions, design your ideal clients, and how to influence them. Learn how to take good photo’s of your lash work, network and cross promote with other beauty therapists etc.
Up skill and continually learn from others!
These are merely the tip of the iceberg as to what you should be doing to build a successful business.
I personally spend more time working “on” my business than working “in” my business and I truly believe this is crucial. You cannot simply attend a Volume lash training course and then wait for new clients to come to you, you have to know exactly how to attract them to you.
And then once you’ve achieved this, you need to know how to nurture that relationship and continually deliver what it is that they are looking for. This is why my training is so unique to other courses on the market, I can not only teach you how to expertly apply Volume Lashes to the highest industry standards, but I can also share with you the proven marketing strategies I have personally used to place my salon as one of the most in demand Lash salons in all of Australia, generating profit (not turnover) well into the 6 figures annually.
Visit LashJoy Academy to find out more about our comprehensive training courses.
