It's not secret that on a regular routine I have Vietnamese people rip hair off my forehead, right between the eyes. I've been doing this long enough now to know that having it done professionally is the far superior option to the DIY solution. It's not like I have a vat of wax doo-hicky constantly set at the right temperature and bubbling for optimum follicle removal.
Still I have to say that eyebrow waxing has to be one of the best rackets in the modern world. For three minutes worth of labor I pay $10 plus tip — keep in mind I live in Southern California where even hour pets are tipped on your way out the door. I figure doing this full time a person can earn up to $1000-1200 a day (that's about 7 hours of actual billable waxing time).
That's some serious wage earning potential. God Bless you George Bush for providing an economy where this type of small business can happen.
Now web design pays pretty good, at least better than a public school teacher that's for certain (again, many thanks G-Dubyah). But I don't see many days where I can pull in that kind of hair removal money without the added stress of things like: web standards, software upgrades, stupid comments posted to my website, or corrupted databases (and that's the short list). Think about it, you batter a persons forehead with wax, apply some kind of tape, and rip — ding, you're done. It's cake.
On my last visit to Little Saigon Nails, Toes, and Fur, I figured out how I can set up my own shop and steal all of their business by slashing prices in half. Totally doable by my cost cutting measures which include using melted down crayons (a few bucks for a mega box) and duct tape (which will rip off whatever hair doesn't stick to the melted Burnt Sienna). By using art supplies instead of beautician certified bee product, I can also offer eyebrow drawing services that some women seem to prefer over what mother nature provides.
It will mean a lifestyle change for sure — reading People and US Magazine instead of A List Apart or Digital Web but that can't be too bad, I mean how else can I keep up with whom Tom Cruise is dating or even if he's still a man.
Join the fray by reading through and commenting at the end.
Greg -
Do these "Vietnamese people" also wear black leather bodysuits and / or carry riding crops? If so, $10 is cheap.
Not that I'd know from personal experience, or anything.
You know, just the other day I was naming job professions that charge as much as the average designer on a per-hour basis. My impressive list included the car mechanic, the sprinkler system repair guy, and the carpet cleaner. Now, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say there isn't as much skill or knowledge depth in swapping out a broken sprinkler head as there is in marketing and design. I could be wrong, but... You get the point. Funny thing is, I think *we* are the ones digging the very hole of cheap work that we're trying to escape from -- some of the smallest budget inquiries I've received for design work have come from other designers.
To top of your business model, you should look into the doohickey Crayola makes that allows you to turn broken/melted crayon fragments into new technicolor crayons. When your wax gets too furry for battering onto people's foreheads (there are hygeine standards to consider, after all), melt it down to create new "textured" art supplies. Crayons sporting hair could be the basis for a whole new untapped market, or at any rate a profit center taking advantage of a byproduct (hairy wax) that would otherwise be relegated to the trash can.
"Introducing Crayon Buddies, a whole line of animal-themed crayons made in part from real human hair. How now, brown cow. Hey there, black bear. Get yours today, while supplies last."
This could be your "moonlighting" job.......but do keep in mind that these salons are expected to do "bikini waxes" as well......are you prepared for this?
Better topic for a piece that was touched on in here: why should one feel the need to tip somebody for three minutes of work? Does it normally take five minutes???
The concept of tipping is completely out of hand in our culture. The only reason I tip when I do is in situations where I sympathize with the staff that depends on it for a decent wage. Typically these people are servers, but an eyebrow waxer?
And personally, if I were you, I'd be having a hard enough time trying to convince myself that any amount of money is worth something like waxing your eyebrows, let alone considering the tip...
Correction: in addition to times when I sympathize with the workers, another situation in which tipping makes sense to me is when somebody goes above and beyond the call of their duty. The woman waxing eyebrows, that's her job for which she charges a fee. So, again, the reasons why people feel this compulsive need to tip seem absurd to me, not that I presume to know yours.
It's not secret that on a regular routine I have Vietnamese people rip hair off my forehead, right between the eyes.
Souther California indeed...
You are entirely correct on the earning potential for grooming related careers. I wish I was into that kind of stuff.
Let me run you by some personal experiences:
1) Barbers charge anywhere from $10-15 per haircut giving them about $30/hour.
2) So called Nail Technicians charge about $40 for the total feet and hand package which takes about 30 minutes at the most.
3) My wife, and several co-workers have paid $200 for certain hairstyles.
When you realize how glamour is idolized in the US, it isn't really unbelievable that these people are making a killing. We can't blame GB either. It's mostly us and our peers. We don't mind spending thousands of dollars a year on our temporaries, but cringe at the expenses for our country to provide a good education.
Where be the Longboard comment section matey!? =)
I wanted to comment on the Seagal website ... that has to be the ugliest and least informative and usable website I dare use my eyes to gander upon.
In other words, great find! Keep them coming.
Seth sounds like Steve Buscemi's character in Resevoir Dogs, during the diner scene.
Bikini waxing would be more difficult. I imagine i'd have to pick up some Pam Cooking Spray for successful extraction without permanent damage. And since I'm going to increase my services let me also add aroma therapy.
My girlfriend used to go down to "Little India" - somewhere in Orange Country, Artesia perhaps? Anyway, the Indians have a traditional hair-removal method which is pretty cool and doesn't involve hot wax. They use a really weird looped-thread technique, which apparently isn't as painful - it still only takes a few minutes. She just used it to get her eyebrows trimmed, but as a lot of South Asian women are, umm, kind of hirsute, they did mustache and sideburn trimming as well.
Is it really called "Little Saigon Nails, Toes, and Fur"?
Thats wild