If 2021 has felt like a grind to you, then stick around because I’m going to give you 3 New Year Resolutions to boost your nail business in 2022.
Alright, so for me 2021, did feel like a grind, but there was so much that came out of that grind, that, seriously no hard feelings but rather big lessons learned; and, I thought I’d share them with you today in the form of New Year resolutions. This way, 2022 arrives and you’re ready to not only stay on your game but stay ahead of the game.
And what do I mean by boost? I mean simply increasing your earning potential?
So the first New Year resolution to boost your nail business is …
Nail Tech Resolution 1) Increase Your Prices
Now, this may make many of you nervous, but if you have not given yourself a raise in two years, come 2022 this is non-negotiable. You want to give yourself a pay increase every year anyways, but especially now with the increase in prices on pretty much all of the goods you use for your services.
Traditionally, nail techs do $5 to $10 on their main services but another [more ambitious way] to think about what to increase your prices, is to set a goal of what you would like to make the next year based on what you’re currently making now.
For example, in my last year as a full-time nail technician, I grossed $90k by working 4-5 days per week an average of 8 hours per day. So the next year if I wanted to make $100,000, by working only 4 days per week, and still an average of 8 hours per day, with about 5 clients per day. I need to find out how much I need to charge per manicure service.
Here’s what that would look like:
$100,000/208days = Per day amount working four days a week.
208 being the total workdays out of 365 days in the year, if I only want to work four days a week.
So 100,000/208 = $481 per day that I should make working as a nail tech if I only want to work 4 days a week.
Ideally, I don’t want to take on more than 5 clients a day, so that I can hover around an 8-hour workday.
So I would now divide:
$481/5 clients= $96 per client appointment of 90 min.
That means that for every client I see I have to receive approximately $96 within 90 minutes. Why 90 minutes? Because that is the standard time for any service I perform. So around $1 per minute.
That would just have been my personal goal, so just plug and play in the above formulas using your desired income.
Now does that mean I should charge approximately $90 for nails? Yes… if I want to be strict about working only 4 days a week
… but, even if you charge just below that. Oftentimes, your service price is supplemented by tips. I found that the average tip for me, as I was already premium-priced, was 15%.
So say if you charged $80 for 90 minutes of your time, and your generous client added a 15% tip, that would mean $92, which is pretty good still.
Also, I offered a bit of retail that helped supplement my income in the salon, which I recommend for you also.
If you are wondering some ways to charge a premium price for your services here are some:
- Use the best products
- Become specialized in one area of nails, and if you create stunning nail art… your services should easily make the $90 per 90 minute mark. Think about how much a hairstylist specialized in hair extensions or balayage charges?
- Create a stunning portfolio on Instagram. Only showcase your best work.
- Create celebrity around your name
- -Encourage your clients to post about their experience via a review, or if you already
- Have a large following on Instagram or YouTube, this naturally will add celebrity to your brand.
- Master long wear! Because as I say, if your nails stick, so will your clients!
Please. Please. Please do not charge a premium if you have not mastered long-wear gel application.
I’m going to really encourage you to watch the free masterclass below, where I show you 3 secrets to master gel nails using Japanese Soft Gel only, and if you would like to work with me further. There is also an opportunity inside that training via my paid program, the Master Gel Nails Course. Again click here to watch the training.
One of the reasons why, personally, I want to encourage you to set yourself up for success as premium-priced nail tech is because of the next resolution…
Nail Tech Resolution 2) Tap into the world of online entrepreneurship.
First off, what can online entrepreneurship do for you?
Online entrepreneurship can free you up from the grind and money trap of always having to be at your nail table in order to make income.
As an entrepreneur, If your business depends on you showing up to work, as the ONLY means to make money then you have created a vulnerable business model that can hurt and cease to exist when you cannot work, which will then lead to you not making money.
Nails are fun and in order to keep it that way, it is in your best interest to diversify your revenue sources.
So where do you start as an online-preneur? Well, you start educating or casually sharing, and you do so by writing. If you already have a website you casually share a conversation in your online diary AKA blog.
Why is writing so important in your business? Writing tells Google (the biggest search engine, with literally, a billion users on daily) that you are the source for your topic of interest or expertise. You are educating on it. You are the author of this content and therefore Google sees you as an authority of that topic once you have written enough about it.
Google measures whether or not your content is helpful for its users by the average time a user spends on your website.
Imagine the largest search engine with billions of users daily sending you a sliver of traffic to your website.
Some content writers have products and services they have available for those eyeballs to buy, but others have other free valuable content these users can consume in exchange for their email.
Also, In your blog pieces, you can always link to your social channels to grow your audience, and even better, you can use your blog to create a second or third platform like a YouTube Channel or Podcast.
Another little milestone is what a blog can do for you to create credibility with brands that you may be raving about so that you can inquire with these brands about earning commission on their products, those products that you know, like, and trust.
Next, your blog can be chopped into bite-size digestible content for Instagram, this is a little but mighty trick. You can take key points and turn them into carousels or reels which are highly engaging and can help you grow your Instagram account.
So bottom line, you need to start writing content on your website via a blog (at least 1000 words in length) to start being noticed as an authority in your area of expertise.
Write so that you can create rich content on your website that your potential new audience reads while you sleep, meantime increasing your following and affiliate commissions.
Ultimately resolutions #1 & #2 will help you with resolution #3.
Nail Tech Resolution 3) Work less, live more!
Hey, I am not trying to be cliche here!
12-hour shifts 4-6 days a week is quite the hustle, and if you want to spend time on your own terms, and love what you do (while also not being in pain doing it) then you have to start on that resolution #2 of tapping into online entrepreneurship.
So if you’re feeling burned out… come January 2nd, 3rd, and 4th… schedule some time for yourself. Whether that means just time to rest or go out and just do you… do that.
If you have a family, please indulge for the first week of the year.
Or come and talk to me on IG if you’re feeling overwhelmed, send me a DM and let’s plan out some strategies so that your ‘Work less, live more life can come to fruition.
Starting with today’s resolutions #1 & #2 can get you there!
Realistically, I don’t have the time to coach all of my aspiring online entrepreneurs individually with the exact strategies I use for my business; I created a program where I teach you the exact step-by-steps to start your hybrid nail career as a nail tech and online entrepreneur. I’ll leave that link here for you.
When your income does not solely rely on you being at your nail table over time and your income is what you want to make, you have broken into the world of true entrepreneurship as a nail tech. I want that for you!
Thank you so much for joining me today, and I’ll see you next week.
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