Anyone do nails from home?

milliemonster

I am thinking about training to do nails in my spare time to earn a bit of extra cash, I appreciate the outlay initially will probably be high but can anyone who does this recommend a course and give me some feedback on if it is worth doing?

a11waysindebt

I haven't done it myself but there is a Chinese shop doing nails by me and it is always busy.

All the best if you go ahead.

mandy_moo_1

i tried doing it from home after working in a salon, and the money just wasn't there. i couldn't charge as much as a salon, and i ended up only making about £15 profit per client, for 2 hours work, after deducting fuel to get to the client, and the cost of the chemicals needed. mind you i live in the north east, and you can only charge about £20-£25 per set of acrylics, but when i lived in northampton, the salons were charging £50-£60 a set, so it was a little disheartening to try and do it up here!

i really didn't think it was worth it.....oh, and one of the worst things was to get to someone's house, and they had nowhere for me to do their nails, and i'd end up crouched over a coffee table!

sorry if i've put a dampener on it,hopefully someone has been able to make a go of it, but IMO its ok if you just want to make a bit of extra money,not enough to live on....you're better off in a salon

if you ARE still interested in going on a course, they cost around £300-£400 for a 1 week intensive course, then its just a case of building your speed and ability up

hollywoodnails

I trained at college to do this it was a years course and covered manicure pedicure acrylic and gel nails . I loved it . the only problem is it takes a long time to perfect the art and get up to speed you have to put a lot of practice in to get it right . my advise would be to go on a course at a training centre or college dont do it from home because there is no support when it comes to stuff you might get stuck on .

i payed 500.00 for my college course and 200 for my kit . but if you earn under 15000 a year you should get your course and kit free.

if you are not working or claim any benifits try the job centre as they will fund it for you .

I dont see any reason you cant earn money off this al depends how many clients you have if you drive you can buy a fold down nail table for about 50.00 from the whole sales.
i would buy a training hand they are about 80.00 but are well worth . its basicley a hand on a clamp but all the fingers have joints so they move about and you clip nails onto the finger bed so you can practice then take the nail off afterwards,

if you need any more help all details pm me ill try an help as much as i can
hth
vicx

tracy1_2

i would suggest you look at www.salongeek.com
super website of nail professionals.
one day courses are to be avoided and the ongoing costs and training are a big outlay so certainly not for someone to earn a quick buck.
you will get far superior training if you go to one of the big companies(eg creative/ezflow/nsi) than at a college but it will cost you (no free training there)
good luck

milliemonster

Thanks for your replies, I have looked at my local colleges and they offer the VCTC courses (but I don't think they start while Sept!) I will have to pay as I work and earn over £15k but that's fine, I don't want this to be my main source of income I am more than happy for it to be a bit of extra to help clear my debts

jpbeautybabe

I to tried to do it from home but they was just not enough money in it.I think the problem being the chinese shops that have opened everywhere and also I don't think nail extensions are as big as they used to be.Au natural seems to be all the rage at the mo.Have a look at all the celeb's in mag/tv they all have the natural look.If i was you I would put my time,money and energy into something else.If I had my time again I would have gone down the hairdressing route rather than the beauty.Everyone has their hair done,beauty/nails are a luxury!

hollywoodnails

tracy1 wrote: »

i would suggest you look at www.salongeek.com
super website of nail professionals.
one day courses are to be avoided and the ongoing costs and training are a big outlay so certainly not for someone to earn a quick buck.
you will get far superior training if you go to one of the big companies(eg creative/ezflow/nsi) than at a college but it will cost you (no free training there)
good luck

i agree salon geek is great i got loads of help off them and they have loads of training pages to help as well .
they also have a hair an beauty part as well if that helps

chi-chi

I know of one nail artist who is being paid £50 an hour to do nails at community events/fun days organised by local housing associations etc. She did a short course and invested a few hundred on a equipment and materials but at £50/hr, she'll make the initial investement back in the first few jobs.

princesspoppypop

If nail extensions are not as popular, why not offer a manicure and polish service?
Salon system do some great starter kits, I trained in Beauty therapy and loved the nails bit the best, my Mum loves her nails done and my hubby loves a hand and arm massage.. awww!

Use your talent to earn some extra cash by spreading the word throughout family and friends and charging an introductory offer of say £10 for a 15 min manicure and hand and arm massage.

Could you contact local businesses and see if you can have a room and offer a quick manicure for staff for £5 a go. Put a list up on the door of the room so people can book a time slot. If you work four hours you could make around £80 minus tax, NI and stock ( polishes etc).
Remember you will need public liability insurance also so you are covered if anything goes wrong and also your qualification certificate and paperwork if anyone wants to see it.

Make some simple flyers up with a list of nail treatments offered and offer a gift voucher service - this is great for men who leave birthday gifts till last minute- you could offer a gift package - In a small silver gift bag pop in a nail voucher to the value of £x,a list of treatments, and a nail polish or coloured nail file ( wrap the contents in bright pink tissue) then add a tag printed with your business name - say Nails by Claire or Beautiful Nails or something along those lines. Sell these in local businesses( if they allow it) and sometimes you may actually make some money for doing not much if the recipient decides not to cash in the voucher

Some tips and ideas....

To solve the problem of a table to work on - and this may sound crazy but it works.... buy an ironing board with a pretty cover - I have one that is pink with white polka dots! and to go with this two foldable stools. It will fit in your car easily and is a sturdy surface to work on, whilst also being rather amusing...:D

When visiting clients make sure you have a few little bits with you for sale such as nail polishes and pretty nail files.;)

As I mentioned before, Salon System do some great manicure starter kits and also try The Beauty Book- a website and catalogue.

The start up costs can be quite a lot for this type of business- building your kit slowly is the best idea.

Invest in some good basic tools, Nail clippers, cuticle clippers, nail scissors, glass files.

For the nail soak make sure you have a pretty bowl to dip your clients hands into, when doing this a good idea is to sprinkle a few scented petals into the water, they don`t actually do anything but look very pretty.

Quality thick white cotton towels are also a good investment- you could even get these embroided with your business name.

Hope this helps.

Poppy x

Christie22

This post is very interesting!
Has anyone thought about doing a waxing course before? have people made much profit from doing this?

The reason I ask is ive seen a few beautians advertise £30-£40 for a leg waxing! There must be quite a bit of profit in this surely!?