This is a long one, but I think worth the read. Especially if you’re a newer artist with less than a year in the industry.
Hey New Artists!
Is this your first year for holiday lashing?
Veteran Artists,
have you already experienced that hectic holiday schedule that doesn’t allow for breaks or holiday shopping for your family?
It’s that time of year to start planning for the craziness that is The Holiday Season!
Have you thought about running a Black Friday special or stocking stuffer retail promotion?
It’s time to start making your lists and checking them twice so you can get that extra product ordered well ahead of time! Especially with the delays we’ve all been experiencing over the last year, due to Covid.
If you want to carry new items or special items for holiday retail, NOW is the time to figure out what would sell. So you can order before stock gets low. If it’s retail For Christmas, you need to have it on hand before your clients splurge on Black Friday deals elsewhere.
Waiting for Black Friday deals yourself, you’re not just missing sales opportunities. You may be SOL on getting the product at all!
Have you scheduled your own time off for holiday fun?
Get it on your schedule NOW! If you book online, you want those dates blocked off well before the window opens for holiday scheduling. If you book everything yourself, black those dates right out! Before you start feeling guilty about wanting time with your family and friends. You deserve your holidays, too!!!
Do you include lunch breaks in your schedule? Holiday hours can be fully booked without a chance for a break. If you don’t make sure it’s on your books, you might be screwed. Please block out a little time for yourself to eat and recharge before clients start booking back to back.
Have you started prompting regular clients to prebook?
My reminders start on Sept 1st. I prompt to book out for specialty lashes for Halloween, holiday party prep and vacations. I try to make sure all of my regulars have their appointments booked through the end of the year by Sept 30th. There’s nothing more stressful than trying to squeeze in your favorite regular when everybody and their sister is pushing to get in before Their special event. Plus, you’re trying to get packed to go to Grandma’s house.
It’s a courtesy to start letting people know what dates you will not be available, as early as possible. If I’m away the 23-28th of December and also closed Jan 1st, they need to be able to schedule accordingly for their New Year’s Eve flutter.
The start of the season is only a month and a half away!
Halloween is probably my favourite holiday! Who doesn’t like playing dress up and candy?!
It’s also a great time to promo for colored lash add-ons! Lashes to match a costume for that perfect glamorous touch or spooky stare are in demand. Being able to order special colors before they’re needed and book additional time for specialty services early is helpful to your stress level, too!
Do you also do makeup? Package deals are great for Halloween and holiday parties. A sugar skull with matching lashes is a great combo for artists to showcase additional skills!
Hit up your Halloween pop-up store as soon as they open. Start searching Amazon for supplies. Especially if you do special effects work. Those items start going fast and selling out around mid-Sept!
A corporate or charity black tie event can be a beauty makeup artist’s dream, too! Also, a great networking source. You might get the whole company begging for your services before the big day!
Even if you don’t do makeup or other services yourself, you have options. Partner with a local MUA or hair stylist to create a package for your lashes and their services. Cross promote and bring more business through both of your doors. New lashes and an up-do to go with that snazzy new dress, for example!
Holiday Cheer, Gifts & Packages
Are you planning goodie bags or gifts for your regular clients, for Christmas? 
Start your research early to order branded product or special items. Gift bags and decorations need to be ordered, too. If they’re on hand to put everything together in an afternoon, you aren’t scrambling with last minute shopping. Dedicate that saved time to wrapping presents for your loved ones.
January and February are traditionally the slowest months of the year for the beauty industry. Package deals and Gift Certificates sold on Black Friday and throughout the holiday season can help keep those months busy!
If you’re going to offer Gift Certifcates or future promos make sure you’re putting start and end dates on those offers. Remember that a purchased GC can have an end date on the service value, but you will have to honor the cash value of the purchase for a certain length of time. Please check your local laws for requirements on use and refunds of GCs.
Remember that people will be excited to book for those deals right away! You’ll want your new year schedule to have enough availability to get them in sooner, rather than later. In other words, plan your own vacation timing to be able to take advantage of the promos you sold!
Also, remember that GC or pkg sales $ should go into a separate account until they’re used or expired. It’s not “income” until the service is actually provided, in many states and countries. Check your local laws and consult your accountant. Whether you need a separate Trust account or if a savings account would be adequate for future service sales is important to know. Again, refunds and income categorization are different on these types of purchases, so know what you need to know before selling them.
Get Those Promotions Ready Early!
You don’t have to be a marketing wiz to design a great ad, these days.
Canva is a great resource for themed backgrounds and fun concepts to create your advertisements. You can even order posters and banners for your walls or windows through Canva these days. Order early to get things in time.
Take full advantage of the ability to schedule posts in advance. You can have them set to go and you’re not stressing about whether an ad went live in the middle of a packed lashing day in November.
A Final Point about Policies
Holidays come with special challenges. From family drama to running out of product, we have all the concerns of a retail store, the service industry and a therapist to contend with.
One of the biggest issues is last minute cancellations and reschedules. Everyone is busy. Everyone has unexpected things come up. Everyone is on a tighter schedule than usual, during the holidays. Be ready!
As we all know, a busy day doesn’t include time for rearranging schedules. A mid-day cancellation can throw off our whole mind-set if we let it. One solution is to have a Holiday Booking Policy in place as early as possible.
Mine is pretty simple. I have a wait list. If someone cancels, they are not guaranteed a new spot. Period. They will be added to the bottom of my wait list. The wait list is first come, first served and I prioritize by when someone was added. IF no one above them wants an available spot, they’ll be called. BUT, I don’t play favourites. I do include their preferred times and days when I put them on my list, to call those who may be available first. Some clients may be on the list but never available for an 11am slot, for example.
It may sound harsh, but they had their spot and chose to give it up. The ones already on my wait list have been trying to get in, sometimes for months. While I try to prioritize my regular clients most of the year, during the holidays everyone is equal in my studio. Regulars can be just as flighty as a stranger when they’re juggling work, family, parties and presents.
The holidays are hectic for everyone. Tempers flare and people get frustrated. Holiday lashing stress is real! That stress doesn’t have to turn us into psycho, exhausted shells of human beings. With a little early planning and client prodding you can get through the holiday months as smoothly as last week.
Hope this was helpful! I’d love to hear everyone else’s holiday tips!
Happy Holiday Prep!!!😊