How to Be a Mobile Beauty Therapist

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A mobile beauty therapist, also known as beautician, provides beauty treatments such as facials, eyelash extensions, waxing, massaged and other non-surgical beauty procedures. Mobile beauty therapists usually provide their services at their clients’ homes or rent rooms in beauty salons.

If you’re a beauty therapist thinking of setting a mobile beauty business, this is what you need to know. 

Qualifications and skills needed

When it comes to the qualifications and skills needed to start your business as a mobile beauty therapist, there is no legal requirement to hold a specific qualification. However, some local authorities may require you to hold a massage and special treatment licence. Many local authorities charge a fee for granting this licence. The price is usually around £170 but it varies according to the local authority and can be as high as £2,500 for a special treatments premises licence in the City of Westminster, London. 

Depending on the circumstances, you may need other licences. To find out more, check here.

While you might not need a specific qualification, to attract customers you need to show your competence and in-depth knowledge of the beauty industry. This means you must be professionally trained. You should also consider investing in regular training to improve your skills, stay up to date with current trends and new techniques used in the industry. You can also attend events and read journals and industry resources to expand your knowledge.

Running a business is also very different from being employed. It comes with increased responsibilities and to be successful, you need some general business and enterprise skills such as:

Administration and time management

Once you start your own business, you don’t only provide beauty treatments, you also need to take and manage appointments. You can choose whether you want people to ring you or use online appointment booking apps. Depending on that, you might need to improve your communication skills, so you sound professional when speaking on the phone. Or you might need to spend some time learning how to use new software, so you don’t miss any appointments.

Time management is also very important as you need to make sure you don’t accept more bookings than you can physically handle. You need to create a strict schedule that would allow you to perform your best as well as have breaks in between appointments to tidy up, sanitise your tools. Also, make sure you have enough time get to another place if you provide services at your clients’ homes.

Bookkeeping

Another important skill to have is bookkeeping. As a mobile beauty therapist, you spend money on equipment and travelling to your client’s homes. If you’re renting a chair at a salon, you also need to pay rent. On top of that, you also receive payments. You need to make sure that you record all the costs and income as well as keep the receipts. 

Marketing

No matter how good you are at what you do, you need to make sure people can find you. Think about why people should choose you instead of any other beautician. Do you use some new techniques or treatments that no one else in the area offers? Do you have years of experience? Shout about those things that make you different!

If you need help with gaining any of the business skills, our business advisors are always here to help you! You can contact us here.

Legal issues

Setting up and running a mobile beauty business also comes with trading, commercial and legal issues:

Providing electrolysis or body piercing services

If you are planning to provide electrolysis or body piercing services, you will need to apply for a specific licence. In most cases, both a beauty therapist and premises at which treatment is provided must be licenced by the local authority. 

When applying for this licence, you must be able to prove that you can provide those services safely and prevent the spread of any diseases.

Music licensing

If you want to play some background musing during your treatments at clients’ homes, you must hole TheMusicLicence from PPL PRS Ltd. If you rent a room in a salon, you must make sure that the owner of the salon also holds the licence. You can find more information here.

Regulation of cosmetic products

As a beauty therapist, you’re responsible for choosing the cosmetic products you use. All of those products must comply with the Cosmetic Products Enforcement Regulations 2013. You must make sure that the products you use are safe for your clients’ health, don’t contain specified ingredients and haven’t been tested on animals. For more information about the regulations, read here.

Medical questionnaires

To avoid any health risks, it’s best if you ask your clients to fill in medical questionnaires before providing any treatments. This will provide you with important details such as existing conditions or recent illnesses, medications or allergies that your client has and will help you decide whether the treatment can be carried out safely. 

Privacy and data protection

Under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Protection Regulation (GDPR), any personal information that you collect about your clients must be stored securely and used only for the purpose it was collected. You also need to have a data protection policy and notice easily accessible for your clients (for example on your website) that explains how you collect, hold, manage and use the personal data of your clients.

Pricing 

The prices charged depend on many different factors. Different treatments, products used as well as technician’s experience and local competition influence the price. Some beauty therapists offer discounts and loyalty schemes to reward their regular customers. However, it’s important to remember that even if you offer some type of discount, the final price still needs to cover all the costs as well as make a profit. 

How to promote your business?

Use social media

People love seeing examples of beauticians’ work before deciding whether they want to use their services. Using the right social media platforms and sharing good quality content can make your business very successful. To increase engagement, consider sharing different types of content. While pictures or videos of your work can attract new customers, sharing content such as tips and advice on how to take care of your skin at home between facials or how to make the tan last longer, shows your knowledge, builds trust and make your existing customers feel better about using your services. 

Get reviews

Reviews are a great way to show your potential customers that your business is credible as you present them with the thoughts of those who already tried it. So make sure your customers write those reviews! Encourage your happy customers to write a review or share a picture on their social media. If you’re just starting and don’t have many customers yet, you can read the article here to find out how you can get more reviews! 

Register with an online appointment booking services

These days, people prefer booking their appointments online. It lets them do it at any time of the day and see the availability straight away. Also, if you register with platforms such as Treatwell, it increases your chances of attracting new clients. If someone goes on the app to book an appointment, they might discover your salon. They can also see your prices, availability, read reviews and book appointments without even contacting you! 

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