HOW TO SET YOUR RATES: Everything you need to know!

[@nickiemmy9177]

Heyy just completed my exams and I'm back! Can't wait for this one 😍😍

[@julieruby]

Yay congrats!! This is definitely a video you’ll want to watch :)

[@mistycuz2011]

Thank you again for always going so into EVERYTHING! It’s extremely helpful as always 🖤

[@julieruby]

You're definitely welcome! I definitely try to get as detailed as I possibly can :)

[@fkusler15]

Your makeup looks sooo bomb!

[@julieruby]

Thanks so much! I was feelin the drama that day ☺️

[@maud1708]

In Belgium practically no bride wants lashes🤷🏼‍♀️Also touch-up kits are not really a thing here… So not sure it this would be added value for my prices

[@julieruby]

It sounds to me like that would be a great opportunity for you to stand out amongst other artists in Belgium! The secret to marketing yourself is to either be the best or implement something new :)

[@Daisitaag]

I was at Sephora for about 5 years or so and got so many clients especially Spanish speaking clients since I am bilingual! And I feel like it took me a while to try and charge what I actually am worth because of my experience! At the end of the day you have to try and charge what you’re worth!

[@julieruby]

Ooo that’s amazing!! Yes definitely important to know your worth girl!

[@ajahogan9634]

Super helpful. I'm getting back out there after a 5 year break. Thank you 😊

[@FaireJoli]

That was a lot of info and you worked so hard to put this video together with edits. Thank you and well done! You really thought it all through. 🎉

[@julieruby]

Oh my gosh thank you so much for being so appreciative! I really put my all into these videos so I’m really happy to hear that it’s being recognized :)

[@FaireJoli]

​@@julieruby❤

[@briannaje5419]

I don’t understand why we get so competitive when there are so many women in the world, there is PLENTY of clients to go around.

[@julieruby]

I know! The competition is extremely unnecessary. In my area, everyone is pretty transparent and helpful luckily!

[@briannaje5419]

@@julieruby that’s awesome. I wish my community was more like that. We would accomplish so much if we worked together.

[@chanellover2143]

I’m not a bride but I really want to get my makeup done by Julie! I just love your makeup aesthetic 🥰

[@julieruby]

Aww thank you so much!!

[@DigitalBeautyVault]

Hi Julie, thank you for all your insights. Do you also do the hair styling or do you hire somebody else for that? Do you charge seperately for hair or is it already part of your package?

[@julieruby]

Hi I’m glad you enjoyed it! No I don’t do hair but I have a ton of talented stylists that I refer to my brides if need be :)

[@milary0127]

Hello, thank gor the info. It helped me. Now, my question is, how do you charge if you work off hours, like if you normally do makeup on weekends, but they ask for it during the week? Also if you have a job & have to request it off or work too early in the morning???

[@julieruby]

Hey that’s a great question! When you are setting your prices, keep in mind there are no set rules or regulations. You can implement whatever pricing structure or policies that you want :) I personally don’t charge extra during the week, early mornings, or later at night. Makeup artistry really runs 24-7 since events are going on at all hours. However, some artists do charge early start fees or extra for holidays for example. This is ultimately up to you to decide though :)

[@BreannasTV]

Thank you for this super helpful video. How would you charge a client for touch up fee?

[@julieruby]

I’m glad you liked it! I would personally charge per hour for the touch ups :)

[@linaowens2442]

Thank you so much for your helpful tips Julie! Not everyone is willing to to sit down and break it down like this. You're very appreciated.

[@julieruby]

I’m so glad this video was helpful for you!! Always love to share info :)

[@xoxo_ShayRenee]

These are some great tips. I’ll have to watch this again when I’m not at work. 😂 I definitely subscribed and actually have been watching your videos since the new year when I decided it was time for me to take my passion (doing makeup) seriously.

[@julieruby]

Hey that’s amazing that you’ve decided to pursue makeup artistry more seriously! So happy for your new journey :) I’m so glad that my videos have helped you!!

[@GiselleRamirez7]

YAY love this video! Thank you for being so open and honest 🥰❤️❤️

[@julieruby]

You're so welcome! We definitely need to be more open like this in our industry!

[@Allaboutbeauty12]

Wow, I’m shocked by your bridal pricing. I’m a bridal mua in STL and an average bride’s makeup is between $150-300 for day of, trials are usually a separate service. Bridesmaids’ makeup runs between $80-100. Raising prices due to high demand of your services might make sense for you!

[@julieruby]

Hi Kenzie! Yes pricing is so different depending on your area that’s why it’s important to not just copy another artists prices. Indiana is literally one of the lowest minimum wages in the US and it drives me nuts! 😂 As I mentioned, I’m one of the higher priced artists so if I raised it unfortunately I wouldn’t get a ton of people.

[@Allaboutbeauty12]

I’m in the same boat with Missouri’s minimum wage also being one of the lowest. With inflation and demand of bridal services, prices should reflect that. I’d personally rather charge accordingly which might be over some budgets vs. being booked solid for lower rates. Absolutely not saying that’s you, just a struggle I have within the industry! I would agree to disagree about not being able to charge as much as you could in a big city for some. I live an hour outside STL and freelance with a lot of bridal teams in STL. I realized I was severely undercutting my pricing. By implementing the same rate I’d charge in the city, it does a couple things in my opinion. 1.) let’s other stylists know they are also undercutting for such a luxury service in the area. 2.) the average person isn’t shocked by the number associated with pricing. It doesn’t feel right to me to charge different rates because I’m within an hour from STL.

[@Allaboutbeauty12]

Also, I really love your channel! Thanks for sharing your experiences and knowledge!

[@julieruby]

@@Allaboutbeauty12 Definitely understand where you are coming from! However, I’m not undercutting or anything. I’m on the higher end range as I mentioned but some salons are maybe $10 higher. It’s such a struggle as a freelancer to determine rates. Especially when ppl don’t take you as seriously as salons.

[@mk-qh7ww]

That’s true! There is always somebody who is willing to do it (almost) for free and it’s so frustrating. I’m from Germany and I take about 500€ for a bride with a trial (H&M). When I started, I took 200€ but I have to admit the pricier you are, the more respect and less complains you get from your clients.

[@eprohoda]

Jullie- howdy?!you uploaded top !

[@julieruby]

HI! I'm not sure what you mean by "uploaded top?"

[@aidamanuel10]

Thank you so much for this video.... It is so so helpful.. Thank you 🙏🏾

[@julieruby]

I’m so glad you found it helpful!

[@ilanashal6136]

If you have 12 people plus the bride (MU + H) and I need to have 2 hair stylists, 2 muas including myself. Do I charge the bride for us all traveling if it’s a far distance, if we are all in different parts of the state. How does that work?

[@julieruby]

Hi! That is completely up to you!! There’s no set in stone way to price yourself. That’s what’s great about being a business owner is you set the rules :) You can choose to carpool like I usually do or if all of you are traveling separately you can calculate a travel fee for it.

[@DanzSnob]

Julie you are soo good you should be a traveling bridal make up artist and come to California to make more money!! I know brides that would pay $250-400 for your work! 🥰

[@julieruby]

Aww thanks so much! I actually used to live in California haha I know that I’d make more but cost of living is also much higher too so it balances out here.

[@jennwhite3202]

Do you charge more for more indepth intricate looks?

[@julieruby]

Nope! I charge the same whether it’s natural or full glam just to make it more simple :) although since I am a natural artist I usually don’t get those that want full blown glitter and cut creases and everything.

[@kenasaphira4655]

Your such a good teacher and provide so much information thank you also this hair Color looks so pretty on you 😊

[@julieruby]

Aww thanks so much for saying that Kena!! I really appreciate it :)

[@brookeann4615]

Love this video! Do you charge more for the application if you do an out of state or out of city job?

[@julieruby]

I’m so glad to here that! No my prices stay the same I just charge the travel fees of course :)

[@neverfallinluv]

Really appreciate all this info you put out there for new artists💕

[@julieruby]

So glad you loved the video! Thanks so much :)

[@wishlist_12wishlist55]

Thank you for being so open and helpful!

[@julieruby]

You’re so welcome! I’m glad you found it helpful :)

[@lillyxoxobeauty9662]

Another great video, thank you! 😍

[@julieruby]

I'm so glad you loved it thanks! :)

[@MonicaMettert]

Super informative - thank you!! 💗

[@julieruby]

I'm so happy to hear that! Thanks Monica :)

[@xRomarie]

I am a licensed esthetician and have been one for 3 years although It’s not required to be licensed in my state to become a MUA. I’m wanting to start my makeup journey but only really have experience from school. Do you think I should still take a makeup course?

[@julieruby]

Hi great question! It all depends on if you personally think you’d benefit from it. A makeup course really deep dives into a lot of things your schooling wouldn’t cover since it’s mostly focused on skin. Makeup courses focus on mostly application techniques and color theory!

[@xRomarie]

@@julieruby thank you! I love all your videos by the way! Thanks for being completely raw & transparent!

[@canelami1285]

Thank you!! Question: I have no experience, just started OMA. My plan is to practice on friends but I don't have a lot. Would it be ok to offer free makeup application (with a cheap material fee of say $15)(i live in a city where $15 is minimum wage) to get practice and build my portfolio? Would that undercut others? Would it be important to have them sign something saying they understand this is practice and not professional application? Any advice from you or others here would be greatly appreciated.

[@julieruby]

Great question! You would want to do something that is called a model call. It’s where you would do apps completely free of charge in order to build your portfolio. You could technically charge for material fees if you want but I personally don’t charge anything whenever I do them. Also, you’d want them to sign a waiver of some kind so you are on the right track with that :)

[@canelami1285]

@@julieruby thank you so much for your reply!

[@chifundochiweza6718]

You are a gem Julie! Thank you !

[@julieruby]

Aww you're so sweet! Thank you!

[@pikachu243]

Hi Julie !! Loved this session as always. Also can you please advice on how to keep the make-up on lower lashline from smudging off ???

[@julieruby]

Thank you so much! I personally never use eyeliner under the lower lash line (just a darker shadow) to prevent smudging. If someone does want a more dramatic liner under their eyes, the best trick is to set it really well with an eyeshadow. Smudging also might be due to the eyeliner you are using as well!

[@pikachu243]

@@julieruby thanks alot , you really inspired me to restart my MUA journey. More power to you ❤️

[@rachelsmith3895]

Very helpful, thank you! I'm from central IL so we have very similar pricing. I appreciate the transparency! I too post my prices on my site because I want to prevent people from contacting me just to price shop. Ain't nobody got time for that!

[@julieruby]

Hi state neighbor! 👋🏻 Yes that’s what I’ve found works best as well. So many people were just price shopping before which wasted my time and theirs and then I got ghosted ALL THE TIME.

[@rachelsmith3895]

@@julieruby amen! I got tired of the ghosting. It still happens, but such is life!

[@loveyourselfthewayyouare.7704]

Lovely😍 video

[@julieruby]

Thank you so much! :)

[@bennu547]

Every makeup artist in my area won’t talk to me. Most of them were really rude to me. I was upfront and honest what I was calling about. I’m a new artist and I’m looking to touch base with other artists in my area to come up with my price. One secretary even lied to the makeup artist that there was a bad connection so she couldn’t hear me. Yeah that’s why she was answering some of my questions just fine🙄 One artist I called was at least polite and told me she wasn’t interested in talking prices with me. Some artists have their prices on their website but it’s not clear what the cost breakdown is. Do they charge by hour? Is it a set price? That’s what I wanted to be clear with because I’m still a little confused as to what to price for myself Do you have any suggestions if most of the makeup artists in your area are assholes? Would it be easier to charge by face? By hour? I wanna do cosplay makeup. Should I charge differently for cosplay, brides and special occasions? I’m so confused 😕

[@julieruby]

I'm so sorry to hear this! It really is unfortunate when other artists won't help out. I would just stick to trying to find prices on websites, but other than that theres really nothing else you can do. I haven't personally had experience with people not being friendly so I can't think of an alternative. As far as pricing structure, normally you charge per face/person as a set price. However, you can do with that what you want! Some artists in my area charge differently depending on how glam the makeup is. Like natural makeup is one price and maybe full glam is $10 more or something. Honestly, run your business how you want though! Some decisions like this are ones only you can make.

[@bennu547]

The tricky thing is that some people charge by service. By hour. One is really confusing just because there’s so much information and they require you to ask for a quote and they work out the final price. Because they charge for service and by hour (I think I’m still not sure). So I just try to math it out to what would make sense so what I’m looking at is all the same. All by face or whatever. But that’s kind of iffy and part of the reason why talking it out with an artist could be helpful. I’m in Canada too so you would think that at least one of them would talk to me. So much for Canadian kindness😹 Good that’s a really solid base to work up from. That’s a good idea thank you! I’m glad you’re more open and kind to share advice with other artists. I really appreciate what you do. Cause it’s not so much as I have a problem with making up my own thing. It’s where to start and build from is what is confusing. Charging by per person is a fantastic starting point Thank you for helping me get a better idea of what to do. I think I can build from this knowing what’s the more typical way makeup artist price their services. Thank you so much😸

[@julieruby]

@@bennu547 that is really confusing! I only charge per hour whenever I stay for touch ups but that rarely happens. I’m really glad this video helped you out :)

[@domoniquepatrick3013]

Thank you Julie 🫶🏾 you’re a real one for this one . I love all of your videos keep up the great work

[@julieruby]

Aww thanks! I’m really glad you like the video :)