What to Know Before Becoming a Nail Technician
By Finlea Watson, Owner and Educator of Sunday Nails & Beauty
I’ve been a nail technician for over five years, and every day I still learn new things. It’s an exciting and ever-changing industry that gives you endless room to grow and innovate both your skills and your business. But there are some fundamentals that I think everyone entering the industry should know.
Here’s my wisdom for anyone thinking about starting a career in the nail industry.
To start, let’s get the important things out of the way: what makes nail design a great career and how much money can you make?
Fun Fact:
Leondard Lauder, heir of Estée Lauder cosmetics actually coined the term ‘The Nail Polish Effect’ during the 2008 Financial Crisis to describe how consumers embraced affordable luxuries during difficult economic times. Even when markets go bust, feeling a sense of luxury is key to consumer happiness.
What Makes Nail Design a great Career?
Be your own boss, take your skills anywhere, set your own schedule, build your own business, and truly define your own career. Nail design is extremely flexible. You can work in a salon, start your own salon, or choose to work from home. You can work five days a week, evenings after work, or just on the weekends. You can offer gel nails in your home studio, craft custom acrylics in a premium downtown salon, or make incredible press-on sets to sell on Etsy in your spare time. There are more ways that you can monetize your skills than any other industry.
And it should go without saying that the industry is rewarding to work within. You’re the highlight of your clients’ day, you bring a luxury to peoples’ lives, and you get to constantly expand and push your creative skills.
Between the freedom to create the work-life balance of your choice anywhere in the world and create a meaningful impact in your client’s lives, nail design is a rich, exciting industry that offers fun and creative challenges.
The Big Question
$
The Big Question $
How Much Money Does a Nail Tech Make?
Simply put, as much as they want.
Here’s how I tell my students to break down their anticipated income. At an advanced skill level, which is achievable in only 6-12 months depending on practice, a tech should budget roughly $100 per client including tips. Services average to be about an hour each, with some being 30 minutes and some being 90 minutes.
Nobody can operate at 100% efficiency, so on average you should expect 4-5 clients per day (which will take you 6-7 hours, depending on the services.
Now let’s do some math.
Monthly Income
The Minimum
If you, at a minimum, take on only one day of clients per week (like on your day off of full-time work), you can expect another $2000 of income per month.
The Possibilities
If you make it your full-time career and take 4 clients per day 5 days per week (only 5-6 hours of work!) being a nail technician is officially a six-figure job.
So what’s the verdict? Whether you do it casually or full-time, being a nail tech has unlimited possibilities for income. I started casually and worked my way up to owning my own salon and training the next generation of great nail techs. And you can too. Or you can just take on some clients on the side and enjoy a healthy boost to your income!
Earn
While you Learn!
While learning and training at the Sunday Nails and Beauty Academy you will also have the opportunity to start taking clients and earning money!
We believe that the best lessons are learned hands-on, and our special Earn While you Learn feature means you can be paying off your tuition while developing your portfolio of clientele!
If you use your six weeks of shop time and bring in two to four clients per week, you will have paid off your tuition before graduating!
What Else Should I Know Before I Begin?
Here are some facts you may not have considered.
Prepare to be a therapist
Many clients who visit will take their appointment as an opportunity to spill the tea on what’s happening in their life. I recommend setting boundaries early, or at least preparing to be a thoughtful listener for much of you day. And while I’ve enjoyed a lot of the gossip clients have brought to me, there have been times when topics extended beyond my level of comfort. I’m a nail tech, not a life coach.
Find a Masseuse
After a long day of nails, you’ll be tired from bending over to handle the intricate details of nail art. Make sure you have a masseuse on-call for semi-occasional appointments. Also be sure to drink lots of water and get up and walk around! No job comes without some labour, and while nail technicians have relatively light work there are still ways you can complicate your physical wellbeing!
Start Today
Your skills will develop. Your branding will change. You’re going to learn so much so fast—but you can’t begin learning without making the commitment to start today. Don’t spend weeks making your logo or debut post, just start offering sets and building your portfolio. Start simple and grow from there. It takes time to master and you’re going to learn and grow so much. Get the hardest part out of the way and just start! Both my personal brand and Sunday Nails and Beauty were huge leaps of faith for me. But I trusted my drive and passion and gave it my all! Take life into your own hands and start your new career. You won’t regret it.