Pricing Builder gel infills

[Nailfiend]

Hi
I’m new and currently completing my VTCT. I’m putting together a price list ready for when I qualify and I’ve confused myself. I want to provide builder gel but as these can be infilled is it best to price at a few £ cheaper than a full application? Also, if a gel manicure is also priced separately how would you incorporate gel colour on top of the builder infill?
For example, if I charged £25 for builder, then charge £20 for infill but then would I charge extra say £2 for a coloured gel on top of that or should I incorporate that coat in to the builder price regardless of the client choosing it?
I hope that makes sense

Thank you so much

 

[user 95727]

I actually charge the same or more for an infill as it can take the same or more time. I also charge more if the nails are longer.
I have a price for builder gel on its own and a price for builder gel with a gel polish colour on top and then of course nail art inc french costs extra as well.

So for example, your prices might be something like:
Gel Mani: £20
Builder Gel Only: £25
Builder Gel + Gel Polish: £30
Nail Art: £5 per 15 mins or 50p-£1.50+ per nail

Make sure you charge what you need to charge. I understand since you are just starting out, you might want to price lower while you get experience, gain clients etc. So in this case, you would set the prices you actually want and need to charge and then say you will be doing like 10 or 20% off. But make sure you make it clear that this discount will end on x date (maybe like a month) and they will be full price from that date. Cheaper prices can attract clients yes, but they can also attract the fussy clients that will also not likely be regulars/loyal. That's why it's important not to have low prices for too long.

This will help you factor in things like your bills, product costs, service times etc so you know what you need to charge to actually make money:
How to work out what you need to charge for nail services in 10 steps

Hope this helps. Feel free to message if you need any help x

 

[Nailfiend]

I actually charge the same or more for an infill as it can take the same or more time. I also charge more if the nails are longer.
I have a price for builder gel on its own and a price for builder gel with a gel polish colour on top and then of course nail art inc french costs extra as well.

So for example, your prices might be something like:
Gel Mani: £20
Builder Gel Only: £25
Builder Gel + Gel Polish: £30
Nail Art: £5 per 15 mins or 50p-£1.50+ per nail

Make sure you charge what you need to charge. I understand since you are just starting out, you might want to price lower while you get experience, gain clients etc. So in this case, you would set the prices you actually want and need to charge and then say you will be doing like 10 or 20% off. But make sure you make it clear that this discount will end on x date (maybe like a month) and they will be full price from that date. Cheaper prices can attract clients yes, but they can also attract the fussy clients that will also not likely be regulars/loyal. That's why it's important not to have low prices for too long.

This will help you factor in things like your bills, product costs, service times etc so you know what you need to charge to actually make money:
How to work out what you need to charge for nail services in 10 steps

Hope this helps. Feel free to message if you need any help x

Hi

Thank you so much for your reply. It’s such a help. I’ve been doing my own nails for over 20 years but just branched out into studying to turn my hobby in to a career. I have a lot of knowledge that I’ve picked up over the years but now I’m refining it. I’m currently mainly doing friends and family and struggle with the price as I thought because I’m a student they need to be cheap but I use really good products and I didn’t feel like these cheap prices are covering costs at all. I felt rude charging more when I’m just studying but I feel better about it now. I’m going to have another think and change everything. I’ll use the article you sent me to help. Thank you so much!

 

[TheDuchess]

Great answer moonnails!

One thing to consider is your earnings aspiration. What do you want to earn a year?

Then think about how hard you want to work to achieve that.

How much time off do you want? How many days a week/hours a day do you want to work. How many clients a day do you want to see?

Then you crunch the numbers and work out your “worth”. The deal you make with the universe about your hourly wage expectations. Add this to your fixed and variable overheads (the costs you have whether you see clients or not and the costs of what you use for each client). This is how you set your prices.

I balance my books with an average of 5 clients a day with a spend of £50 each. I can comfortably see 7 clients a day but I feel stretched at 8+. So I set myself targets for bookings and average spend and focus on saying yes to the work that suits me. I know my monthly break even point and that I keep everything earned above that amount.

When I was building my experience I didn’t charge much as I was grateful to partially fund my learning journey. I retained a tiny number of those clients but I never expected to keep any! I’m grateful to clients that helped me polish my skills and I understand they didn’t necessarily want to help me when my focus switched to building a business.