Are you charging enough?
By Guest Writer | 30 June 2020 | Expert Advice
Top tech & tutor, Sadie Hynes, of Britannia Beauty & Training, shares her thoughts on pricing…
‘Know your worth, then add tax’. I posted this quote along with the story behind why I was increasing my prices when we go back to work on a well-known community page – and the response was huge!
Throughout lockdown and the pandemic, of course it has been financially and emotionally worrying for so many of us. However, I feel the nail community has really opened up and we have adapted so well. From online workshops to creating press on nails, experimenting with new products to, in some cases, reviewing our prices.
Sadie Hynes
How do we come up with our pricing structure? The majority of the time I would say its market research. We check out other salons or other self-employed nail techs in our local area, have a nosy at their price lists and you average out your price amongst them. I really encourage you to stop doing this.
I have also been guilty of doing this in the past. You don’t know much – if anything – about these other businesses you’re comparing yourself to. However, I do know the time and effort I put into my business, and that should be our pricing focus. The endless hours spent experimenting with nail art designs, budgeting and buying the best equipment and products. Continuing to educate myself so I offer the best possible services to my clients and students, online booking system and website are just some examples. All of these things cost money, so I knew I needed to be charging clients more.
The other salon may not do any of this, so why would I charge the same as them? Many of you reading this will be self-employed; you make the choices and have the freedom to pick and choose when you work and how you work. You should be reviewing how much you earn too. Supplier overheads go up, your skills will grow over time, and this needs to be factored in annually.
It’s a huge fear for so many nail techs, that if they up their prices they may lose some clients. Yes, its true you might. However if you have explained your reasons for the increase, have given plenty of notice and the odd client still aren’t happy then unfortunately its one of those things. Your working smarter so probably won’t even notice the loss; this also opens your books to take on new clients. Most clients however will understand, will appreciate your skills and be happy to pay the extra.
The nail industry as a whole is undervalued and that needs to change. I still feel there is this huge misconception that we sit at a nail desk all day, slapping a bit of polish on and throwing glitter around. So many times over my eight years in the industry I have been asked “Do you have another job then?”
We are well educated; we can detect potentially severe illnesses or diseases just by looking at clients’ nail plates and we have a vast understanding of anatomy and physiology.
We let clients offload their emotions onto us, we listen and we comfort. Most days we laugh with them until our eyes water, we deserve more because we give so much more than just holding a hand and painting it.
Follow Sadie on Instagram.