How to Start Your Own Eyelash Business

Calling all lash artists and students alike! Are you looking to become a lash artist? You may be asking yourself the big questions like where to start and how to even begin starting your very own lash business. In that case, you’ve come to the right place.

The lash business is a lucrative and booming industry that shows no signs of slowing. In light of even a global pandemic wasn’t enough to slow down the industry. If anything, now is a better time than any as many home based lash artists said goodbye to their client bases forever in the extended closures and concerns of the pandemic in their home which left a continuously growing client base and little supply for the demand. In 2019, 883,000 people searched for eyelash extensions and related terms per month! This translates to being a huge market to gain into.

So what is the basis of starting a strong foundation for a good lash career? Below, we go over all the major necessities to be successful in the game.

A Good Certification Matters

This is crucial to getting started. Getting certified with a thorough and solid educator is key.

Lash extension application is an advanced skill set with meticulous attention to detail. Mastering this takes a lifetime and even advanced artists are never done learning and continuing their education.

Proper courses that cover at the very least the basics of theory, safety and some formal marketing components will provide the solid foundation needed to start your own lash career on the right foot.

When looking for a certification program, take your time and do your research. Quick online crash courses or programs that seem too good to be true for a fraction of the cost often are just that; too good to be true. Leaving the student to seek additional formal training elsewhere. It’s a hard lesson to learn and an expensive one!

Some topics that your eyelash extension certification should have are as follows:

• The history and industry behind lash extensions

• Theories behind eyelash procedures

• Eye conditions and contraindications

• Safety and lash weight

• Sanitation and hygiene

• How to prep a client

• How to set up a workstation for eyelash procedures

• Removing eyelash extensions

• Aftercare

• Appointment setting online or offline

• Setting up a lash extension business

• Marketing basics/ photo and editing basics

Find a program that covers the basics, of course, but also one that teaches you about business and marketing so you have an idea of how to get started. Social media and editing helps also if courses include these.

Commit to continuing education always. There are always things to learn in the lash industry.

Create a Solid Business Plan Before You Start

A proper business plan is important although it may seem like an unnecessary step. It helps set a strategy and put ideas to paper and proper planning especially when it comes to financing a new business. There are a lot of costs often missed when planning to start a new business even if you plan to be a home based business. It’s important to set up for success with a proper plan in place. Templates are easy to find for this and in most areas there are many resources in small business sectors to find mentors with business plan writing.

A business is a new baby and you’d never go into parenthood unplanned without any research.

A business plan will also help you stay focused on the essentials. Once you have a business plan in mind, you won’t be adding unnecessary items to your business.

Some things to keep in mind while you create your business plan are:

• Goals and visions for your business. Where you would like to be in one year and then five.

• A description of your eyelash business, services offered and plan for continuing education (room to add more services down the road).

• Most business plans have a SWOT analysis; taking a look at competitors in the market and analyzing the strengths and weaknesses.

• Financials; investment needed to get started

• Day to day operations, booking systems, payment systems and all the formalities

Business plans are great tools to have not just for the aspect of planning our your new business but also for if you require funding down the road. Financial institutions would require a solid business plan. So it’s worth the time invested to write one or have someone write one for you.

Don’t Forget About Marketing Your Services

Social media seems to be the one fail safe for the beauty industry. Some artists don’t even have a website right away but have a solid social media presence which can be all that’s needed in the start up phase. Social media becomes in many ways a portfolio of your work, products offered, happenings in your business (events, promotions, etc). It’s a very necessary tool to get started on and continually add content to.

It wouldn’t be necessary to jump straight in to thousands of dollars of marketing with google ads right away or leaping to hire a marketing team to get you going right away. Marketing can be very costly and likely the most costly ongoing expense in your business.

Website set up is pretty user friendly these days. Many hosts have a user friendly interface making website building a breeze for even the complete internet rookie.

Having clients write reviews for you online as well is extremely helpful. This boosts your visibility online and if someone was to hear about you and punch your business name into google to see all these great reviews then it’s like you’ve sealed the deal on prospective clients likely to book with you.

Offline Location and Online Presence or Both

What are your plans? Do you want to start off as a home based artist until you’ve built a solid clientele before expanding? Or find a spot to rent within a salon before one day owning your own? These are questions to consider.

Home based business is a popular starting point for many lash artists. It gives artists a way to ease in while working on their skill set and improving while slowly gaining new clients without the stress and overhead of a brand new location.

It isn’t necessary to know exactly how you plan to proceed and grow right away but it’s something to keep in the back of your mind.

These plans will help you consider possible financing, investors or loans needed in the future so you can at least get started for when you’re ready for that stage. Business plans can be time consuming so it’s good to plug away at it slowly in your spare time to have it ready for when you are ready rather than to feel overwhelmed by the task or cut corners and be less thorough having to sit and write it out in one go.

How to Start a Lash Business: Start Slow and Ramp It Up

If you are ready to burst out the gate and get going, it’s highly recommended that you slow down and think carefully about how to start a lash business that’s right for you and your circumstances. It’s very easy to get caught up and let things get completely ahead of you.

Every person who starts a lash extension business will be unique in the way they go about it. That’s why you want to take it easy, take it slow, and enjoy the journey.

If you’d like to learn more about our courses, please visit our PRO Academy here.

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