Self-employment help for nail techs: legal, financial & operational considerations
By Lilly Delmage | 05 February 2025 | Business, Expert Advice, Feature
All the legal, financial and operational factors to consider before making those all-important choices…
Deciding to become a self-employed nail tech is just the beginning, and we’re here to help you navigate it all. From choosing whether to work from home or as a mobile tech, to deciding which insurance coverage to get and which payment options to offer clients, keep reading for all the info you need.
Home-based or mobile tech? Whichever way you choose to work, consider the following:
Permissions & licensing requirements
Home-based techs:
• Contact your local council, home insurer and mortgage provider or landlord to ensure you have the necessary permissions to run a business from home.
• Licensing requirements will vary depending on your local council.
• Major alterations to your home, such as constructing a garden salon or transforming a garage, may require approval from your local planning authority.
• You may be subject to business rates. To check, contact the Valuation Office Agency in England and Wales, your local assessor in Scotland or Land & Property services in Northern Ireland.
Mobile techs:
• Track travel expenses, including petrol, vehicle mileage, parking fees and tolls, and remember to add these to your Self Assessment.
Insurance
Insurance is crucial to protect your business against financial loss. Business insurances are usually allowable expenses, which can be deducted via Self Assessment. Research these insurance types to find the ones suited to your business:
• Public liability insurance: This protects your business if a client gets injured or their property is damaged because of your business’ activities (including cuts, slips, allergies and polish spills).
• Product liability insurance: This covers you if you supply a product that causes damage or injury.
• Professional indemnity insurance: This protects you from claims that your advice or service caused harm, such as incorrect aftercare advice.
• Treatment liability cover: This ensures you are protected if a client claims your service caused them injury or illness.
• Equipment and stock insurance: This covers your products, tools and equipment, should they be damaged, lost or stolen.
• Car insurance for mobile techs: Inform your car insurer of business use and ensure you’re covered for travel-related business risks.
Choosing payment options
Kirsty Brown
Kirsty Brown, owner of Paintbrush Nails in Callander, Scotland, scooped the Scratch Stars Home Nail Salon of the Year award 2024. She advises: “Don’t rush into choosing payment options: read the small print and look at fees.”
Joanna Tompkins adds: “Take as much of the payment upfront as you can. Pre-payments are becoming the norm now, which means you’re going to attract the best clients who won’t mess you around or cancel last minute.”
Ria-Jaine Lincoln advises against bank transfer methods. She says: “Relying on customers to bank transfer is risky and can leave you waiting for payment, or worse, chasing for money owed to you.”
Budgeting practices
Ria-Jaine Lincoln says: “Cash flow planning is crucial for all business owners. If you’re saving for a tax bill, automate as much as you can and consider setting up a transfer to HMRC. When budgeting other costs, review the budget frequently. If you exceed the budget three times in a row, and it was beyond your control, review your budgets to ensure they are realistic, and adjust as necessary.”
Setting prices
“As a sole trader nail tech, you can only take on so many clients, so you need to price at a premium to be able to make money,” says Joanna Tompkins. “Techs tend to underestimate their costs, and raising prices can be difficult, so start as you mean to go on. In the current financial climate, I do not recommend that nail pros charge under £40 for a basic builder gel manicure.”
Kirsty Brown adds: “It is pointless to look at what others in your area are charging and copy that, as your costs will be different. You need to add up the cost of all the materials you use in a service, work out how much time it takes you, and what your hourly rate needs to be to make a reasonable living.”
Mobile techs must consider ‘lost time’. This refers to the unpaid time when unpacking, packing up and travelling between clients. To account for this, charge an additional amount for locations outside of a specific radius.
Nina Nicholson has found financial management apps to be useful for keeping track of finances and determining prices. She says: “I can factor in the cost of supplies, my time and training to ensure I’m not selling myself short.”
Click here to read Scratch’s full self-employment feature in our digital magazine.
Read the latest issue
