Make More Money – Add On Services to your Salon

Being an esthetician is extremely rewarding. Most of us love our job for the social interaction, creating masque formulas, the fast pace plus the flexibility to travel and create our own schedules that fit our lifestyle. We love what we do, and helping people look and feel their best is the cherry on top. 

However, let’s face it, we work to make money. When we look at our schedule and there is an opening or a gap, we aren’t happy. Once that time has passed, the opportunity to make money in that time slot has expired.

Being booked solid while making the most money within each appointment time is the objective. There is no better way to increase your daily total than by adding add-on services. Gaining new clients is a good target but beginning with the clients that are already on your books is often something that is overlooked. Start with what you already have. Adding an add-on service isn’t just pennies. People tell me it’s not worth the effort for so little return. But let’s look at how an add-on service can change your income.

If you offer a $30 add-on service to all of your clients, and four clients say ‘yes’ each day, you will bring in an additional $28k in a year. Not only that, but clients will be happy with their new service and will continue to book that extra service in the future. The client is happier because you anticipated their needs and met them, and your bank account will be buffered.

What services are good to offer as an add-on? Add an underarm wax to a bikini wax. Add a specialty masque to a facial service. Clear, dewy skin and a fresh appearance, this is why clients love facial services. The face is what most people see first, and the eyes are the window to the soul. And this is also the reason why eyebrow waxing is one of the most requested services. The eyes can literally change your expression. Offer an add-on eyebrow wax to a facial. If the client is already booked for an eyebrow wax, offer other services that can emphasize the eyes. Lash lifts can open the eye so much that clients are beyond thrilled. A lash tint is quick, easy and has little overhead. What’s more, a lash tint makes a major impact. Is your client preparing for a beach vacation? There is nothing better than a lash tint for swimming. You emerge from the water looking like you have the darkest longest lashes.

Another option is brow lamination which is smokin’ hot right now. Everyone wants the fluffy eyebrow where the hair remains in place. Brow tinting will compliment an eyebrow wax nicely leaving the client looking more finished. Some clients want the hair tinted darker while some clients want the skin to be tinted to appear as if the brows are filled in. This could be done with henna, which is another add-on service. Add-on services revolving around an eyebrow wax are a quick and easy way to make clients happy and to make more money.

However you choose to create add-on services, don’t underestimate how this strategy can alter your future bottom line and client satisfaction.

Article Written by Cali VanAelst, National Training Director at Perron Rigot Inc., 16 January 2023.