Feasting and Famine

Whew!! Time sure flies fast when your not paying attention, after December it will be my ONE YEAR anniversary!! I can't believe it! Studies (I can't recall which study but it has been studied :) ) have shown, that most places like my studio, wont last six months and I've certainly heard that from a couple people who have said so. It did hurt my feelings when they said it, and I promptly deleted them from my life. The power of negativity can be devastating, but the good news is, you have a choice to shut it off.

I have to be honest with you, building a business is difficult. Being in this industry, is basically a feast or famine type deal. When its good it is good, when business is dry, it gets a bit worrisome or more. It takes atleast 5 years to build a good clientele, I try not to think about it, keep plugging away and it will come.

I still split my time between here at my studio, Wax and 40 Lashes and at the Smokey Point Spa. I've been contracted there for three years now and have built a nice little clientele. I love my job and I love my clients. Being there gives me hope, inspiration, and a reminder that I have grown, continue to grow and I am doing it. When I first started at the Smokey Point Spa, fresh out of beauty school, I had zero clients and my first paycheck came after 2 months working there, was only $75.

So how do I build a stronger clientele without spending a ton of money? That is the big question I am still trying to figure that out. I have tried promotions, specials, discounts, refferals, created a business Facebook page, business Instagram, Twitter (twittering is still confusing to me, lol), created a website, groupon, newsletters (I have found not many people read it, but I still write it...you know just incase someone does likes to read it :) I'm an optimist), and a blog (which I link to my newsletters).

Currently I am trying out this new scheduling system called My Time. What I like most is, it has e-gift cards and promotional coupons. They have even guaranteed that through them, my business will increase... Hmmm... I have till the end of this month to decide if it is true (the catch is, the guys at My Time say, it takes more than a month to see results... conundrum) or if I like the services they offer and after that I am commited to their one year contract. So SCARY... Why is it scary? Because they're so expensive! I understand the concept of "you gotta spend money to make money", well you know, money is kind of hard to come by these days.

Does this blog sound like a downer? I hope not, it is hard to convey my humor and light heartedness through words when you can't hear the inflection of my voice. I am in a happy place and I have a great support system in place. As my mom tells me, "keep plugging away, it will come <3

In the meantime, try out my new scheduling system: waxand40lashes.mytime.com and make an appointment!!

Happy Thanksgiving my Friends!!