About this time last year I was thinking about diversifying my skills/service, because I was feeling a little stagnant and really wanted to be more versatile within my salon. I thought about getting certified in lash extensions, but my schedule with nail clients was so full I just didn’t have the time to invest in learning and practicing. Like many of us COVID19 hit hard. I was closed for about 12 weeks, but I didn’t waste that time. Yes, I did a lot of couch
sitting, but I also used that time to rebrand my salon and have a new website built.
About 6 weeks into the shutdown the esthetician that was leasing my room decided to move on to her own location. Once I had a reopening date I started placing ads looking for someone to lease the room. I kept those ads active for about three months without much response. It wasn’t a surprise. Our industry was hurting from lack of clients. So, instead of waiting around for things to improve, I decided to take the plunge and get certified to do lash extensions. I was excited and scared! I hadn’t branched out my services, beyond nails like in over 20 years.
On September 20th, I took a one day class to learn classic, hybrid, volume and mega techniques. The class was expensive. This was a huge investment for me and I left there with my head-spinning, feeling very overwhelmed.
I realized that I also hadn’t prepared to continue practicing my new skills. I did a quick order for the mannequin head and practice lashes making a promise to myself that I would practice everyday by building practice time into my schedule.
I did it! I practiced everyday, found a mentor, joined several lash specific Facebook groups. I also decided to start offering lash lifts and tints. I had several friends who kindly volunteered to be models. It wasn’t easy, but I was determined.
My amazing clients waited very patiently for me to be ready to be confident enough to start accepting lash appointments. On November 6th, I took my first paying client. She’s been a wonderful nail client for several years and I was excited to be able to have her as my first official lash client. My official new service post went out on November 14th.
Learning a new skill is HARD! My goal with adding these services was to enhance what I offered to my clientele and work to turn my existing nail clients into lash clients also. A win for both my clients and my business and a great way to fill in empty spots in my booking schedule.
What about you? What have you done to diversify this year and help build your business?
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