2. Each month we look at how people have
successfully turned their hobby into their
profession. This month we continue this feature
with a look at beauty therapy. Here we will be
discussing the most important factors and issues
you may come across when setting up your own
business as a beauty therapist.

3. Beauty therapists carry To become a qualified
out facial and body beauty therapist you must
treatments on clients. sit a professional
These treatments aim to qualification at a college.
enhance the appearance
of the client or to
improve their general It is important that you do
well-being.
not perform treatments on
clients without this
It is common for beauty qualification.
therapists to start off
working in a beauty Normally this will be a full
salon and then become a time college course;
freelancer. This is however, modules can
because working for a usually be broken up so
company allows you to that you can learn part-
learn from colleagues time.
and get the necessary
training and experience
in many areas of beauty
therapy.
Most freelance beauty
therapists enjoy the
flexibility that working
in the industry brings, as
clients hours can be
fitted around family life.

4.  This is a client-facing profession so being friendly,
easy to talk to and professional is very important.
 As well as having solid beauty therapy skills, you
will need strong sales skills to make your
freelance career successful. This is because you
will need to convince your clients to try a wider
range of beauty treatments and refer your
services to their friends if you want to increase
your business income.
 It is also important to be mobile, as you may be
travelling to lots of different clients’ homes
during your working day, so having a driver’s
licence is essential.

5. When you’re setting up a freelance beauty
therapy business, you should research which
treatments are popular and which treatments your
competitors are offering to help you decide on the
services you should provide. You should also think
about your own strengths and even about offering
some unique or unusual services to help you stand
out from the other therapists. You will also need
to consider what equipment is needed to perform
each treatment - remember that you will be
visiting clients’ houses, so this equipment needs to
be portable.
This is an industry which is constantly evolving, so
you need to be able to keep up to date on the
latest trends. At the moment there is a growing
demand for semi-permanent eyelashes and high-
definition eyebrow shaping. However, new
treatments are often inspired by celebrities and
television shows, so keep an eye on any references
your clients make.
Top Tip Box:
Some examples of freelance beauty treatments
and other useful resources to help you start you
own business can be found on our business start-
up Pinterest board.

7.  It is vital to make sure you have insurance cover
before you carry out any beauty treatments. There
are several organisations which offer specialist
liability insurance for beauty therapists. If you're
going to join an organisation like BABTAC, then
your membership might include a good insurance
package.
 Getting to grips with your finances and taxes is an
extremely important part of becoming a
freelancer. Since you will have no guaranteed
salary, you should ensure that you have a financial
cushion (roughly 6 months’ worth of expenses) so
that you can support yourself if you have no jobs
or become ill.
 Making sure you are paying the correct amount of
tax can be a challenging task. The best thing to do
is to check the Inland Revenue website and make a
call to the helpline for the newly self-employed
(0845 915 4515). You will be responsible for
keeping all your receipts and records for six years
to complete your annual self-assessment tax form.
Keeping your own accounts can be quite a time-
consuming task, so look into small business
accounting software which can simplify the whole
process.

8. Becoming a freelance beauty therapist is a great
idea if you like working with people and want
flexible working hours.
You will be expected to keep up to date with new
fashions and beauty trends, so this is a career in
which you will be constantly learning new skills.
The entry barriers to establishing yourself in this
industry are relatively low, and experience will be
your greatest asset.