I Was Fuming at My Tax Bill. So I Fixed the Calculator. Then I Fixed Something Else Too.

Right. Grab a brew. As always this blog is a READ! This one's a good one.

I want to tell you about two things I've added to the Pricing Calculator, not because I sat down one day and thought "ooh, what a fun feature to build", but because life happened, I got annoyed, and then I got inspired.

That's basically my entire business model at this point.

Update One: The Tax Thing. (Or: The Day I Nearly Cried at a Spreadsheet)

So there I was. Doing my tax return. Living my best self-employed life. Feeling pretty smug, actually. I'd hit my income goal, things were going well, I was that girl.

And then I looked at what I actually had left after tax and National Insurance.

Reader, I was fuming.

Not because I didn't know tax existed, obviously I knew. But there's a difference between knowing tax exists and actually sitting there realising that the profit target you'd been working your backside off for... wasn't really your profit at all. HMRC had quietly helped themselves to a chunk of it, and I hadn't properly planned for it.

And I thought. How many nail techs are doing exactly this? Setting a profit goal, hitting it, feeling on top of the world, and then getting absolutely blindsided by a tax bill?

Too many. Way too many!

So I fixed it.

The calculator now includes tax and National Insurance estimates built right in. That means when you set a profit goal of £20,000, you actually take home £20,000. Not £20k before HMRC takes their cut. Actual money. In your actual bank account.

It's an estimate (it doesn't account for your personal tax-free allowance), but honestly? That just means any leftover at the end of the year is a lovely little bonus. Or it covers your payments on account. Either way... you're not getting any nasty surprises.

I genuinely hadn't seen this done in a nail tech pricing tool before. I'm so proud of it. And slightly smug. But mostly proud.

Update Two: The One That Came From a Very Honest Conversation (Several, Actually)

Fast forward to our June 2026 education, where I was talking about something that doesn't get discussed nearly enough in the nail industry:

Taking....! Time....! Off....!

Now, I know what you're thinking. "Laurie, I'm self-employed. Time off costs me money. I can't afford it."

And look, I hear you. Because when I started speaking to some of our subscribers, and some of my own self-employed clients, that's exactly what they said. Almost word for word.

They weren't taking holidays. They were putting off having children because statutory maternity pay is, to put it politely, a bit rubbish. They were skipping breaks, working through illness, and quietly burning out, because every day off felt like money they didn't have.

And that broke my heart a little bit.

Because here's the thing, we work so hard to build businesses that give us freedom. And then we trap ourselves in them anyway.

So. I built something about it.

Introducing Step 2.5: The "I Deserve Nice Things" Step

(It's optional. But honestly, why wouldn't you use it?)

Here's how it works:

You pop in a savings goal. Could be anything... a holiday, a house deposit, paying off a credit card, building a maternity fund, saving up for a new lamp because you deserve it. Whatever it is.

The calculator then automatically adjusts your treatment prices to factor that saving in and spreads it over the year. It tells you exactly how much to set aside each week to hit your target. And it updates your tax pot too, so everything still balances perfectly.

And here's the bit that made my jaw drop when I tested it:

In most cases, it adds about £2 to your treatment prices.

Two pounds. That's it. A holiday. Maternity leave. A house deposit. Two quid on your treatments.

You're not working more hours. You're not sacrificing your profit. You're not choosing between having a life and running a business. You're just pricing smarter.

I genuinely got a bit emotional building this one, not going to lie. Because I've had those conversations. I've spoken to people who've put off having babies because they couldn't afford to stop working. And the fact that something as simple as £2 on a treatment price could change that? That matters!

So, What Now?

If you already own the calculator, both of these are already there waiting for you. Just head back to your link (the one you saved when you first purchased, keep that email safe, people!) and everything will be right there.

Can't find your link? No stress. Drop me an email at branding@thecuratedclub.co.uk and I'll sort you out.

If you don't own the calculator yet, what are you waiting for? 😅 Go grab it. Your future self, sitting on a sun lounger with a cocktail, fully funded by two extra quid per treatment, will thank you.

You deserve to get paid properly. You deserve holidays. You deserve to take time off without it feeling like a financial disaster.

Let's make that happen. 💅✨

Laurie x