The WHY of wanting to branch out and become your very own lash boss, run your own eyelash extension business, and be the ultimate one in charge of your destiny can vary from artist to artist, but the overwhelming theme is typically freedom. Financial freedom and freedom with your time! No more showing up to shifts and clocking in and no more waiting until payday! But WHERE do you start? WHAT is the first step? Let’s dive into 9 Questions you should be asking yourself WHEN you get that crazy idea that “Hey! I could totally run my own lash business”.

Question 1: How Much Money Do I Need to Start?

There’s a reason this is the first question on the list. No matter how much you’d like to stick your head in the sand (I use the term Ostrich-ing) about finances and having money to start up your business, it is one of those necessary evils you need to be ready to face head on and face it regularly in your life as a business owner. Being financially oblivious and unaware will be detrimental not only to the health of your business but could jeopardize your entire personal life as well. Nobody plans on going bankrupt when starting up a new business, but the reality is that it can and does happen.

I am a huge proponent to never take on debt and only minimal amounts if you absolutely MUST! Ask yourself, if I took on this loan or debt to fund the startup of my business and I was unable to run the business, would I still be able to make the payments? If the answer is no, then DON’T DO IT! There are plenty of ways to go about finding money to fund your lash business, but it may not be the instant gratification that comes with a bank loan. Learning to save your money at your current job to help fund some, if not all, of your lash business startup is the first step in setting yourself up for success and ridding yourself of the “instant gratification” pitfall that so many first-time business owners fall into.

If you need help on setting a budget for how much startup money you’ll need, check out this FREE Lashpreneur Start Up Worksheet download: 

 Question 2: How Many Clients Do I Need?

Knowing your numbers not only applies to finances, but to reaching your goals. Do you know how many regular clients you currently have (if you’re coming from somewhere that a clientele has followed you from)? How many do you need a day to pay your bills? How many do you need to be financially comfortable? How many do you need to grow your business? Those are all important markers in your business for you to know ahead of time because it MAY not be as many as you may initially think. Knowing the EXACT number of how many clients you need for each goal marker will break your business down into bite sized pieces so you’re not trying to take over the world overnight!

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Base your financial and client goals on your most popular touch up/fill service. That is what we lash artists do consistently, day in and day out, and when we say our books are full, it means we have regular fill clients to fill up our entire week’s availability. Full sets and tips are just bonus money as far as I’m concerned!

Here’s my go-to formula to walk you through the finding your way to the number of regular touch up (or fill) client’s you need to sustain your lash business.

• How much do you NEED to make a month to cover your expenses (both for the business and at home): Example: $3000/month

•  How much do you charge for your most requested touch up/fill service (so it’s likely a 1 hour Classic Touch up if you’re just starting out): Example: $45

• How many days a week do you work: Example: 5 days/week

Example Formula: $3000/month divided by 4 weeks in a month = $750/ week

$750/week divided by 5 days a week that you work = $150/day

$150/day divided by your average touch up price of $45 = 3.3 clients/day to make your $3000/month goal (let’s round up to 4 clients since we don’t tend to see 1/3rd of a person walking around)

So your initial goal is to get to 4 clients a day, 5 days a week. Not a terrible goal and a manageable place to start. Your monthly dollar amount will vary if you consider full sets, retail, upselling other services and tips.

Question 3: How Do I Plan on Marketing My Business?

Want to know a huge lie new business owners believe about their business… “If you build it, they will come”. BAHAHAHAHA! That’s one strategy to go broke, hungry and feel like an epic failure if I’ve ever heard one. There are two ways to market your lash business and having a balanced combination of the two to reach your target client is going to help to grow your lash business the quickest. If you don’t know how to talk to or put your newly opened business in front of the ideal type of clients who would benefit from your services the most, you might as well go work for someone who knows how to do just that. This is a skill that can (and should) absolutely be learned and refined so don’t feel discouraged if you’re completely oblivious in how to do that. I happen to love marketing and can help you uncover new and fun ways to market your lash business if you want a little extra help in that area. We also offer our Group Coaching Program as an excellent resource for you to learn about all aspects of starting, building and growing your lash business and if you’re craving the community aspect of being a business owner. Just know there are resources out there for you to learn what you don’t know because EVERYTHING is Figure-out-able (as quoted by Marie Forleo) and you are perfectly capable of learning how to market your lash business like the badass lady boss that you are.

Stay tuned next week as we continue this 3-part series on the 9 Questions You Need to Ask Yourself When Starting Your Own Eyelash Extension Business. If you’re just starting out or thinking about starting your own lash business, The Lashpreneur Group Coaching Program is the most affordable and jam-packed crash course into lash business ownership available. You’ll learn how to market your lash business thru social media, how to take high quality before and after photos of your work, when can you expect to start to make money, how to get the best retention for your clients, branding your eyelash extension business, member’s only resources, discounts on private lash coaching trainings and so much more! No experience necessary! All levels of business ownership will find value and lots of info to impact your lash business for the better. For more info and to register for the Group Coaching Program, 

Have a Good One,

Tara Walsh, The Lashpreneur