where my salon is we have got about four nns salons that use mma and to be perfectly honest with you I am sick of clients coming in and asking me to do something with them then them telling me that "acrylic" ruins the nails....aaaarrrrrrgggggghhhhh!!!! What can we do to stop these salons i know that they are using mma, who do i report it to? where to start?. One of the salons was even involved in a murder 2 years ago i am getting increasingly worried about the state of the general publics nails lol. xx

Let's put it this way. If you made clothes would you rather compete with Primark or Dior. Where's the money? What kind of customers do you want to servce?

If you are worried about NSS, then you are not convincing your market that you are different.

At this point I am not talking to you but in general:

Too many techs worry about NSS because they have zero business experience. They take a course, make poor nails, offer low prices and hope to get 100 customers a month and improve - but what type of customers do they attract? Cheapskates and idiots - the same no-nothing people who go to NSS!

Sorry, but I don't care where you live and the relative weath - wherever you are in the UK there are 100 people with money who can give you a good income in your area.

I understand that many new techs think spending £1000 on education will give them a new career and good salary. Sorry - the nail business ain't like that. If you are really good, people will drive miles to come to you and pay top whack. If you are average - expect a harder competition. If you are less than average - expect to compete with NSS.

The only way to make good money in this business (other than selling products or creating your own brand) is to be great! Great in business and make great nails - so good that people talk about them and you get referral business.

9 out of 10 new business fail in the first year and I believe that another 9 out of 10 business fail within the first 5 years. So people, quit believing this is an easy option! Take every education you can, aim to be the best, read some simple marketing and business books - and if you have perseverance and guts - you will not only do well, you will make good money and have the time of your lives!

Bob xx

Hi,
Some good comments made here!! I have been a Nail Tech for 11 years and have clients that have followed me from day 1. I try to educate my clients in the horrors of nss.

I know that these salons are frustrating for the likes of us 'REAL' Nail Techs but it is right that they often attract the type of clientelle that are less than desirable. (after a quick set of nails for saturday night, then pick them off the next day to get a refund!)
Lets be honest, we are all here to make money, but trust me, you dont want those types in your salon! Im sure you are a good enough tech not to need them either.

x

hiya im glad i read this thread if anything your comments have given me the desire to be a fabulous nail tech to work harder than anyone else on my course and be top dog !! I hate the nss nails i had a set ONCE they were the ugliest nails i have ever seen like big thick ducks feet !!

I will finish my course and then take an advanced course (when i have saved and have a little more experience), i am determined to be one of the top nail techs in my area !!!

SO THANKYOU TO ALL OF YOU GREAT TECHS ON THIS SITE

Thanks everyone I do everything possible ie be the best, educate clients about nss, but unfortunatly i really do think its the area i am in newport and its dier there........shops closing left right and centre most of the people that come in to the town are (and i hate to say it and judge) people that dont care what they look like and look for the cheapest option possible. They are willing to do anything for a freebie I even had someone come in a while ago with these mma nails on telling me that we did it in our salon and she wasnt happy with them and wanted another set for FREE i knew dam well that we did not do them in the end i stood my ground and told her that there was no way in a million years that they were done by us and eventually she left and we never heard from her again, this is just the begining of things we have had lol. Never mind i will keep doing what i am doing and hopefully one day nss will all be gone lol x

I'm hearing what you are saying. I look at "everyone's" nails and to be quite honest, some of them are looking good and I know they aren't done by a registered nail tech. I worry also about business. They get clients in and out in 40 minutes. I think the majority of their clients are young ladies that are not used to waiting for anything and don't want to chat, just want to job done. I market myself to ladies that want to come in and be treated as an individual, not have their nails drilled to a pulp and have a good old yarn. Do courses and make sure you cater to every individual's needs. Some people just don't want quality...

[QUOTE=BobSweden;1015881]

If you are worried about NSS, then you are not convincing your market that you are different......

- but what type of customers do they attract? Cheapskates and idiots - the same no-nothing people who go to NSS!.....


Hi.
Before I trained to do nails I was a "Cheapskate and idiot" that went to a NSS nail bar in my area. They did Acrylics on me and for the next day my nails felt like someone had stamped on them, within a few weeks half my nail bed had detached from the nail plate. This scared me so much I didn't have any more done for a loooooong time.

Then a friend recommended Bio Sculpture, which I was very happy with, and have since trained with them.

As most people just want nice nails and don't want to train to do them, should it not be up to us to let the public know.

Say a poster with a few pics or comments from people with problems from having MMA in NSS put on your door to advertise the fact it is not good for nails, and you don't use it, and it's not in your products.You don't use the electric nail file on the natural nail.

Maybe giving out flyers to people advising them of the questions to ask before having there nails done.
Written in English and whatever languages needed for the NSS Techs if there is a language barrier.

The vast majority of the public are ‘no-nothing’ people, its up to us to educate them. It’s easy to forget and assume that those making use of the industry have very little knowledge of it.

As a "Cheapskate and idiot" which are probably the majority of the public who haven't had dealings/training with nails , I would have loved for someone to have made me aware of MMA and NSS - BEFORE I HAD MINE DONE THERE.

Well I have to say that I'm working with a high profile make up artist today and her nails are gorgeous! (and I am super critical and can see a bad shape at 50 paces LOL). I asked her about them and she gets them done in her local London salon. It sounds like uv gel (she is a bit vague) and they use an e-file. Maintenance takes 20mins and costs £14 (original full set a few months ago cost £19 and took 40mins)

the shape is great and the painting immaculate. It is exactly what she wants and cannot spare time for longer appointments (not a cost issue). This would be described by many as NSS. But there is obviously a place for the good ones! Like everything, there are good and bad of everything even those that talk about NSS in shock horror!

The real problem here is that people do not know how their nails should be treated. Like many people I have had my nails done at an nss and loved the way they turned out (they broke off in horror at the end though and my infill was not done correctly) but I only thought that because I didn't know better. I only know better now because I am training. But an everyday client most likely doesn't want to train, they just want their nails looked after, they may not even know that after care advice is needed (I certainly didn't).
In this day and age where everything comes so fast and cheep nails are seen to be included in that. And it is such a pity. They should be little pieces of pride on your fingertips for the technician and the client. Having the treatment should be what its called a TREATment, a feeling of being special and worth every penny, even make a new friend with your tech.
The problem is getting the word out there of HOW to love your nails and let them be loved and looked after.