Beauty -MobileBusiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
the road life on
You will no doubt know other mobile therapists or nail technicians who have built up a business for themselves. What may seem like an easy business opportunity actually involves many hours of hard work, not just whilst working at clients’ homes, but also on the business itself.
When setting up a business from scratch it’s not as simple as chucking your equipment in your car and heading off to your first client! Solid preparation in the months running up to your business launch will help you avoid the pitfalls that drive many new businesses bust in a short period of time.
First things first
When you’re looking to start a business, any type of business, you need to consider whether you feel you can make it a success. Are you prepared for the long days, or short days, that come with what can sometimes be an unpredictable workload? How committed are you prepared to be to make this work?
Starting a new business means you’ll have to make sacrifices to have a chance of success – this could be financial - not having a regular wage or spare cash in your pocket until your business is established; and social - giving up your evenings and weekends to work around your clients’ availability. Are you prepared to put everything you have into making this work for you?
What’s more, is there a demand for the services of a mobile therapist within the area you would like to work?
Planning your budget
Once you’ve established this is really what you want, then it’s time to be practical and plan whether this is something that you can realistically afford.
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Take into account your start-up costs; do you have finance in place to pay for things such as your products and equipment, uniform, advertising and marketing, a reliable vehicle and its maintenance costs plus tax and insurance? “Set a budget for how much you are going to spend in order to set up,” says Marie-Louise Coster of All About Mi Salon & Training School. “Do you need a loan? If so how can you afford to pay it back? Look into the interest rates and the terms of the loan - for example, can you pay it off early, should you require, without a penalty?”
However you’re going to fund your start-up costs, you will need to create a financial plan. “Compile a Cash Flow Forecast,” says Marie- Louise, “so as you can keep on top of what you are spending and also to allow you to predict what your takings will be and what your regular outgoings / running costs are. This is not easily done as to start with you don’t really know what your takings are going to be but you need to have an idea of what you need to earn to pay your bills and earn a wage for yourself.”
Look at your current outgoings per week – taking into account rent / mortgage, utility bills, food, clothes, socialising and any responsibilities you may have such as children or pets etc. Work out what you realistically need to live on and then work out what your weekly outgoings as a mobile therapist would be including petrol, car maintenance and taxes, your phone bill, childcare if necessary, insurance, your uniform and of course, products and equipment.
Your own treatment
menu “Really research the market of all the therapists in your area – salon-based, home-based and mobile,” Marie- Louise suggests. “What are they offering, what do they charge, what are their hours of business, and most importantly what makes you different from all of them? Do you offer different treatments? Do you offer more flexible trading hours to accommodate for those who are working full time?
“Once you have researched your competitors you can compile your own treatment menu based on the training and qualifications you have – ensuring you emphasise what sets you apart from them – your unique selling point.”
“Have a good variation of available treatments to offer, as this will allow you to be more competitive and to have the ability to really say you are a ‘one stop shop’ for beauty,” advises Paul Matthes of PJS Direct Ltd.
He continues: “When selecting you equipment and machinery for portable use, the mobile therapist must take into consideration not only the size of the equipment but will it actually do a salon quality treatment and deliver your client the results?”
Lydia Sarfati, Repêchage CEO and Founder agrees: “When considering professional facial equipment for your mobile business, space is definitely a factor. In order to provide your clients with optimum results, select a multi-function machine which allows you to provide deep pore cleansing, bio-rejuvenation, anti-Acne, oily skin and lifting treatments without being too heavy or taking up a lot of space. This way, you won’t have to cart around multiple machines, but you will still be able to provide your clients with the treatments necessary to achieve their goals.”
“When choosing a product range, keep in mind what clientele you are gearing your products towards,” advises Audrey Heffernan, OPI Educator for Hennessy Hair & Beauty. “You don’t want to buy in a huge range of products for a clientele you won’t use them on. Do your homework and try to pick a range that will work well for everybody and that is cost effective.”
Marie-Louise comments: “Remember, as your business grows and you start to see a profit you can always learn new skills and attend advanced courses so as time goes on you can add more treatments to your menu and develop and grow your business making you more attractive to a wider audience.’
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