Just The Tip Tuesday: Why You Should Give Yourself a Raise in 2017

photo: G. Farrell

I know talking about money and dealing with money can be hard. Trust me, I used to break out in hives just thinking about it. But I also realized that if I didn’t take control of my life and ask for the things I wanted, that I could guarantee that I wasn’t going to receive them either and not be successful as a makeup artist. I remember the first time on a big job I asked for what I felt was a fair rate. My heart was beating out of my chest. I had done my homework and asked questions so that I had an idea of what the rate was for the project. I was met with resistance, but then SOLD the production manager on why what I was asking for was fair and BINGO I got it!

We all go through reasons why we shouldn’t in our mind and most of them are based on fear.. the fear that if we do so, then we will loose our clients. Our landlords raise our rent, the cost of food and gas increase ALL THE TIME. So does the cost of our insurance, our vacations, and our kids’ college tuition.

So when you don’t increase your rates to keep up with your cost of living and inflation, you end up losing money. And what do I mean by that? I’ll give you can example: I used to work in a market where people the rates were basically frozen and still are. They were $650 20 years ago and still are $650. now before you start saying.. wait a minute…. that’s alot of money, I want you to understand what the same $650 is equivalent to in 2016 dollars with inflation factored in: $1001.57. Yep, that’s a big jump of 54%. So by still charging $650.00 and not doing a cost of living increase makes what the person is making only worth $421.84 in 2016.. a 35% decrease. Makes it pretty difficult to keep up with the ole bills….

And if you don’t get clients conditioned to an increase early on, it makes it really hard to do it down the road. Trust me, I’ve learned this from experience.I tried to raise my rates by $50 dollars after 7 years with a client that I had done great work for and been loyal. Even did the occasional “can you help me out” rate reduction. Not only was the raise rejected but I also completely lost them as a client. And this is only one example.

How you present it can make all the difference. I’m gonna base my example on the $650 rate. Which do you think is more psychologically appealing? “I will be implementing a $25 day rate increase to you” or “I will be doing a cost of living increase of 3.85% in 2017″. Either way, they both equal a $25 dollar increase to $675. Ideally, it is great to notify clients a few months in advance, but you still need to notify them of the change so that it isn’t a shock. And this is a conversation for steady clients, not one and done (or someone who uses you very infrequently). Those you can let know the change if and when they reach out to you.

We are in a field where we have to constantly reinvest and we are the ones paying for it, not an employer. We reinvest in supplies, education, etc. not including the rest of the expenses that go into running a beauty business and running our lives! So give yourselves a raise in 2017!

Love and Lipstick,





xo Margina

P.S. If you need help with this or other things in your beauty business, please take advantage of 50% percent off on an hour of my coaching services (now only $150) and my “setting your rates” on demand webinar only $39.50 for a limited time only! Visit www.beautybeautebeauti.com/webinars to take advantage of these limited time deals.