How to set up a mobile beauty business

When I decided to retrain as a beauty therapist I had all sorts of glamorous expectations for my small business. Achieving distinctions in all my exams had me believing that I would have clients flocking to my door. However, the reality didn’t match the dream.

I wasn’t welcomedinto the industry by other therapists because I was going solo and I was nowhere near ready to deliver treatments. I felt very alone with no colleagues that I could get advice from. Ididn’t doubt in my skills, I just had no idea how to build a good solid client base. 

Devouring every piece of information I could find on building a mobile beauty business was my mission.I tried, tested and tweaked all kinds of strategies.

My top tips for starting a successful home-based or mobile salon from scratch are:

1. Get to know the industry

Subscribing to industry magazines such as Professional Beauty and attending trade shows are as valuable as having colleagues. There’s an abundance of useful information on products and services there, as well as industry experts on hand to give advice that you can use in your business. I spent every spare minute getting to know my craft, researching and trying out products.

2. Practise your skills and promote yourself

Ask friends and family to be guinea pigs for you in return for before-and-after pictures which you can use as great content to boost your mobile beauty services on social media. Be careful though, some like to take advantage of free or low-cost treatments, so only ask people you can trust. I have a little bank of trustworthy customers that I use to try out new things.

3. Be passionate 

Making other people feel good about themselves is the best part of the job. Talk to your ideal client base to find out what they want from a beauty experience – from types of treatments and pricing – and then use this information in your treatment and marketing materials to give them the service they desire.

4. Have a brand identity

In the sea of marketing advice out there, business cards have been the best promotional tool. Take them with you everywhere you go and make sure it has all your important information on it so clients know exactly how to book with you. It should include your email address, website and social media handles. Your branding should also be consistent throughout these different platforms. 

Amber Gregory is owner of home-based salon Beauty by Mrs G and is a PB Influencer, providing feedback via focus groups.