Lash Artist Booth Rental vs Commission
After you get your license to lash, jumping into your career can be intimidating. Making the decision of where to work is the first step. Are you going to work at a salon, or are you going to do it all on your own with booth rental?
We know that you are capable of either path you choose! Being a passionate, motivated and hard working lash tech is all that you need to succeed, but we are here to help you make the best decision for you and your growing career!
Working for Commission Salon
When you are a new lash artist it is typically beneficial to work for someone. It is great to work for a company that invests in you so that you have a mentor, earn a steady paycheck, and have someone to hold your hand through the beginning steps.
A lot of work goes into managing your lash career. Tedious time management like scheduling, finding clients, advertising, worrying about products… It is simply a LOT on your plate starting out and having a salon as your support system is an amazing place to begin!
Make sure you work in an environment that is fun and supportive. A support system and community can create the foundation for your lash journey and set you on your path of your own. We love to see salons that work on a 50/50 commission basis, with an increase towards you the longer that you are employed at the salon.
After a couple of months or really, even years, when you start feeling confident in your work, you build up your social media/marketing, you have a steady base of clientele, and you start to know which products you like, you are ready to move on to your own booth rental!
Lashing On Your Own
You can definitely start out with booth rental, but make sure you have a good chunk of money saved up and set aside for yourself and be prepared for the self-management!
Booth rental requires you to pay your own monthly lease, supply yourself with all your lashing products, and management of your clients and lash schedule. Although you are now receiving 100% commission on all appointments and not splitting it with the salon, you are still in charge of your own accounting, marketing, customer service, and everything in between.
All lash artists that go out on their own hope that their salon clients will follow them, but there is a realistic chance that when you first begin, lashing can be slow, and the steady income may not be for a while. Picking up a part-time job is completely fine to get you through the first months. Some weeks you may only have 5 clients, but it is normal. Building clientele is crucial.
When you are new, you might have to take every client that walks through the door, and you cannot be picky. Once you have a set clientele that supports you, and you have enough experience, then you are allowed to be picky with the ladies that are always late, no-shows at appointments, or those that you simply do not want to see any longer. You should never take abusive clients that offend you, talk down on you, or take a toll on your mental health!
Marketing Tips for Going Out on Your Own
We all hope that your books will be loaded with clients when you go out on your own, but now that you are managing the books yourself, you will be responsible for filling in your schedule with new lash clients if old ones happen to leave for any reason. Here are a few ideas to grow your clientele!
Hand out your business cards to all of your friends, and do not be afraid to put yourself out there! Make discount cards that you can slip into your receipt before handing it back to the waiter, hang up your cards in public places, business cards can go a long way!
Launch a referral program to encourage current client’s to recommend you! Whether it’s discounts off fills or free products, have an incentive for current clients to recommend you to their friends!
Make sure you’re on social media! Your Instagram page is your portfolio to showcase your lash sets to advertise to potential new clients. Be sure to tag your location and share consistently so people in your area searching for lashes can find you!
But, be careful what you put out for the world to see! Social media spreads news like wildfire. Maybe you are having a bad lash day, and your clients start to post about it... If you are a brand-new lash artist, people aren’t going to have anyone else’s opinions to base their judgement on, but your past clients.
If you have a huge social media presence backing you up, more photos, more reviews, and more clients, then one bad lash day won’t ruin your career. Make sure that if you do booth rental from the very beginning, that you have this support system and presence!
Whether you choose to start your lashing career in a salon on commission or in a booth rental, both paths can lead to a successful lashing career. We have taught so many lash artists that have started on commission, moved to booth rental, then to owning their own salon, and finally, launching their own lash line. Stay confident in yourself, and your career will grow.