Lashing can be quite a lonely and isolated industry, so here are some tips to help you get a better work life balance and a stress-free lashing career.
The majority of Lash Artists are either working from home or renting a room inside a salon. Either way, you spend most of your day lashing clients with their eyes closed (sometimes they fall asleep, and sometimes they talk but you don't want them to talk too much because their eyes will flutter!) So although it is still human interaction, it can be quite different to a hairdresser or a nail technician where they can have some kind of eye contact.
I have spoken to new Lash Artists who were ecstatic about the idea of working from home, so they can have better work-life balance around their kids and household. However this had turned out to be quite the opposite for some of them.
Demanding clients
Because you are working out of your house, your clients will expect you to see them any hour during the day, they often don't value your time as much as someone's working out of a salon. It can also be quite stressful trying to keep the front door and toilet clean for your clients at all times.
Solution:
Make sure you are really disciplined and set clear boundaries with your clients from the start. Clients can be pushy, asking for appointments at 7am or 9pm 'because you are at home anyway'. Learn to say NO, and you will find your clients have more respect for you and your business.
Try to be more organized, be in control of your life, and block out the hours you want for yourself or with friends and family for the whole year, and yes you can still be flexible but just don't be overly flexible.
No-shows or last minute cancellations
Sometimes clients do not value your time, they will do a no-show or cancel last minute even after confirming their appointments. This can be frustrating for you because you would have loss of income, or could have fitted another client in.
Solution:
Taking deposits when they book is the way to filter out the time wasters. If they genuinely want the appointment, they would pay a deposit to secure their spot. If they come up with too many excuses, can mean that they haven't quite made up their mind about getting lashes or coming to you or someone else.
If a regular client had cancelled, use the time wisely to catch up with other admin, restocking or cleaning that needed to be done anyway!
Not getting enough clients for your business
Now you maybe aware that having great lashing skills does not equate a great business, so it is also part of your job to spend 30% - 50% of your time on marketing. Yes you should always encourage your clients to tell their friends about you with incentives (ie discounted infills) if they refer a friend. However word of mouth is not a marketing strategy, you are not (or cannot) actively go out and reach out to those new potential clients, you simply rely on your clients for referral. You may find sometimes, it doesn't matter how much a client loves you and your lashes, they just simply do not want to tell others incase you get too busy and cannot fit them in.
Solution:
Learn about marketing, especially on social media and run evergreen ads that are constantly running in the background (We have 13 ads running at the moment). Do not just post last minute cancellation at discounted rate hoping someone will see it, this doesn't work anymore due to Facebook algorithms.
Print out some flyers and take the effort to hand them out to local businesses, make more personal connection with people especially in similar industries.
My competitors are very cheap, how do I compete with them?
I have seen many Lash Artists in my lash forum complaining about competitors are charging $40 new sets and $20 infills, and that they feel they cannot compete with them. The truth is, they are not your competition, and you do not have to compete with them!
Solution:
Some clients will make their buying decisions based on cost, and if $40 is what they can afford then they would do their research to find the best place that would satisfy their needs. While other clients will make their buying decisions based on quality, so they will also do their own research and book in with the best place to satisfy their needs.
It is not your concern (because it is beyond your control) that other salons in your area are under charging. Focus on yourself, and keep working on how you can improve and be better and different to your competitors; whether it is the lashing techniques, customer experience or your marketing.
Educate your potential clients about eyelashes, and show more of your personality through your social media. Don't be shy about showing them who you are as a person, because if they don't see a face, all they see is the price.
I hope you enjoyed reading this article, and feel free to reach out to me if I can be in anyway helpful to improving your business.
If you are a great Lash Artist, who loves lashing, but had enough of being solo, then check out our website www.CeriseEnterprise.co.nz and see if this is the opportunity for you!
Elisia xx