You have completed your training. Received your certificate for proof you are a qualified hair and makeup artist. Decided that weddings are going to be your speciality and your kit bag is full.
What’s next?
Insurance
It is important to insure yourself for any potential risks. Being a freelancer, I have covered myself for public Liability, product Liability, professional treatment risk, financial risk and equipment cover. I personally use Salon Gold but there are many other companies that specialise in hair and beauty. The policy is annual and can be renewed automatically every 12 months.
Website
I worked with a lovely lady from Websitetogo and together we created my website. I originally used a readymade template to keep the cost down but a couple of years later I knew it was worth the investment for a refresh. My logo remained the same but I was able to specify layouts, colours, pages etc. I manage the website myself but help is always there from websitetogo if it’s something beyond my technical capabilities.
Deciding your company name can be difficult. I would recommend taking time over this. I love my company name but I will admit that I didn’t sit with it for long to make sure I was 100%. I had a few hours to decide. I was applying for a wedding fair and a requirement was having a website so I was on a time frame. I sometimes regret is not having ‘hair’ included in the wording. Although I am aware that with ‘hair’ it would have made the name much too long. I am pleased to report that it doesn’t result in any confusion about what I do!
Photos
When your starting your career you won’t be expected to have a big portfolio. At the end of my course at ‘School of Makeup’ we had a photoshoot with about 5 different looks and that is all I had in my portfolio at the beginning.
I then found a company called Shooting Beauty. They have specific dates with a venue, models, photographers and wardrobe. You are assigned a model and able to choose a hairstyle, makeup look and outfit for them. You pay for the day and then the images a couple of weeks later. I paid for two days with shooting beauty. The only way of getting your work out there is by showing images of your work.
I then signed up with the agency beauty call and this led me to my first few wedding jobs and slowly my portfolio grew.
Wedding fairs
When I first moved to London I attended three wedding fairs. My personal experience of them has not led to any work. Brides are often there just to browse and are not ready to commit to booking in a trial. They are expensive and you may not have the extra money to spend.
However, my sister who makes stunning wedding cakes hannahhickmancakes attends lots of wedding fairs and has many successful bookings. Give one a try and see what you think! It could be a fast way of getting your first few jobs.
Social media
When I first started my business, social media was nowhere near as huge as it is now. I have Instagram and facebook and I try to post as regularly as I can. I used to waste lots of time worrying about how many followers I had. Wondering why I didn’t have as many as other business’s. My followers are slowly growing and I came to realise that my followers were not particularly leading to bookings so my focus needed to be on other areas.
Wedding supplier’s lists
I am registered on a couple of wedding suppliers lists online. Rock my wedding and Hitched. They vary in their vetting protocol. I get many enquiries through these websites so I am happy to spend the annual fee as I only need a couple of jobs to cover the fee.