Is the Lash Industry Over Saturated? Must I Charge Cheaper Prices In Order To Gain Clients?
Feb 21, 2020
The past month has been interesting. I have had a few lash artists talk to me about their outlook on the industry. These artists felt a few different things:
1) Over Saturated
2) Dying Industry
3) No Money Being Made
Let's talk about these 3 things here.....
For those of you feeling this way, hopefully, what I have to say may give you better insight, some will agree and some may disagree.
Is it really oversaturated? I look at it this way - how many hairdressers are there in your city, your area, your province/state, and all the world? How many students are in hair schools all throughout Canada, starting classes every few months? Are we oversaturated with hairdressers? There are many but there is still enough clientele for everyone.
If you think being a "talented lash artist" is all that matters to get you busy....you are misleading yourself. You must offer amazing customer service and understand the importance of making a human connection. You shouldn't have to worry about "oversaturation" because guess what...there really is enough clientele for everyone. If you're not busy enough, you must dissect the way you are conducting business and ask yourself these questions along with putting yourself in your clients' shoes.
-
What is the ambiance and atmosphere you are providing to your guests?
-
How you are your clients being greeted?
-
What are the scents they are smelling? If you're in a salon, are your candles or diffuser filling your room with a light fresh scent and not overbearing? If you work from home are clients smelling odors of food, cigarette smoke or pets?
-
What are the sounds they're hearing? Is the music that is playing relaxing?
-
Is the salon or home studio clean and a good representation of you and your brand?
-
How is the consultation process, are you educating them?
-
How did the end results turn out? Did you deliver on their expectations, did you consult them on realistic end goals for the overall look they were after?
-
How are you making them feel the entire time they are receiving their service, is conversation all about them or you? (because it should be about the client)
-
Are your beds or chairs comfortable to sit, or lay for 1-3 hours?
-
What is your closing conversation with your clients?
-
Are guaranteeing your work? Encourage your client to call you to let you know if any retention issues arise within the first 5 days. Tell your clients that you have absolutely no problems at all loading their lashes back up complimentary should too many fall within that time frame. Assure your clients and let them know its OK to call you to let them know if the lash set has not held up, allow your client to feel comfortable with knowing they can call; many clients we serve will just not come back rather than feel they are calling to complain, or worse, they will write you an awful online review instead of giving you the chance to fix their lashes.
-
How are you advertising and where are you spending time advertising?
-
Are the quality of your photos the best representation of your work?
-
What are you offering to the public that is different than your competitors?
-
Are booking appointments with you easy for your clients (you should have an online booking system).
-
What is your follow up routine with your clients?
-
Are you distracted by your phone while lashing? Answering your cell or text messaging during your service takes away from the time you should be 100% focused on your client who is paying for your time.
-
There are many amazing lash and brow artists out there, so you must deliver your full undivided attention to your client for the entire time they are there in your chair or lash bed.
I truly believe that you don't need to be this amazing competition-style lash artist in order to be successful. Of course, you must know what you are doing when it comes to application and create pretty sets that make your clients happy, with this in mind, I will preach til I'm blue in the face...you must focus on the customer service and the relationship and connection you build with your client. Which brings me to the next topic of what I would like to talk about that artists worry about....Money. ๐ต๐ฐ
Not too long ago, an at-home lash artist had mentioned that she felt there was no more money to be made in this industry, literally 2 days later I ran into another artist who purchases products from us and she mentioned the same concern. I instantly knew I had to write about this on the blog to share my insight in hopes that what I am about to say may make some sense to you and help you.
I want that Light bulb or bell moment to go off for ya! Ding Ding Ding! ๐กโจ
The Million Dollar Question is.... How do I build a clientele when everyone else around me charges so little? Do you base your pricing on what all your neighbours are pricing their services, or worse, you don't even match their pricing, instead you feel and think that if you undercut your neighbours pricing that it will be better for you in the end....WRONG. This will make you a slave to your business and cause you to burn out! Don't lose sight as to why you wanted to work for yourself in the first place. I'm sure one of the main reasons is so that you could leave your daytime job, and or be at home more for your kids and have more time and freedom by doing what you love.
Am I right?
You do not need to charge cheap prices in order to gain clientele. I repeat..... YOU DON'T NEED TO CHARGE CHEAP PRICES IN ORDER TO GAIN CLIENTELE! This topic comes up EVERYWHERE...it's been brought up in all of my classes I've taught and brought up as a question for the Master Lash educators of the classes I have travelled to, to further my own skill sets.
If you are an experienced and trained artist with a few certifications under your belt.... Do not compete with pricing, compete with the work you put out there and the level of education and customer care you give to your clients. Stay educated and on top of the latest industry standards, set yourself apart by competing with yourself and challenging yourself, not competing with others and what they're doing with their pricing.
I want to ask you...
-
Are you wanting to one day open up your own dream lash salon?
-
Are you wanting to travel and participate in advanced classes being taught by the artists you call your "lash idols"?
-
Are you wanting to be able to travel and attend beauty/lash conferences?If the answer is yes to any of these, how will this be achievable IF you do not charge what you're worth?
-
How will you be able to afford to move forward, IF you do not charge what you're worth?
-
How can you continue to invest in yourself IF you do not charge what you're worth
-
How will you be able to achieve that dream of yours of one day opening your lash salon and being able to help other artists by offering the next best place for artists to be employed at, doing what they love, being a part of an amazing team, having the opportunity to learn and be mentored by you IF you do not charge what you are worth?
-
How will you make enough to even save money for construction and renovations of a storefront IF you do not charge what you are worth.
-
If not being a salon business owner is your dream, and being a artist who gets to be innovative by creating a product or a special class you want to teach is...... how are you going to make that possible if you're charging cheap pricing that has you having to work your chair full time, leaving you with no extra time in the day to tap into all the other goals you have to crush, things you can create, teach and make possible? Lash extensions are a luxury service that takes time and a lot of practice to do and the amount of money spent when investing in yourself for education is not cheap.
Charge what you are worth!
It may take you a bit longer to build the clientele of your dreams who respect what you have to offer and have no problem paying your prices. You will get there! You will not have to burn yourself out, and you will be able to create time freedom for yourself and your family by doing so!
You know that saying....Work Smarter NOT Harder. There is money to be made in this industry, you can create the career of your dreams, and whether you feel that your area is oversaturated, trust me when I say that there is ENOUGH clientele for everyone! Our industry is not dying, it is still so young, and growing bigger every day!
I hope this pep talk helped inspire you to charge what your worth and not be scared to align yourself with high-end pricing because you offer high-end service!
I would love to see your comments.
XO
Lori
Subscribe to my email list
and stay in the know!
I've got free tips, news, updates and more ready and waiting for you!
We hate SPAM. We will never sell your information, for any reason.
