Obviously this depends a lot…but about how much does a FT electrologist make in take home pay? Google said $20K but i’m not sure if this is PT, etc
The USA definition of full time work is 1560 to 2080 hours a week. If the national average is still $60 per hour, that would mean that a full time electrolysis provider would gross $93,600 - $124,800. Now obviously, not many electrolysis providers are making those numbers. The amount of money one makes is based upon BILLABLE HOURS, not how many hours one is away from home, chatting in the waiting room, or even doing consultations. As you can see, the statistic you read gives the average electrolysis worker credit for about 333 hours and twenty minutes of billable hours.
What one makes has a lot to do with how many billable hours one can string together consecutively before paying re-occurring expenses, like rent & utilities, again.
Many electrolysis providers make due with 480 billable hours a year, which grosses $28,800 at $60 per hour. I guess you now know why so many charge more than $60 per hour.
Consider the bottom line of these numbers. I know you specified GROSS pay, James, but some will look at those dollar amounts and think that’s decent and great. Take home, the amount you actually get to keep, is less than that $28,800 amount after all taxes are paid. Of course, this all depends on overhead and the tax bracket you are in. Some have to give up over 50% of that $60 per hour. Tax rates will only go higher in the future, thanks to the evil, insane and corrupt spenders in Washington. Be careful not to work too hard everybody. Success rewards one with more confiscation.
Dee Dee Downer
The reason I used GROSS figures was exactly the fact that the number of extortionists with their hands in your pocket is variable as to where you live. Even in the state of New York, the very city you live and/or work in will cause you to pay more, or less to the extortionists.
If you are renting that marble floored office with the water feature, you will have even less take-home due to higher rental expenses. Live in a licensed state? More extortion cloaked in the form of mandatory classes, meetings, and particular businesses one must pay tribute to.
I have a bunch of clients that only need a few minutes say 5 or less. These clients only pay $5.00 but I still spend 15 ish minutes with them dating the next appt, payment, and general gossip.
This can bring down your gross quickly!!!
That, nanci, is why I made the distinction of Billable Hours. This is also the reason most electrolysis businesses charge an alternate minimum price. One would have to charge at least $20 for even one minute of work based on all that goes into doing the job.
You need to raise your minimum fee. It is more expensive for you to set up and clean up than to remove five or less hairs. Your supplies can be $5.00 alone. Clients that buy in bulk should get a better price than those that don’t. That is how business works. Walmart, the king of bulk buying, offers great prices, but they are cut throat with the suppliers, negotiating in behalf of the consumers, to get those low prices. You really need to bring that minimum up and change that particular aspect of running your office.
nanci–my electrologist has great prices and will do 15 minutes for $20 maximum. Your time is valuable
Raise those prices! My minimum charge is $16 for one minute. I charge $20 for 5 minutes. Many years ago (10+), to meet my expenses, with the number of clients I was seeing per week, I needed to average $17 per client to break even. And no, I don’t have marble floors.
Suzie Orman would pop a vein in her head if she read this thread. She yelps at women business owners that undercharge and undervalue their services. My minimum is $18.00. If I didn’t do this, I would have all the grannies and other types consuming my precious time to set up and clean up all day long for removing 1-5 hairs only. I can’t keep my doors open with that kind of business plan.
I do have one woman who comes in once a month for five minutes worth even though she needs 20-30 minutes. She’s paranoid about scarring (something I don’t do and told her so). I have been seeing her for upper lip hair for four years and I doubt that she will ever be finished and have told her so many times. She’s the boss on this one and if she wants to spend too much money for five or so hairs, at least I have been up front with her by suggesting she allow me more time. She won’t do it and I won’t lower my minimum fee for such nonsense. It’s a nuisance, but I get paid for the aggravation. I nuture people in other ways that has nothing to do with changing my office practices and price schedule.
Wow!!!
Thank you all.
This has been a big issue for me for years. I know I’ve been to nice for years and it has taken a toll on my business. I wanted to be fair to the client but the costs are eating me.
Thank You!!!
Any ideas on how I can make the change???
Tell the people that are flocking to you for $5.00 treatments, that you are not able to be so generous anymore or you will have to go out of business. Put in writing, in a prominent place in your office your price schedule, including minimum fee. If they quit coming, then they can go back to tweezing or whatever method they were using. Keeping an office open is very expensive and you have got to get serious about making a living. You can be ‘nice’ at the same time that you are being a business woman.
The problem with a lot of us women is we take our nuturing qualities into our professions. I am guilty of this as well, especially with my little teenage girls who have to pay for their upper lip hair removal themselves or with one of my older welfare clients who I have literally given away hundreds of dollars in electrolysis care for the past 14 months. You can afford to do this occassionally as a random act of kindness, but you can’t do this for every person that walks in your office or you will be working for free. When rent, supplies, taxes and communication expenses rise in your business and home life, you see the light real fast. Get tougher about this. I’m still working on it, but I’m think I’m doing better, however, Suze Orman would put me in a verbal neck hold if she knew about my hourly charge.
Dee
How many hairs would one expect a skilled electrologist to remove a minute?
That depends on modality used and whether the electrologist has good vision wear among other things. The fastest forms of thermolysis (microflash and picofalsh), used with the epilator in auto sensor mode allows for the quickest path to clearance and one can stay cleared until it’s all over. Personally, I vary between 500- 900 insertions per hour depending on the complexity of the the area being treated.
Galvanic is the slowest. It works well.
Blend is faster than galvanic. It works well.
Thermolysis, the flash modes is the fastest. They work well.
Dee