Client Acquisition for Estheticians

This is the question I have been asked most frequently over the years when I am speaking at a trade show. It may appear to be the obvious question for Estheticians trying to build their esthetics business, but it is not the question that will lead an Esthetician to financial success.

To answer the "How do I acquire new clients?" question, here's a simple answer: Give your services away for free. You know people will show up  And they will likely keep coming back for more free stuff. But is that what you really want? (No, of course not!)  Here's the better question: How do I create, grow and maintain a financially successful esthetics business? 

Those of you who follow me on Happy Esthetician (Facebook) saw my recent post where I asked this question of licensed Estheticians:

In your Esthetician Licensing program, how much (if any) BUSINESS specific education did you receive? For example, income taxes, sales/use tax, bookkeeping, other licenses you may need (city, county), insurance, choosing a space, renting/leasing, legal contracts, overhead costs, marketing, customer service (beyond esthetics services), scheduling software, receiving payments, payroll, independent contractor laws, etc.)

The answers were mixed, but the majority leaned toward not much esthetics-specific business education was included in the curriculum. And that's because the job of an Esthetician licensing program is specifically to prepare you to pass your state licensing exam (preferably the first time you take it). It is not the school's responsibility to teach you how to be a self-employed Esthetician. So we really can't blame the schools. But I worry for those Estheticians who want to go out on their own, or are forced to go out on their own due to a lack of employment opportunities. 

This Facebook discussion bothered me so much, and it kept looping through my brain because I remember those days. So a couple months later, I decided to update and relaunch my online course The Heart of Esthetics: Creating Loyal Clients & Achieving Financial Success because I know it will help. So if you do not feel prepared for a solo career, I urge you to check out this online course (or my book by the same name). 

To those of you who are struggling or frustrated, I want to say this: You put a lot of time, money and effort into earning your Esthetician license, so please don't give up. It's a great career, and financial success is not out of reach, you are just not currently pointed in the right direction. However, the help you need is not on social media, and you will waste a lot of precious time there, only to end up being misdirected by those whose advice is not worth taking. Remember, Estheticians who really are financially successful will NOT be bragging about it on social media.

To help you with that, my book, The Heart of Esthetics, goes into depth about how important it is to qualify your advisors. This means do very careful research on anyone and anything that will impact your business. At this point in your career, you want to be relying only on those who have a proven track record in the esthetics business.   

For self-employed Estheticians, Solo Estheticians, Esthetics business owners, keep an eye on my Happy Esthetician page, I will be posting a discount code for this course in the next day or two.