Jasmine Birtles
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Make money by starting a threading business
Reading Time: 6 minutesEyebrow threading has become a staple treatment for hair removal in the UK. With the popularity of threading growing, there has never been a better time to start your own business. See how you can go about starting a threading business.
- What is threading?
- Getting started
- Courses
- How much money can I make?
- How much should I charge?
- Don’t stop at eyebrows
- Find a job in beauty
What is threading?
Threading is a method of hair removal that uses string in fast motions to remove single strands of unwanted hair in order to create a defined eyebrow shape.
In Asia eyebrow threading is considered to be an ancient art. Many people believe threading can create a more defined eyebrow shape compared to waxing and is less likely to cause irritation. It’s one of the most popular methods of eyebrow shaping all over the world and can be a great way to start a small business and start making some money.
Starting a threading business
The first step toward starting a threading business is to get some training. Having a professional certificate will make your clients trust you and, of course, it’s always good to be as skilled as possible!
Courses can cost as little at £95 once-off, which is not a lot for a skill that could change your future for the better. Once you’ve completed a course you can set up shop in the comfort of your own home, which will mean you will have low overheads.
You can also offer a mobile home service which means you will travel to your clients’ requested location – this can take up more of your time but it also means you can charge more. Also, you can suggest that people bring friends round so that you can do everyone in one go and charge them all less.
Spreading the word
To get more clients you can try posting leaflets around your local area or sticking them up in shop windows, community centre libraries and supermarket notice boards. This type of business model will benefit most from word of mouth so if your clients think you’re friendly, cheap and reliable your appointment book will start filling up.
Another good way to maximise on your clients spreading the word about your good work is to have an active social media presence.
Start a Facebook page, where you can share before-and-after photos, advertise specials and build a community through client comments and reviews.
Instagram and Twitter are optional extras, but you also don’t want to burden yourself with the maintenance of too many platforms. So, start with the one that makes most sense for you and your clientele – in most cases this would be Facebook.
Courses
There are many threading courses all around the UK, most of which you can complete in a single day. Here are some of the most popular below…
- The British Beauty Academy – This one day intensive course costs £95 and will teach you all the basics of threading from how to create the perfectly shaped eyebrow to health and safety and aftercare. You’ll also get a free threading kit and step-by-step training manual. Visit the British Beauty Academy website for more details.
- Gateway Workshops – This one day accredited diploma course costs £165 and is open to complete beginners or existing therapists. What’s great about this course is that if you feel one day is not enough training you will be able to repeat the course again free of charge. Visit the Gateway Workshops website for more details.
- East London Beauty Academy – This one day course costs £99 and is accredited by the Guild for Insurance and Public Liability. This course will introduce students to different threading techniques that may be used, including neck, mouth and hand. Visit the East London Beauty Academy website for more details.
- UK Beauty Schools – This one day diploma course costs £99 and offers students the opportunity to start learning the theory behind threading online straight after paying to help them prepare for class. Accredited by the beauty guild, this certificate is insurable and enables you to start working on the general public and charging for it right away. Visit the UK Beauty Schools website for more information.
- Sally Beauty – This popular online beauty retailer offers various salon services training, including threading. The one day course costs £132 and is suitable to absolute beginners. You don’t require any additional equipment and will be working on other students in class. Visit the Sally website for more details.
How much money can I make?
With all highly sought-after skills there is good potential for earning decent money, but it depends on how many jobs you do, how much you charge and whether you find a way to ‘scale’ the business.
The going rate for home eyebrow threading is between £7 and £15 for a 15 minute session.
It would be a good idea to charge a bit less as a sort of ‘opening special’. Just do make sure that your overheads (travel, equipment, labour) are covered.
Don’t expect to make £1000’s in the first month after starting a threading business, but if you are dedicated and good at networking your client base will start to grow (and soon your bank account will follow).
get some experience
With something cosmetic like threading, it’s important that you get enough practice to feel 100% at ease with all sorts of brows.
A good way to do this is to apply for a job as a beauty therapist at a brow bar to start off with – this way you have other professionals to learn from and a steady income.
During this time, you can even focus on starting a threading business of your own on the side, offering your services to friends and family members at a special price.
Once you feel comfortable enough, you can start transitioning away from your beauty bar job into your own threading business. Gaining a couple of additional beauty therapy skills – manicures, pedicures and the like – could also give your business an extra boost.
If you become very popular you could find that you are starting to turn down work. At that point you could scale your business by bringing in other threaders who do some of your jobs and pay you a commission for it. You could even set up your own training courses and then send your trainees out to work for you.
How much should I charge?
This mainly depends on your location.
- Many towns around the UK are packed with salons charging as little as £2 so putting your prices up high will not benefit you.
- However in Central London salons can charge as much as £17 or even higher.
- When you first start a threading business, we advise you charge around £3-£4 and increase your rates as your business picks up.
Starting a threading business of your own from home will allow you to charge more for your services as you will have flexible working hours unlike salons which have limited opening times. You could also offer your services in the evenings or at the weekend. This will appeal to those who can’t visit the salon during the week.
You don’t have to stop at eyebrows…
Threading is an effective hair removing treatment which means people want it done all over their bodies – just like waxing or shaving.
Once you’ve mastered the art of eyebrow threading you could offer threading services for the upper lip, legs, arms and even the whole face.
While making money by starting a threading business may take a bit of effort at first, being your own boss – and possibly even training others – will certainly be rewarding in the long run.
Good luck!
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Find a job in beauty
Interesting article….
Great ideas if you’re skilled at threading.