This was one of the scariest times in my lash career, moving from Alaska and being fully booked 6 days a week, to moving to big city Scottsdale and not knowing a single soul. I definitely had moments of self doubt, so much so that I started random side hustles when my business wasn’t growing as fast as I wanted it to.
One day I locked in. I said, my full time job is to get fully booked in this new state. I spent at least 8-10 hours every single day taking actionable steps to reach people and share my lash services with them. I had to get a little creative and very much out of my comfort zone.
Here are 5 ways I made it happen.
First, I followed at least 100+ women in my area on Instagram everyday, more if I could. I searched all the locations near my lash studio like malls, restaurants, gyms and apartments and went to their tagged photos. I would follow and reach out to all the women tagging that location in their photos, introducing myself and offering a one time free service. I was happy to work for free to prove the value of my work and give them a lash service they were obsessed with.
Next, people are going to start visiting your profile. So you want to make sure you have these two things in place: Be easy to find and book with, no hoops to jump through. Put yourself in the shoes of a person in your new area, wondering where to go to get their lashes done.
Who are they going to book with?
The person they find first.
The person they had a friend see and tell them about.
If you don't put yourself out there, the people will book with someone else who is easier to find.
Even if you are a beginner at your craft, putting yourself in front of every breathing human being in your radius- will make you more likely to be booked with than an experienced master with poor advertising.
I'm living proof! When I was a 1x certified class beginner artist I was taking 10 clients a day- 6 days a week. I maintained that for years... why? People were talking about my work and I was talking about it to anyone that would listen. Online and in person. I lived and breathed my business and made myself visible online. I had an active Google Business profile and when they looked up “lashes in ____ area” I made sure I came up.
I didn't require you to call or text or message me to book. I had online booking and a seamless booking and rebooking process. I would respond timely and politely and I would make sure everyone had a convenient booking experience. Never make people feel dumb for asking questions. I made sure all dms were replied too as soon as possible, with thoughtful answers.
I also made sure to be a walking billboard for lash extensions. This one might be controversial, but when you are a walking advertisement for the service you are offering, more people believe that you love the product you sell. NOW I UNDERSTAND, lashes are time consuming, you might be a busy mom, you might be allergic to adhesive, you might not like having lashes yourself, any reason is totally valid and you can skip right ahead.
But, if it is an option for you to get your lashes done, I highly recommend it. Showcasing to the world that you LOVE lashes, tells clients, look, I love this thing that I’m selling to you. I would go to the mall with beautiful full lash extensions and it would start so many conversations with sales associates, and if appropriate I would let them know that I do lashes just like the ones they’re complimenting, and I am located nearby and do one time free trial sets.
I made sure that I got something out of every client interaction, and some things are way more important than money. If I took a new client, I would either get some content or a portfolio picture out of it. I could potentially get a referral if I pitched my referral program. Or I could get a repeat client, best case scenario. Or even if none of those things happen, you can get valuable feedback to make your service even better for the next client. Each client is tremendously valuable to your business.
Lastly, I made sure to work on the details of my business in my downtime. OptimizIng my social media, making posts, reaching out to people, attending networking events, taking models or just spending time making my space nicer. All of these small efforts made a big difference when my books did get fuller.
I want to encourage you, if you’re new to an area, you don’t know anyone, you’re feeling like a small fish in a big pond, I’ve been there. It was hard on my self confidence as a business owner. But trust that with consistency, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. You’ve come so far and you’re capable of more than you could ever imagine. Here’s to new beginnings, I’m in your corner cheering you on.
Hugs and Kisses,
Maddi