When your life revolves around lashing, it’s a huge shock to suddenly close your business. No one saw this coming. But in the time of Coronavirus, it's without a doubt the right thing to do. We all have to do our part to keep people healthy and safe.
I stopped working earlier than most lash artists in the UK as Ireland shutdown before. Instead of being frustrated and upset (though I’ve had my worries like everyone else), I decided that I was going to embrace this quieter period and use it to focus on those lash-related tasks that have been on my list for ages… No excuses! Even though I'm not lashing clients, I can still work on my business and growth as a lash artist.
So, I made of list of practical things we can all do to maintain positivity and keep growing. Here they are:
- Practice fans. You know that feeling when you return from holiday and your hands forget how to hold a pair of tweezers? Why not give yourself a boost and practice fans while you’re home? You can use training lashes or make-up sponges. Test out some new tweezers that you’ve always wanted and give them a go! Practice now and keep it up… and who knows, you may return to the lash world with the best fans you’ve ever created.
- Organise your business. This is the perfect time to catch up on your finances, organise consultation forms, or even create individual client folders to keep track of everything related to them--forms, photos and styles. Imagine how nice it would be to have everything about a client's lashes in place.
- Create the website or booking system you always wanted. There are so many easy platforms to use where you can create a website without employing anyone! Wix, Weebly, Shopify, or Squarespace are a few of the ones you could use. Drag and drop. Upload your lash photos. You have the time to create it and it might be fun--go for it!
- Learn, learn, learn. Upskill with an online course or webinar. If you don’t have the funds, soak up new material on Facebook lash groups or on Instagram. Follow feeds that teach and educate. From my experience, there are plenty of useful tricks out there and many of them are floating around for free.
- Work on your lash manuals. For newly qualified trainers, this is the perfect time to work on your manuals. Get everything ready for accreditation. When we’re all back to work, you’ll be prepared and ready for this next stage. Now is the time to write!
- Most importantly, don’t forget about yourself. Take some time to recharge yourself. Do those face masks, steam pots or at-home hair treatments. Download some books to read. Watch films. Laugh with your family (video chats only). Take some time for yourself. You’ve likely been going full speed for who-knows-how-long. Recharge.