From the outside looking in, the lash industry can seem like a gold mine. But in reality, it takes a lot more than a lash course certificate to run a thriving lash business.
You might feel like you’re ready to take on your very own lash business with this new set of skills you’ve acquired, but it’s going to take some time for you to become a true #bossbabe.
Don’t lose hope yet, though! You can 100% climb the career ladder of business ownership. But first, you have to silence your inner “instant gratification” addiction.
On this episode of Lessons of a Lashpreneur, I share the three steps that will help set you up for lash business success. It may not happen overnight, but I assure you that if you follow these three steps, you’ll win the long game of being a wealthy Lashpreneur.
{If you want to listen to the podcast episode on this topic, click on the player at the top of the post. Alternatively you can watch the video below, or read on…}
From one lash artist to another…
Before we get into the three steps, I want to share a personal story with you about how I went from “overlooked to fully booked.”
Let me set the scene for you…
The year is 2013 and my (slightly) younger self is fresh out of school. I knew I wanted to pursue a career in the beauty industry, but honestly, I didn’t have a clue about where to start.
I had an acquaintance who also happened to be a spa director. One day, while I was waxing her eyebrows, I came clean. I told her that I didn’t know what the heck I was doing, but I was eager to learn.
She offered me a job and became my mentor in the salon and spa world. At the time, I was knee deep in trying to start a family. So, the stability of being an employee suited me well. I worked on perfecting my skills and learned a lot of valuable lessons along the way. However, I was paid minimum wage, and when I had my son, I knew I needed to start making more money to help support my growing family.
At the same time, the spa I worked at was on a massive decline. So, I did what any sensible person would do. I jumped ship instead of going down with it. Then, I worked as a spa director for a different salon. It sounds like an exciting role, but I was mainly answering the phone all day and checking people out.
I decided to venture out on my own and opened my own business in October 2015. But, by February 2016, I hit a major crossroad. I wasn’t making enough money to give myself a decent wage.
Something needed to be done, but what?
I found my holy grail answer in the form of investing in a business coach. I paid $1500 for six weeks of coaching on marketing. The investment left my personal bank account at less than $200, and with a family of three with a southern California mortgage, things looked bleak.
However, three months after I started business coaching and focusing heavily on marketing my business, I was profitable for the first time. Two months later, I was fully booked. In November 2016, I raised my prices. Then, I started offering free “lash biz tips of the day” as The Lashpreneur on Instagram, and the rest is history.
The reason I wanted to share my story with you is that it’s easy to look at where I’m at now and assume it must have always been that way. But, it wasn’t. It was definitely a struggle, and at times, the light at the end of the tunnel was nothing but a faded, blinking light bulb.
So, I thought long and hard about it, and I’ve managed to narrow down the three steps that helped me and will help you to find success in becoming your own Lashpreneur!
1. Focus on your skill
Have you ever thought about why most educators don’t teach complicated eye styling in a beginner’s course?
It’s because mastering the necessary skillset and theory of lashes is difficult enough to master!
The first thing you have to do before you even think about launching your own business is mastering your skill. You don’t have to be a lash wizard by any means, but you’ve got to focus on the foundations of applying lashes before tackling anything intricate or complicated.
Focus on the basics – Isolate, dip and place until it becomes second nature.
It won’t happen overnight. Most lash artists take anywhere from six months to a year. It depends on how often you’re able to lash. In this case, practice really does make perfect.
Isolation will be your biggest issue as a newbie. But eventually you’ll have muscle memory, and you’ll be able to isolate lashes in your sleep.
2. Side Hustle
If the desire to start your own business is brewing inside of you, it’s a good idea to start a side hustle before going all in.
You’ll be in an excellent position to start when you’re confident in your lash skills, and you don’t have regular struggles with retention issues.
In a perfect world, you would launch your business, and a swarm of loyal (and wealthy) clients would come running. However, real life is rarely that simple.
You need to understand how to run a business before you put yourself in a position where you’re 100% dependent on your lash business to support you. If you make the mistake of going all in too soon, you’ll make a trail of other not-so-smart decisions. For instance, you might be tempted to use Groupon or lower your prices, etc.
Start taking clients on the side first. Don’t quit your day job just yet. Keep your part-time job to help support you until the time comes when the demand for your lash business grows, and then you can finally take a leap of faith!
3. Leap!
If you’ve got this far and you’ve mastered your lash skills and the demand for your services is on an uphill trajectory (and it feels right), it’s time to rip the band-aid off and just go for it!
You might feel like a kid on the first day of school because everything’s new and a lot is riding on this, but you’ve got to trust that you’ll figure it out along the way. Here’s the truth – nobody has it all figured out!
However, there are ways to lessen your business learning curve. Become a student and keep learning. Become a student of business, marketing, sales, finances, operations, entrepreneurship, personal and professional development. Because I’ve got news for you, the industry is always evolving.
We don’t market the same way today as we did 20 or 30 years ago, and you’ve got to be prepared to move with the changes. Think of yourself as a student and never stop learning and evolving both yourself and your business!
If you’re ready to become a student of lash business and entrepreneurship, I invite you to join me inside of my group business coaching program called The Lashpreneur Society where I coach and teach on how to start, build and grow a thriving lash business. We only up registration a few times a year and we will be opening up registration soon, so by signing up for our waitlist not only will you be notified of when our next open enrollment is, but I may have a special bonus or two exclusively for those on the waitlist!
You can sign up for the waitlist at thelashpreneur.com/society
Happy business building!
Have a Good One!
Tara Walsh
The Lashpreneur
