Starting an Eyelash Extension Business? Things to REALLY think about

OK ladies so you are contemplating starting an eyelash extension business? Well congratulations! You are thinking about entering an exciting, rewarding, yet highly competitive industry. Better still, you are reading the right article to help you get there.

On the flip side, there are many potential mistakes you could make and risks you face. If not managed properly you could stumble on some of them. But let i-Lashes share some of our experience with you so you can just learn from mistakes we made. Purpose of this piece of writing is to share with you what we know about the lash game and for you to assess whether you want to entering the industry.

Why eyelash extension?

Well where do I start? Maybe with the list below.

Irreplaceable by machines
Recession proof
Great working flexibility (great for stay home mums)
No age limit and no discrimination against you
Low start up investment
High job satisfaction.

Did you know?

i-Lashes’ first beauty bed was bought second hand from a well respected industry peer. We started as a home based business and eventually moved to a shop. So we all start somewhere.

How much renovation you need ? Why is this important?

Basically the more money you spend on improving the environment, the more customers you are likely to attract. But everybody has a budget limit. How much you should spend is entirely depending on your client volume. You can make it a palace or you could make it just comfortable enough to host the customer for 2 hours at a time. We would recommend with only a small budget in the beginning so you don’t break the bank. And you have some money to survive your first 3 months as it tends to be the most difficult, if you don’t have experience with what you’re doing. As your client numbers grow, invest more in if you see the need. Our philosophy is we like to invest as we grow. Regardless of how much budget you have, generally you are expected to spend less if you start your business from home.

Mobile? Home based? Or Lease a Salon for Eyelash Extension?

There are a few things to think about, but basically see our summary table below to understand the big ticket items.

Like any other decisions you have to make. There are pros and cons for mobile service / home based salon / leasing a shop for your new lash extension venture. This table pretty much sums up the differences between the 3 commonly seen operating modes in the market. The list is not exclusive, so there will be other things you could and should consider, but this is our view. If you have any suggestions please share with us so we could update this table so more people could use this information.

How much to charge? Why?

All I can say is that you absolutely don’t want to short change yourself. Lashes, glue, patches and all your tools cost good money. Most importantly your time, efforts and professional skills costs money so you deserve to be compensated accordingly for it. Definitely refrain from signing up to a race to the bottom because you will find yourself losing money, and forced out of the market very soon. As a rule of thumb, I would suggest a full set lashes be charged at no less than $100. Adjust accordingly to the quality of material you use, and your initial investment to set up your business. I am fully aware that there are ladies out there who operate on $60 or even $50 per full set. But beware – you are either losing money, close to be losing money, or labouring for free. There is simply no other way to explain this.

Where to source glue, lashes and patch? Are cheap lash products any good?

I will not conclusively say that cheap stuff is bad simply because I don’t use them myself. The rule I go by is this : I take no risks. You’re working on people’s eyes. If anything bad happens to your client’s eye on your watch you could be up for a costly law suit. So beware. I always look at it as if I was working on my own baby’s eyes, so I want the best product for my baby. And why should this be any different for ladies who pay to visit you? For me, I have the MSDS (material safety data sheet) for the products I buy and sell, AND I know where my suppliers factory are and I have personally met these people. Do you know where your supplier’s factories are? You really should.

How should you advertise?

There are various strategies to acquire new customers. Some are more expensive than others. Some are more effective than others. Magazines, online, word of mouth, Yellow Pages, Google Adwords and et cetera. But what I suggest to you is this – Work out, and learn off by heart the psychology of a lady who is looking for eyelash extension service. This is critically important as it will make or break your lash business. Ask yourself this – If you don’t know what your potential customer is thinking, how are you going to win them over? Furthermore, we all operate in different marketing segment and in different geographical locations. Some adversing mediums will work better than others. You need to trial and error what is the optimum mix for your business. When you learn to apply eyelash extensions individually and volume lash training with i-Lashes these details are covered extensively in our 3rd course segment : the Commercial Segment to ensure you walk out of the course knowing exactly where you’re going with your new lash extension business. We’ll show you how you could quickly acquire your first group of 100 clients cost effectively in order to keep your business going at its infant stage.

When you can charge?

My honest advice – Do it only when you answer a solid “YES” to all 5 questions below.

Are you feeling completely comfortable with what you’re doing?
Do you have minimum of 100 people experience?
Is there adequate equipment and premises for you to carry out service SAFELY?
Do it only when you think you are that good that you deserve to be paid for it.
What level of insurance do you hold as a back up plan?

When should you start your eyelash extension business?

You could start NOW, or you could start later. But keep this in mind – For each day you put this off, you have to suffer in your day job for 1 extra day. i-Lashes training courses are delivered on Sundays so you will not have to take time off work just to attend.

Who to learn it from?

So there are a few that provide the training in Brisbane. Some offer mink eyelash extension training, some individual lashes training, some Russian eyelash extensions training (some call it volume lash extensions training). i-Lashes obviously offer courses to aspiring students who are looking to join the industry and you can find lots of information in our lash extension training course section and an article you should read on important considerations of becoming an eyelash artist. Before you start signing up to trainings – Have you got a bunch of people who you can practice on already? If not, find them now. Learning how to do eyelash extensions is like learning a new language, you need to keep your practice up. If you leave it for too long, you will forget the techniques.

Why do you want to learn eyelash extension? Ask yourself the 2nd time.

Think about this for 5 minutes. Seriously have a deep think about it. Is it a hobby? Or do you have a natural love to perfect eyelashes for people? Our honest advice is as always – if you don’t love it, then it is probably not for you. The art requires an incredible amount of patience and precision. Financial incentives alone will not hold it together to get you to where you want to be. You really need to have passion to do well.

What to do when you come across the unexpected?

What do you do when your client is taking you to court? Or when somebody has an allergy after visiting you how should you manage? These are real threats you need to control and manage otherwise it could do you serious damage. When the unexpected arise, you need to deal with the problem quickly and decisively. Again, strategies for damage control are extensively discussed as part of segment 3 in our individual lash extension course and volume lash extensions training. Please stop thinking that this won’t happen to you. We know this will happen to anybody and we guarantee both of these will happen at least once before you see your 200th client.

Final Words

Alright ladies I think I’ve bored you with enough information for now, thanks for reading my article. Although I’m not quite finished, I will write and post another one up pretty soon I promise. Still there are other topics discussed in detail in i-Lashes individual and Russian volume training like “How should you run your appointment book?” and “How much do you have to invest in the beginning”

Like always, I welcome any questions you may have. Write me an email [email protected], or leave me a Facebook message if you want to discuss anything further or need clarification ladies.

Irene

9th March 2018