How to Start a Lash Business

Growing a Lash Business isn’t easy. Hours are long, some nights are sleepless and it turns out that there’s a long list of things that you need to do behind the scenes to make the whole thing work. Here are 5 things I wish I’d been told before starting a Lash Business: 

1. You Need a Proper Booking System for Lash Extension Appointments

This sounds really obvious and it is, but what I mean by ‘proper’ is a system where you can see who is coming in, what they’re having done, and how long they’ll be with you for. This doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but it should be difficult to double book, so writing it in a notebook is out. Something like Google calendar is a free, easy to use option that allows you to do everything mentioned above. It’s also linked to your email address so it’s always with you, and it’s so simple.

2. Keep Track of Inventory

This you can use a notebook for, so long as you always have a good idea of how much of each product you have, and how long it will be until you run out of it. Take advantage of sales for things like lashes where you can stock up a bit without the risk of them expiring, and set aside some time each month to shop for your perishable lash supplies - such as lash glue. To save you a little bit of time and stress (there’s nothing worse than coming to the end of a bottle of lash glue just shy of the next one coming) opt for a glue subscription service like ours, which will see your favourite glues delivered every 2, 4, or 6 weeks automatically (if that wasn’t enough motivation to try it out in itself, perhaps the 20% discount on subscription lash glues will help 😉) 

3. Don’t Set Your Lash Extension Prices Too Low!

I cannot stress this enough. It may be a good way to attract new clients but it’s not sustainable at all. Here’s what you need to do - start by working out how much your treatment costs you in terms of the products used (cost of product divided by number of uses). Next, think about how much your time is worth - how many lash courses did you take to get here? Now consider how much you pay for your bills and expenses. How much you make in a day/week/month needs to cover that and give you a comfortable living wage. 

If you’re looking to attract new clients, there’s nothing at all wrong with having a welcome discount - just make it clear that’s not the usual price! A lot of a lash business’ success comes down to managing your clients’ expectations.

4. Have a Strong Cancellation Policy Which Includes A Cancellation Fee

Again, I can’t stress this one enough - not only does it build respect between you and your clients, it minimises no-shows and late cancellations. If someone does cancel or fails to show up then you have a little bit of security along with that surprise spare time. 

Taking a deposit isn’t unusual, and actually allows the client to pay in two instalments, which is something we all like, given the recent rise in ‘buy now, pay later’ options such as Klarna or PayPal’s new pay in 3 feature. It’s not a stretch to charge 50% of the treatment fee at the time of booking. 

 

 

5. Ask Them to Rebook at the End of Their Lash Treatment

Sounds obvious, but it’s easy to forget! When they go to pay you at the end of their treatment, get them booked in for their lash infill in 3 weeks time. It saves you having a moment of panic 6 weeks down the line when they come for their ‘infill’ with five little fans left on either eye because they didn’t rebook in time. It’s not their fault when they do this - unless you do eyelash extensions you don’t really know about all the intricacies, and although we seem to be miracle workers, we cannot bend time to suit our will (imagine if we could though 😍) So we have to help them by getting them rebooked, or at least asking if they want to be rebooked. If they say ‘no, it’s just for an event’, let them know they can come back to you for a quick and safe removal. 

I hope this helps you! Keep your eye on the blog for more lash business tips and tricks, coming soon!