Waxing Party help

10kari19

My sister-in-law is a free-lance esthetician and I am trying to help her with marketing her business. We were thinking of hosting like a waxing/facial party for some friends to see if maybe she can start building a clientele. In order to cover her supply costs we need to charge about $10-15/pp depending on whether she does facials or waxing on guests. What should we do to cover these costs? Maybe charge a flat fee or charge per service and hope people do enough to cover her costs? Also while the girls are waiting for their turn should we have other station type thing set up where people could like do their own nails or maybe like get a card game going (our group of friends really like playing cards/dominos, etc). Of course there is going to be finger foods and cocktails but I just don't want anyone to get bored while waiting. Any ideas for making this go smoothly?

wweaver0

Maybe I'm weird, but I think it's kind of tacky to charge people to come to a party.  I understand she wants to cover her supply costs, but, honestly, I'd be really turned off by having to basically pay for a service at a party. 

I think it would help her "building a clientele" more to just do it for free to show how good she is--if I like her, I'll go to her salon and pay her there.  For her, it would be a small investment now for a good return later.

Just my two cents.

GatorWedsNole

wweaver0:

I think it would help her "building a clientele" more to just do it for free to show how good she is--if I like her, I'll go to her salon and pay her there.  For her, it would be a small investment now for a good return later.

Just my two cents.

This is what I was thinking.  For example, people who are opening a catering biz or baking biz will sometimes have events where they give out free food to entice people. 

If, for example, this was a bridal shower / bachelorette type event and all the BMs got together and paid for services, that's one way that people might feel comfortable paying.  But that's not what this is.

Could it be that you cover the costs as a "gift" to all your friends?  This would probably make more sense around the holidays though.

10kari19

Thanks for the opinions; I totally get what you guys are saying! I guess maybe if we didn't charge anything but the guests could maybe get an cheaper price if they purchased x amount of brow waxes or something? I totally think that you have to give a little to get anywhere with a business. That is my philosophy but I am trying to help her find a middle ground since she is just starting out. Would it be tacky if there was no charge but maybe put out a tip jar type thing? Thanks again for the ideas.

vjcjenn1

Is there something she could do for free for all the guests, maybe some thing teaching wise like how to give yourself a quick 5 minute facial or basic skin care...and kind of make that a feature of the party, followed by drinks and snacks...and then say that she'll be available to do waxings or facials for those that wish. Kind of like Mary kay...we all get a free make over and then if we want to buy something we can. Perhaps have them mention as they RSVP if they are interested and you can talk about cost then

Maybride2

Yes, putting out a tip jar would be tacky.  And it's awkward - if I didn't pay for the service, how am I supposed to know what to tip?  What's 20% of nothing?

I already have a stylist.  I'm not going to pay someone else to do it when I already pay someone to do it. 

I think that the idea of a "waxing party" is a bit odd to begin with (I get my brows done often and have never considered it a bonding, party-type experience).  But I get why you're doing it..........you sister just needs to realize that when starting a new business like this and trying to build a client base, you need to give people a real convincing reason to give your service a try.  And for most people, that means offer it for free.

lsgarver

Honestly, it would creep me out a bit to get my brows done in someone's home by my friend's sister who is just starting out.  Any other type of waxing would be even worse.

I get this idea--my friend started a make-up business and did a party like this only she provided everything for free as long as she could take photos for her portfolio.  I think that's the extent of what you could ask a guest for.

Maybe you could help your sister in some other way.  Buy her some business cards and distribute them to your friends.  Maybe give them 20% off their first treatment or something.  Having a party to get people to pay your sister is just a bad idea.

SBS0628

I think you could throw a cocktail party (free) and let your sister show off her portfolio/give out coupons/meet people. Offering services at the party would be a bit awkward, but I think you could still have an event to promote her.

10kari19

Thanks for all the ideas. I think what we have settled on is just getting some friends together and serving wine and cheese and she is going to help us all make either a face mask or body scrub from scratch (most of our friends are into this sort of diy and all natural stuff). She is going to use it as a way to just market the business so she will have a menu of services she offers there, and a her make-up portfolio etc... She isn't a novice or anything its just that she is new to trying to run her own business. She also sells make-up and skin care products so she will have those available for demonstration and purchase. While what she wants to focus on in the long run is building her waxing/make-up services we will use the evening just to get her name out there so people will know what she has to offer.

lsgarver

That is the kind of party I'd be happy to attend!