Diversifying Your Income as a Beauty Professional

Many beauty businesses will start as solely as a service-based business. You are offering your time and expertise to help clients look and feel great. A large chunk of income will come from your services, however there are many opportunities for diversifying and having multiple sources of income. This means that you have money coming in from various areas of your business.

The most obvious benefit of expanding your business and having multiple sources of income is that you will make more money. This will help to lessen the risks during slower months and allow you to become less reliant on a single source of income. If your beauty business has to close for any reason, you have other sources of income to fall back on. This helps to ensure your business is financially stable at all times.

When you start finding new opportunities to diversify your income, you will begin to set yourself up for recurring, passive income. This is income that requires little to no effort to earn and maintain. This means that you can make more money from other sources without taking time away from servicing your clients.

Selling Retail Products

This is the most common way for beauty professionals to diversify their income. Selling products, even if it’s not your own brand, can help you make more money. You will be purchasing the products at wholesale prices and selling them at the suggested retail price or more. For example, the wholesale price on a bottle of shampoo could be $15. If you were to sell it at the suggested retail price of $30, you’re earning $15.

These products go hand-in-hand to improve and enhance the service. Many hair salons sell a variety of retail products to help clients maintain the condition of their hair between appointments. If you educate your clients about the importance of aftercare and maintenance, you can easily upsell with retail products. These products can also be used during the service itself to visibly show clients the difference they can make.

Any beauty professional can find opportunities to sell retail products. If you’re a lash artist, you can sell lash serums to boost the health of your client’s natural lashes after a removal. If you have clients who regularly get lash extensions, you can sell lash brushes and shampoo to help clients improve the lash retention and prevent infections. For lash educators, you can look into selling your own lash trays and tools. You can then promote and showcase these products to your students. If they enjoy your products, they will continue to purchase them–they may even refer your products to their own network of lash artists.

Look at the everyday products you use to determine what retail products you should carry. Only sell products that you would use on yourself and your clients. These should be products that you believe in and can truly recommend to others.

Take-Home Kits

If you sell retail products, you can start creating take-home kits for clients to purchase. Take a few of your favorite products and create a kit for clients to do at home. These are great as self-care treatments or for gifts, such as Mother’s Day. You can promote your take-home kits on your Instagram page with options for clients to pick them up or have them delivered. They are great if clients want an enjoyable pick-me-up at home. The take-home kits allow clients to maintain their looks between treatments and prolong results.

Owner of Lashes and Lipsticks Beauty Bar, Anna, started offering take-home DIY wax kits for her clients while her business is closed. It includes everything clients need to wax small body parts, like the upper lip, chin, sideburns, and underarms, along with step-by-step instructions. She has even created an IGTV video to show clients how to safely use the wax kit at home.

The DIY wax kit allows Anna to make an income even while her business is closed while allowing her to stay connected with her clientele. Since clients will need to wait until she reopens, she is offering a solution to help her clients hold up until their next appointment. This kit is also great for anyone who would prefer an at-home waxing experience with professionally recommended products and guidance.

Make it Your Own

Many beauty professionals are starting to get creative by recreating ordinary products to make it their own. If a client can’t make it to your beauty business or would like another option, you can create the solution for them. This requires you to purchase a standard product to turn into your own.

For example, lash artists can take regular lash strips and add additional lashes to them, similar to how they service clients. These new and recreated lash strips look like a full set of eyelash extensions. They are perfect for clients who prefer something more temporary because they need a break from getting lash extensions or they can’t make it to the salon.

Think about your services and how you can find ways to create an easy, temporary option for clients who want it. Here is an example by Nail Technician, Briana. She created a variety of custom stick-on nails for clients to purchase while her business is closed.

Briana’s stick-on nails are perfect for anyone who doesn’t have the time or patience to go to the salon, can’t wear long or artificial nails for work, or don’t like the commitment of wearing artificial nails. They can either last a few hours with nail tabs or up to two weeks with a stronger adhesive, making it a great temporary option for anyone who wants beautiful nails. By applying her skills and expertise in nails to regular nail forms, she transformed an existing product and made it her own.

Become an Educator

Becoming an educator is a great way to advance your career. If you’re ready for a challenge and you want to make a difference in the beauty industry, then you might be fit to be an educator. By offering courses, you will be running as both a business-to-consumer and business-to-business model. You will be expanding your clientele beyond those looking to get services done. It will now cover those looking to gain training and start businesses of their own.

You can offer in-person training, online, or a combination of both. In-person training allows you to get hands-on with your students to ensure they develop the proper technique. It gives you a chance to connect with your students and offer additional support. This is especially important when working with new artists that need guidance branching into a new career.

Online training courses are starting to become very popular. They are a great option for experienced artists looking to freshen up or sharpen their skills. Offering online training courses will allow you to earn passive income and reach a larger network. You will only need to spend the time to create the curriculum, materials, and film all the videos. Once you make your online courses available for enrollment, students can register and learn at their own pace. This allows you to earn money without having to take time away from servicing clients and your in-person training.

Beauty Business Consulting

In addition to your training courses, you can offer beauty business consulting services. Use your own expertise and personal success to help other beauty professionals that need a bit of help. You can help other beauty businesses with their business strategy and structure, branding, and marketing. Start by offering consultations and see how you can help other beauty businesses grow. However, be aware that this may take time away from servicing your clients so it’s important to know what direction you would like to take with your business.

Diversifying and having multiple income streams will grow your business and make more money. Introducing retail services and creating take-home kits are two of the easiest ways to make an additional income. If you’re looking for more of a challenge, you can expand your business to offer training courses and consulting.