When I moved to Chicago with no clientele, I arrived on a Saturday with all my worldly possessions stuffed into my car. I unpacked, then rested on Sunday. On Monday I hit the streets looking for a job & by that night I had 2 of them!
I worked part time in the mornings at one salon, then had an maybe hour or so lunch break with time to get to my 2nd job in the afternoon that I worked until the evening hours. They were only a few blocks apart, which would've translated into maybe 1+ mile, but I never had clients that would bounce back & forth to either salon. Each salon had its' own distinct flair that catered to a different clientele, so maybe that's something you can investigate. Possibly working in a large spa instead of a salon like the one you're in now might be a solution? I worked both those salons for over a year until I built up a larger clientele at the evening salon & was able to go full time there. You may find that this happens to you at your new place. Or once you cut your hours down to 3 days, your existing clients may perceive a greater demand for you & you'll find yourself getting busier there. You also are under no obligation to reveal to either set of clients where you spend your time on the days you're not working in each salon. If they ask, you can say something like "Oh, I keep busy" & then change the subject. A few years ago I had a wave of disappearing clients….moving away, retiring, lost jobs, couldn't afford nails, etc. & I immediately started hustling for new ones. I talked to each of my clients as I was doing their nails, humbled myself by revealing the situation was looking dire & asked them to refer their friends, family or co-workers to me. Sometimes all it takes is asking. They were surprised because they always thought I was so busy that I'd turn away new clients, so none of them were talking me up! Things turned around & now I'm as busy as I want to be. But I made sure they know that I never turn away new clients. Sometimes they may have to be on a waiting list, but I never will get to the point where I brag that "I'm not taking new clients". I believe that it eventually leads to a declining clientele, as anyone who's been in business for over 2 decades like us knows….clients die, change jobs, move away, lose jobs, cannot afford nails & give up their nails for a myriad of other reasons. If you're not taking new clients, then your client base gradually shrinks, which means your income shrinks, too. You always need the lifeblood of new clients to keep things moving forward. Hope this helps a little & keep us posted on how things turn out! Sincerely, Jill Wright Event Coordinator & Nail Tech www.nailtechevent.com On Friday, November 8, 2013 4:00:07 PM UTC-6, Katherine Fahrig wrote: > > Hey Techies, > > I am heavy hearted. I've been doing nails for 27 years and I still love > it. I rent booth space in a small salon, off the beaten path. We do not get > many walk ins so, as my clientele has aged or moved away I am not gaining > enough clients to stay busy. I've tried referral programs, online booking, > Facebook, etc.. I'm thinking that the only thing I haven't tried is > "location". I prefer the work environment at the no drama little salon > where I currently booth rent, but, I'm not building my business here. I'm > thinking that I should cut my hours to 3 days a week and work at a busier > salon 2 days a week. > How would I accomplish this and is it a good idea? Is anyone else working > at 2 salons at the same time? How does that work? Should I apply to work at > a salon more than 5 miles away from my current salon to avoid any concerns > that the salon owner might have about steeling clients away from the salon? > I live 14 miles away from the booth rent salon, I could apply to salons in > my neighborhood. I have several clients who live within 5 miles of my home. > They drive the 14 miles to come to me. I would not want them to start > coming to me at the new salon where I will be paid commission or salary. I > make more money off of them if they come to my booth rent salon. How would > I deal with that situation? Wouldn't the salon want me to bring new clients > to their salon or would they hire me without bring any clients with me? > I've booth rented for 26 years, I've interviewed salon owners not the other > way around. I don't know how to do this. > Thoughts? Opinions? > > Katherine > Missouri > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "NailTech" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nailtech. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
