Jenny-Nails
Well-Known Member
Hello to all you nail techs
I have recently taken the plunge and started working (part-time) in a hair & beauty salon.
This is a long message I know, but if you could spare the time to read it, I'd really appreciate it.
I am a fully qualified nail tech(Creative Master Technician), have been for almost 10 years and pride myself on my passion, enthusiasm and at the risk of sounded big-headed, the quality of my work.
When I first started out 10 years ago, it seemed a hard slog to find new customers trying to explain what I meant by 'acrylic' and 'nail enhancements!', but as you all know, 'nails' have taken off big time in recent years.
I started out working from home, I had a beauty room built onto the back of my house, (Gigi..if you're reading this, you came out to show me the light and introduce me to Creative Products...good move, I've been a loyal customer ever since...I wouldn't use anything else!)
In the last year or so, my customer base has grown to more than I could cope with in the evenings and weekends, as I still worked full-time in an office for my 'regular' wages. 10 years on, I still have my first ever customer and quite a few more besides! ha ha. So, I have reduced my office hours to work just 4 days, and dedicated evenings and Friday and Saturday in the salon.
I work on a commission basis, paying the salon owner a percentage of what I take.
So I'm looking for advice or info on:
best ways to increase my customer base??
I have always worked on 'word of mouth' to get new customers, which I know is a great way, being recommended as a nail tech is an honour too!
With the room that I rent at the hair & beauty salon being upstairs, I'm out of sight of potential customers.
I've got the Marketing Kit from Creative and hung and alternated the lovely double-sided posters in the window...unfortunately, it didn't have much impact.
I have business cards, info sheets, pics of my work & price lists on the salon's reception.
I've also posted out loads of flyers.
Am I deterred you might ask? Not in the slightest!! I seem to have endless enthusiasm and drive. I know the market is out there, but the 'nail cafe's' and 'nail bars' have the edge because they look appealing and it's obvious they are there.
However, I have been getting new customers come to me, that have tried these places, and had told me horror stories and had nails that were either damaged, thick & discoloured etc....the things they all had in common were, whever they had tried, there nails had been such poor quality they had decided not to go back.
I have heard things like "The lady who did my nails last time hadn't done any training, but was going to go on a course!". Or, "Last time I had my nails done, the girl kept asking the girl next to her 'what do I do next'!"....you get the picture???!!???
I know there is no 'quick-fix', but I was wondering if I was over-seeing something obvious? 10 years on and I still remain on my 'crusade' to try and capture potential customers before the 'cowboys' (for want of a better word) get there first.
Long winded message I know, but you've got the big picture now, so hopefully, some of you out there can share your ideas/tips with me on how to promote my 'new' (or not as the case maybe!) premises.
Many, many thanks in advance
Jenny - Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire
you can also email me at [email protected][/b]
I have recently taken the plunge and started working (part-time) in a hair & beauty salon.
This is a long message I know, but if you could spare the time to read it, I'd really appreciate it.
I am a fully qualified nail tech(Creative Master Technician), have been for almost 10 years and pride myself on my passion, enthusiasm and at the risk of sounded big-headed, the quality of my work.
When I first started out 10 years ago, it seemed a hard slog to find new customers trying to explain what I meant by 'acrylic' and 'nail enhancements!', but as you all know, 'nails' have taken off big time in recent years.
I started out working from home, I had a beauty room built onto the back of my house, (Gigi..if you're reading this, you came out to show me the light and introduce me to Creative Products...good move, I've been a loyal customer ever since...I wouldn't use anything else!)
In the last year or so, my customer base has grown to more than I could cope with in the evenings and weekends, as I still worked full-time in an office for my 'regular' wages. 10 years on, I still have my first ever customer and quite a few more besides! ha ha. So, I have reduced my office hours to work just 4 days, and dedicated evenings and Friday and Saturday in the salon.
I work on a commission basis, paying the salon owner a percentage of what I take.
So I'm looking for advice or info on:
best ways to increase my customer base??
I have always worked on 'word of mouth' to get new customers, which I know is a great way, being recommended as a nail tech is an honour too!
With the room that I rent at the hair & beauty salon being upstairs, I'm out of sight of potential customers.
I've got the Marketing Kit from Creative and hung and alternated the lovely double-sided posters in the window...unfortunately, it didn't have much impact.
I have business cards, info sheets, pics of my work & price lists on the salon's reception.
I've also posted out loads of flyers.
Am I deterred you might ask? Not in the slightest!! I seem to have endless enthusiasm and drive. I know the market is out there, but the 'nail cafe's' and 'nail bars' have the edge because they look appealing and it's obvious they are there.
However, I have been getting new customers come to me, that have tried these places, and had told me horror stories and had nails that were either damaged, thick & discoloured etc....the things they all had in common were, whever they had tried, there nails had been such poor quality they had decided not to go back.
I have heard things like "The lady who did my nails last time hadn't done any training, but was going to go on a course!". Or, "Last time I had my nails done, the girl kept asking the girl next to her 'what do I do next'!"....you get the picture???!!???
I know there is no 'quick-fix', but I was wondering if I was over-seeing something obvious? 10 years on and I still remain on my 'crusade' to try and capture potential customers before the 'cowboys' (for want of a better word) get there first.
Long winded message I know, but you've got the big picture now, so hopefully, some of you out there can share your ideas/tips with me on how to promote my 'new' (or not as the case maybe!) premises.
Many, many thanks in advance
Jenny - Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire
you can also email me at [email protected][/b]