As lash artists and lashpreneurs, most of us are no strangers to taking the occasional training course, as we know making sure we can afford trainings can help to further our careers. It’s pretty much a ‘must-do’ in our industry, which is still relatively new with updated products, techniques, educators and everything in-between being released all the time.
If you don’t keep up with continuing education and don’t prioritize so you can afford trainings, you’ll become outdated.
If a customer requests a lash style that went viral online and you have no idea how to do it, that customer will probably just try a different lash salon. Evolving with the industry is incredibly important, especially if you want this to be long-term.
When I first started my lashing career, I took at least three continuing education courses a year. And believe me, I thought that was a lot. I also attended conferences and trade shows that weren’t always lash related. Some focused on business or personal development, which helped me to learn and grow in different areas of my life.
I always made sure that no matter which lash training or business course I invested in, that I would have some sort of ROI.
When people think of ROI, they immediately think of money. But ROI doesn’t always equate to money.
Sometimes it can come in the form of knowledge, experience and the simple joy of loving what you do and doing something that excites you.
But, how can you afford further trainings without burning a hole in your pocket?
In this episode, I reveal how to look at continuing education in your business, how to plan a budget so you can afford trainings for your lash business and where to spend your money first to help ensure you get the greatest return on investment.
{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…}
1. ROI not COST
As I mentioned briefly above, ROI isn’t always about money. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve had this conversation with lash artists who want to join The Lashpreneur Society but they ‘can’t afford it right now.’
I always tell them the same thing and I bet you can use the same type of verbiage with your clients who claim your services are too expensive.
The first thing I tell them is to stop focusing on the cost and focus on the RESULT.
We’re always so quick to use money as an excuse not to do something. People tend to forget that it’s not the cost of the training course you should be focusing on. When you enroll in further training, you’re investing in yourself. When you complete that course, you will get something back from it.
Let me try to put this into perspective for you. When new members sign up for The Lashpreneur Society, they pay just $49 per month. It works like a gym membership. You can cancel at any time but if you want the continuous training, coaching, and access to the supportive community, you have to keep up with the payments.
Yes, you’re paying a monthly fee for access but you’re always getting way more back. You learn new skills and strategies to market yourself and before you know it, you’re using what you’ve learned to attract new clients.
If you enroll in a lash training course that cost £1,000, you have two ways to look at it. Either it’s costing you $1,000 and that’s money you’ll never see again. OR, you’re investing $1,000 in yourself as a lash artist and now you have to think about how you can make sure you get a return on that $1,000.
One way to do it is to charge around $100 for a full set. That way, you’ll only need 10 new clients to break even on your investment. Then, when they come back for a top up, you begin making profits on your original investment. If it’s a great training course, you might even be able to increase your prices to let’s say, $200 for a full set. Now you just need five new clients to walk through your door and you’ve covered your investment.
Once you’ve got a return on your original investment, any extra revenue from that point on is profit.
How awesome is that? It can go right into your pocket or you can put it away and save up to afford your next training course to drive even more revenue your way.
2. How to plan and budget for continuing education
Ugh, budgeting. I hate budgeting with an intense passion but like most of you, I just have to grin and bear it. It’s tempting to put everything on a credit card and worry about paying it off later. But, if you keep doing that, you’re just going to spiral into debt. Not to mention all the stress you’ll have if you can’t pay it back quick enough. The interest keeps creeping up while your sanity is holding on for dear life.
You don’t want that. You might think a credit card is going to help solve your financial issues but it’s really just a debt enabler.
If you run your own business, I recommend creating multiple accounts to keep track of everything and help you plan your expenses.
Personally, I’ve got an account for taxes, profits, my own wages, and a savings account too.
Each month, I add a certain percentage into that savings account, and I don’t touch it. I keep it for all the things I’m saving for, which includes continuing education.
If you want to get all mathematical about it, you can plan your business finances by putting around 45% of the income into your personal account. That’s how much you’re paying yourself and then you can put around 3% to profits, 10% towards taxes (ugh, I know, what a bummer). Then 50% towards expenses for the business and the remaining 8% can be added into your trainings and continuing education piggy bank, so you can continue to afford trainings.
Obviously, those percentages are just to give you an idea about how you can separate your finances. For more advice on how to run your business in a financially savvy way, I highly recommend you read the book, “Profit First,”by Mike Michalowicz.
Need some more help with your budgeting and finance planning?
Here are a few quick bonus tips!
Grab a piece of paper and brainstorm all the continuing education classes you’re interested in taking.
Next, rank them in priority starting with what one you want to take first, second and so on. Focus on saving for the ones on the top of your list and when you complete that course, mark it off your list and focus your saving efforts on the next one!
If The Lashpreneur Society is on the top of your list, why not try saving $50 per month now? That way, when the doors reopen, you’ll have savings tucked away to fund your membership!
3. Where to spend your money?
Before you can set off to launch your own lash business, you need to know how to lash (duh). So, if you’re just a beginner, your number one priority should be investing in a quality lash trainings. After all, you need a skill to sell to your customers.
The problem you face though is finding the right educator.
Some are inspirations to the industry and will really help set you up for success. However, not everyone who offers lash training has good intentions. Some don’t care about you. They just want your money and you’ll be left with buyer’s remorse.
I wrote an article for My Brand Lashes that reveals how you can avoid lash course buyer’s remorse. So, if you want to read it and learn what qualities to look for in a lash course, you can read it inside my FREE Prep and Planning Guide!
Once you’ve gotten the artistry down to a tee, it’s time to consider whether you want to work for someone else or run your own business. If you choose the latter, you should consider branching out and enrolling in business-focused courses that actually teach you how to run a profitable lash business.
At the same time, you need to invest in your artistry.
The industry is constantly changing, and you’ve got to make sure that you’re changing and evolving right alongside it.
You should ALWAYS be looking at investing in both your artistry AND your business growth.
Whether you take a lash course or invest in a business coach, you need to switch your mindset. Instead of asking yourself how much it’s going to cost you, ask how you can get a positive return on your investment as an artist and business owner. If you are determined to take on more trainings to further your lash business, start thinking about how you can set aside money for this investment so you can afford training and what continuing education is going to be the best investment for you first.
If you’re interested in learning more about The Lashpreneur Society, my group business coaching program where I teach you how to get more clients, make more money and get a POSITIVE ROI – head on over to thelashpreneur.com/society to get on our waitlist so you can start to really transform from lash artist… to lashpreneur!
Have a Good One!
Tara Walsh
The Lashpreneur
