Three Steps to Prepare Beauty Students for Financial Success in the Industry
Blog > Three Steps to Prepare Beauty Students for Financial Success in the Industry
Beauty school educators know that technical skills alone won't guarantee our graduates' success. Financial literacy—understanding how to manage, grow, and protect money—is equally essential, particularly in an industry with multiple employment pathways.
Yet financial education often takes a backseat to technical training. Here's how you can implement a simple three-step approach to better prepare your students for financial success in their beauty careers.
Step 1: Help Students Understand Key Industry Compensation Models
Many beauty school graduates enter the workforce without fully understanding how different employment structures impact their finances. Educate your students about:
Employment Types and Their Financial Implications:
Entrepreneurs (business owners): Benefits include creative freedom and flexibility, but come with financial risks, higher tax responsibilities, and 24/7 accountability
Intrapreneurs (employees): Typically include advantages like stable income, benefits packages, and lower financial risk, though with less scheduling flexibility
Solopreneurs (booth renters/independent contractors): Offer independence but often require managing business expenses, taxes, and client acquisition independently
Students should understand not just the percentage they'll keep from services, but also their tax obligations, benefit considerations, and hidden costs of each model.
Step 2: Demystify Taxes and Their Industry-Specific Implications
Tax knowledge is particularly crucial in our industry, yet many graduates are unprepared for tax realities:
Critical Tax Concepts for Beauty Professionals:
How income and payroll taxes affect take-home pay
Self-employment taxes for booth renters (which include both employer and employee portions of FICA taxes)
Potential tax deductions for industry professionals (education, supplies, etc.)
The importance of maintaining proper records and receipts
Consider developing simple worksheets showing the difference between gross and net pay across different employment structures. This visual representation can help students grasp the real financial impact of their career choices.
Step 3: Teach Goal-Setting with Actionable Financial Planning
Success in our industry requires not just technical expertise but financial strategy. Help students:
Develop Structured Financial Goals:
Turn vague aspirations ("I want to open a salon") into specific objectives with timelines and measurements
Create sample budgets for common industry goals like purchasing professional equipment, booth rental deposits, or continuing education
Break large financial goals into smaller, actionable steps
Establish a Weekly Financial Check-in Ritual:
Teach students to schedule a regular "money date" with themselves—even just 15-30 minutes weekly
Provide a simple checklist for reviewing income, expenses, progress toward goals, and upcoming financial needs
Demonstrate how consistent monitoring prevents small issues from becoming major setbacks
Show how this practice creates awareness, accountability, and confidence in financial decision-making
