Beauty business mentor reveals the realities of underpricing & how to charge your worth
By Hannah Beth Clayton | 31 August 2026 | Business & Education
Nail business mentor & Scratch online columnist, Hannah Clayton, discusses the importance of charging your worth…
This month, I want to talk about pricing. I know money can be an awkward subject to broach, but it’s an important one. If you’re fully booked and busy, but left wondering where your money has gone at the end of the month, this is for you.
I’ve met countless beauty professionals who have a full appointment schedule and are running themselves into the ground, yet still struggle to pay the bills.
When I sit down with them and assess what’s going on, the problem usually isn’t that they need more clients. It’s that they’re charging like it’s 2015 and are terrified to change it. I know, because I did it too.
For years, I’d add a service to my price list, then quietly knock five pounds off it before anyone had even mentioned the price – just in case. I told myself I was being fair; that I didn’t want to look greedy.
I was scared someone would look at my prices and think, ‘Who does she think she is?‘. So, I made myself smaller instead – then wondered why, after years of undercharging, I’d started to resent the business I’d worked so hard to build.
The thing that finally shifted my approach was realising that I’d been making the decision for my clients. I was deciding for them that they couldn’t afford another ten pounds, and assuming that they’d go somewhere with lower treatment prices. But I didn’t actually know any of that. I’d just presumed everyone was struggling for money and used that as an excuse to keep undercharging.
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The truth was, half the clients I was so busy protecting would have paid more without blinking. When I finally put my prices up, a few complained, two left and everyone else just cracked on.
So yes, when you put your prices up, you might lose one or two clients – and that’s okay. The ones who leave were loyal to your prices, not to you. Fill the gap with someone who appreciates what you do.
Charging your worth covers your time, training, products, rent and, hopefully, a pension one day. That’s not you being greedy or asking for more money just because you can; it’s you running a business.
I am looking for BETA testers for my new pricing calculator. Early feedback has been great, but I need more people to put it to the test! If you’d like to try it completely free of charge, please send a DM to @studiobyhannahbeth saying you’ve read this article and would like to test it. All I ask in return is your honest feedback within one week.
Hannah x
