Hello,
when I first started out (in London) as a manicurist, I was offering manicures from £12 natural to £25 with paraffin wax.
What I thought was my best friend said to me "you're effing joking, the salon over the road does a manicure for £8. You don't have a shop so you have no overheads. You're taking the P"
I was really hurt and didn't see her for awhile...
I then qualified in L&P and was charging £15 for a full set based on the words of my 'friend'
I got responses ranging from, that's good to that's too cheap, I upped my prices to £20 and no-one ever rebooked
I then did my level 2 beauty and another 'friend' who I do not speak to at all now because I just cannot cope with her anymore, 'educated' me on what people round that area expected to pay. I listened to her and was charging next to nothing for everything. Obviously the decision was mine to make but I felt so bullied that I lowered my eyebrow shapes to £2.50.
One day a family friend visited my mum with her friend in tow, they were passing through so popped in for a tea. The family friend's friend is a successful beauty therapist and asked to see my price list.
OMG, I thought she was going to kill me. She got a pen out of her bag and crossed out ALL my prices and adjusted them to what she thought they should be.
She went mental, I got "are you a business or a charity?" "Do you value your career or is this a hobby?" and "are you out of your mind?"
I was totally devasted later that night called another friend who is an absolute angel and told her what happened. She said was I confid
ent in all the treatments I offered at that time to charge the new prices suggested by the family friend's friend and I said, Yes.
She went through each price with me, now she works at a High end salon in SE10 (Greenwich, London) and found the new prices realistic, competetive and fine.
The 'friend' that I felt bullied me into lowering prices called me for a brow shape to which I said they are no longer £2.50, I now charge £5. She said that was ridiculous and wouldn't be using me anymore, she now pays £4.50 at the local college and lets students work on her.
I now live in Chester and did up my prices slightly yet as I am now based in a discount gym, I put them to how they were when I left London.
Everyone client who has walked in has said that I'm really reasonable because of the rest of the stuff they get. Yet other therapist friends I have said I am way too cheap.
I think this is one of those "I'll never please everyone" situations so I have now got the prices up, that's how they are staying reflective of a discount gym. People that pay £3 a week for gym are NOT going to pay £60 for a facial.
Instead, I have broken down all my treatments, have a little description so I can tell them what they get when they book and there is stuff they don't know about so when I offer them a fruit tea, give a complimentary hand massage while masque is setting or whatever I can do to make a treatment that little bit more personal, they are pleasantly surprised.
I had a lady in for a leg wax the other day and all she kept saying was "so and so didn't do it like that, so and so never offered me that, so and so never suggested that, you are much more conscientious than so and so" and THAT is what makes ME happy...
She rebooked for 5 weeks time but has a lot of ingrowns so I said I'd give her a lovely complimentary exfoliate on her legs as well because she admitted she can't be bothered to exfoliate but understands she has a problem but is happy for me to fix her problem.
My 1/2 leg waxes are £10, it's not expensive, it may be too cheap. It's not a lot in product cost and is around 30 mins of my time. I've not converted to perron rigot yet so am happy at this stage to charge £10.
Therapist friends say I should be charging over £14 but I know for a fact my clients will NOT pay that in a discount gym.
This is a great thread though xxx
So what are your brows now? A small salon I worked at charged £7 for a tidy up in Wrexham, also I might have to come down for you to do mine for me. I know there's a lot of places around me to go, but non are fellow geeks u see! Xoxo