Questions That All Future & Newly Licensed Beauty Pros Should Ask Themselves

We’re sharing important questions that future beauty professionals and newly licensed pros should be asking themselves. (We include links to deeper dives on each topic if you want to learn more.)

Let’s get to it!

Table of Contents

• Questions to ask yourself before enrolling in beauty school.
• Questions to ask yourself if you’re newly licensed.
• Being a beauty pro can be an amazing and rewarding experience.

Questions to ask yourself before enrolling in beauty school.

What does it mean to be a beauty professional today? 

It seems so basic, right? Why would you ever contemplate being a beauty pro if you didn’t already know what a beauty pro is?

We don’t doubt that you have a hazy sense of what beauty professionals are in general. But do you know everything this wonderful industry has to offer?

Even if you think you do, we encourage you to read our full article on this topic: What Does It Mean to Be a Beauty Professional? Make sure you’re aware of everything you can do with a professional license so you can begin planning now.

• BONUS TIP :  Being fully aware of the depth and breadth of our industry can also be helpful in another way. Javaughn Rendleman, a Milady Training & Implementation Specialist, explains: “When enrolling in beauty school, understanding that there are many career paths that you can take is going to be helpful on days that you are learning a procedure that you seem to just not be able to grasp and think that you will never make it.”

Is the beauty industry right for me?

Ultimately, only you can answer whether the beauty industry is right for you. But we get it—you want guidance or something tangible that might indicate whether you’re a good fit for this industry.

Stacy Thompson, a licensed barber and cosmetology instructor, is also one of our awesome Implementation and Training Specialists at Milady. She encourages prospective students to ask themselves these questions before enrolling in beauty school.

• Will I feel comfortable talking to complete strangers every day? Could I carry on a conversation with a complete stranger? 
• Am I willing to work nights, weekends, and holidays to build a clientele upon graduating? 

Bottom line: The beauty industry is people-centric. You have to like working with people and chatting with them. (Stacy refers to the latter as the “gift of gab.”) And in the beginning, anyway, you’ll need to be flexible with your schedule, particularly if you want to scale up your book of business. This means potentially working weekends, evenings, and holidays.

Interested in something a little more scientific? Javaughn Rendleman recommends taking a personality quiz. You’ve likely heard of Myers-Briggs, but there are many others. This article gives a good overview of eight career assessment and personality tests that can help narrow down your career choices.

Here’s the BIG thing you need to keep in mind, however: Being a beauty pro is so much more than simply playing with someone’s hair or doing a person’s makeup or creating incredible nail art.

Yes, it begins with those things. But can you picture yourself doing those things every day, week after week, month after month, year after year? If the answer is an enthusiastic YES, then great—you’re on the right track.

If the answer is “nope” or “I’m not sure,” maybe you need to take a step back and reconsider whether this is the right path. Remember, you don’t need to formally enter the beauty industry to scratch that itch. There’s nothing wrong with having a hobby in makeup, nails, skin, or hair.

If, however, you’re thinking, I WANT to dedicate my life to this fabulous industry, then yeah—it sounds like you and the beauty industry might be a great match.

Is beauty school right for me right now?

This ties into the previous point. You might know you want to go into the beauty and wellness industry, which makes beauty school a logical next step.

But is it the right time for this step?

Thompson offers more salient questions to ask yourself:

• What obstacles could prohibit me from completing school? For example, child care, day job, living circumstances?  
• Can I prepare myself and my personal life prior to enrollment so that these obstacles will not prevent me from completing the program? 

Here’s a great article on what it takes to succeed in beauty school. Here’s another one that tackles beauty school FAQs
. And here’s an insightful article with a roundup of advice from real beauty pros to their younger selves.

Can I see myself enjoying a career in beauty—and all that goes into maintaining this career?

Being a successful beauty professional today involves so much more than simply seeing clients. It also involves heavy doses of the following . . .

• Actively marketing yourself
• Networking, networking, networking
• Learning new things 
• Managing finances
• Creating a work-life balance
• Becoming adept at social media and other digital marketing channels
• Being nimble in the face of crisis (like a pandemic)
• Becoming comfortable with selling retail
• Knowing when to take the next step (for example, striking out on your own or getting a second license)

Questions to ask yourself if you’re newly licensed.

Do I want to work for myself or for someone else?

There’s no right or wrong answer here. Also, it’s quite possible—and normal—that your thoughts on this will change with time.

For example, right out of school, you might decide to work for someone else so you can focus on building your clientele and giving fabulous consultations and services rather than dealing with all the things involved with renting a booth or running your own salon. But in a few years, you might have a different perspective.

The key to any decision is educating yourself on the pros and cons and deciding from there. To that end, here are some articles that can help:

• Practical Advice for Landing Your First Gig Out of Beauty School 
• Booth Renting Guide 101
• The Guide to Owning a Beauty & Wellness Business
• Today: Artist. Tomorrow: Manager 

Do I have the business skills I need to succeed? 

Guess what? There’s no right or wrong answer here, either. Because even if your answer is NO, you can do something about it. Business skills are ones you can master with time and practice. Heck, you made it through beauty school and passed your licensing exam. You got this!

Start by knowing what business skills you need to brush up on. Maybe you struggle with finances. Or maybe you struggle with networking. Maybe you need to shore up your soft skills. Identify what you need help with and then make a plan of attack. Take a continuing ed course (Milady Training is a great place to start), work with a mentor, read a book on the subject . . . you get the idea.

How do I get clients?

By marketing, marketing, and—oh, yeah—doing more marketing. Milady’s Stacy Thompson agrees, saying that a good question to ask yourself is this: “How am I going to take the initiative to build my clientele? How will I build my brand and market myself?” 

OK, so we know you might loathe the word “marketing.” You got into this business to be creative, not in selling mode 24/7.

But you can’t be creative on an empty chair, right? You need clients. And in the beginning, getting clients will require hustle on your part as you get your name out there.

Here are some quick-hitting suggestions . . .

• Ask happy clients for referrals. Happy clients LOVE telling their friends and family about their experience. Encourage this—and possibly incentivize through a rewards program.
• Get in the habit of rebooking clients on the spot. There’s a marketing adage that says it costs more to get a new customer than it does to maintain and serve an existing customer. Make sure you rebook your current clientele at the end of their appointments while they’re still in the salon.
• Be intentional with social media. Love it or hate it, being active on at least one social media platform is critical. Right now, Instagram and TikTok are the places to be for beauty pros. That said, the biggest mistake we see pros make is treating their accounts like personal accounts, not business accounts. Make sure you have a business account. Be mindful of everything you post. Have a clear bio that makes it easy for people to book an appointment/call you/find your website. In every IG post or TikTok, remind people who you are and where you are. Pay attention to analytics and what content converts into paying customers. (This will take some experimentation.)

Marketing is a BIG topic. Below, you’ll find other articles that are worth checking out.

• How to Attract New Clients 
• The Art of Client Consultations
• How to Get Good at Booking & Rebooking Clients
• How to Build Your Marketing Foundation
• Networking for Beauty Pros 
• How to Get More Reviews 
• Understanding Digital Marketing 

How do I keep up with what’s new? How do I hone my skills? 

Two words: continuous learning.

Your education doesn’t end the minute you graduate from beauty school or you pass your licensing exam. The most successful pros (in any career) are always learning. Whether you opt for formal continuing education courses, a lunch-and-learn webinar, self-directed learning, or a combination, you can choose what works best for you and your schedule—but just make sure you choose something.

Javaughn Rendlemen agrees, noting that it’s essential for beauty pros to have a plan for avoiding obsolescence and for pivoting when things in the industry change. “Because they will keep changing,” she says.

And nothing can prepare you better for these changes than education.

As for where to go to continue your lifelong learning, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered when it comes to education. To start, check out our online courses for professionals or our live and on-demand webinars.

How do I achieve my long-term goals?

You can’t achieve your goals or that big, hairy, scary dream without some planning. Luckily, goal-setting is also a learnable skill—and one that can adapt to the way you live and work.

Here are some articles to help jumpstart your goal-setting ventures.

• Goal Inspiration for Beauty Professionals
• Not Licensed to Fail: 11 Tips for Achieving Your Goals
• Why Goal-Setting is Crucial for Beauty & Wellness Professionals

Being a beauty pro can be an amazing and rewarding experience.

Your job helps people appreciate and celebrate their own beauty. It doesn’t get much more satisfying than that, right?

If you have other questions or ideas you’d like to see us cover in Expert Career Advice, don’t hesitate to reach out and let us know. Here’s to your ongoing success!