Im starting to wonder if i chose the right career..

[Cathie!]

When I first started out, 5 years ago, I was totally green, just fresh out of college....I did a bit of mobile when I was training at collegeto get the practice in but I hated it, my kids were really young then and all that taking my kit out unpacking doing the clients and packing up again drove me crazy.

I heard by chance about a local hair salon who were looking to rent some space out to a nail tech, so I bit the bullet and took it and so was born NailsAt42ndStreet!

Man, was a bad at the beginning, I asked the girls only to book me 2 clients per day as I was so slow, but with each and every client and with continual questions about the problems I was experiencing with my nails on this site (have a look at some of my early questions) and ongoing education, I got better and faster and I made some money!

So it's true, if I did it, you can do it too, and I'm not the best nail tech in the world.

I have a small salon now and my client base grows by the day....word of mouth mainly now. I am building and training staff to work alongside me and training other techs to be the best they can be.

There have been so many ups and downs along the way which family and friends don't really understand so I was so happy to be a member of this site where I got not only solutions to my problems but support and confidence......I would have given up years ago if I hadn't been a member!

So the most important thing I would say about being a fledgling nail technician is....you havefound the right place to be to be able to grow and improve and sometimes you need to bite the bullet, get out of your comfort zone and just go for it....you'll neverknow if you don't try!

And renting in a hair salon, you have a constant influx of potential clients.

If anyone's still reading lol....my aspirations for the future are to keep on honing my skills, to win a competition and be the best nail tech and educator that I can possibly be. xxx:hug:

 

[littlegrohl]

wow.. i have sat and read every post thoroughly.. i never really do that lately.. just skim for good bits, lol.
Its fantastic to hear your stories..

I work from home at the moment.. i have a small client base.. with every set i do i feel a little more confident.. and every hour inbetween is spent reading about nails.. practising nails.. mixing, stiring, concocting and playing with nails..

This will one day very soon all be for one aim.. to get myself some space and start doing something just a little bit different then the average techs around me. i have always been a square peg in a round hole.. may aswell make my career the same.

 

[zebestnails]

Great thread Chels!, I hope that my input will serve as a source of information or a topic of debate for us all with everyones opinions welcome to contest or support my view.

Firstly, I feel that choosing a career to become a tech can be a great choice but it is important to understand that being a good nail tech doesn't make you a good business person.

All nail techs can not all be great businesses. Some of us are great at what we do but that will not make a business and I feel from reading most of the posts on here that the doubt seems to come from the lack of monetary reward when the leap to self employment has been taken.

Now in business there is a lot to understand and be willing to adapt to from understanding your customer to figuring out your business plan, strategy, marketing etc. Some have been fortunate and have been able to create something successful(and I use this word loosely) without these skills.

A successful business is a combination of a lot of things but most importantly.. hard work, planning and opportunity.

The beauty industry as a whole is a huge market and each and everyone of us on here has the opportunity to contribute to that. Although the nail industry is still in its infancy in comparison to our others(hair etc), I see this as an advantage and not a disadvantage because as nail techs we have the ability to create what our customers demand and not the other way round as we are in an industry that is creating a 'consumer want' and not a need.

Now with Skill you are able to provide a great set of nails but if this isn't packaged in the right manner you are not going to be flooded with customers.

Pricing is NOT the only way to gain customers and I hate to read that so much emphasis is put on this. Now first and foremost... if your pricing structure doesn't allow you to cover cost and be able to generate profit you will never have a successful business, no matter how hard you work. So what the tech down the road charges has no bearings on how successful you can be, it only means you have competition and competition is the reason for why there is a price/quality relationship.

We are a service industry and I cringe to read that a lot of techs view our industry from the eyes of the techs and not the customer. Now from a techs point of view as an industry we have a choice of companies to train with, a scope of careers from tech to educator to distributor but from a consumer point of view the scope of what is offered to them is limited(not in skill but how this skill is packaged) and in my view this is problem why the nail service business doesn't hold a higher percentage of the beauty industry and if we all don't do something to change this... the careers available within the industry will continue to only have average monetary reward if this is the career path you choose.

 

[sian1979]

very well put zeze!!!!!!!

 

[Cathie!]

We are a service industry and I cringe to read that a lot of techs view our industry from the eyes of the techs and not the customer. Now from a techs point of view as an industry we have a choice of companies to train with, a scope of careers from tech to educator to distributor but from a consumer point of view the scope of what is offered to them is limited(not in skill but how this skill is packaged) and in my view this is problem why the nail service business doesn't hold a higher percentage of the beauty industry and if we all don't do something to change this... the careers available within the industry will continue to only have average monetary reward if this is the career path you choose.

So looking at it from a consumer point of view, how should techs be packaging our services for maximum advantage?

 

[zebestnails]

My next few sentences I hope will not offend anyone but hopefully be food for thought.

The package in my eyes is not the service we offer because the education from reputable companies is now giving us techs the variety(natural nail care, custom blending, prescription nails for bitters, salon nail art, feet etc)

The package is how we front these great services along with good customer service as business that customers will be willing to pay for regardless of where we place our prices. Now in comparison to all other industries. To have an impact on the consumer in a service business a shop front is necessary... now I don't mean out of your house(although I do understand the reasons why techs choose to work from home...financial, family commitments etc).

But as a whole if we intend to change the industry we need to offer a comparable complete service in order for us to expect the same monetary rewards as other industries where a career can be carved out with similar reward. We all need to think and raise the bar past having simple salons and offering something that the clients I have are happy with from this I mean having a bare outfit of tables and chairs and simple price list with lots of variation but no sell to back it up.

Our industry in the eyes of a consumer is considered a luxury(getting someone to paint your nails) and I feel until we start to package our great and wonderful skills in that way we will never get people willing to pay the premium(a higher than average profit margin to enable a more than just get by) for that no matter how many competitions or great techs we have out there.

There is a huge difference when I walk into a boutique store(from this I mean a one off small owned business with a high price tag that most are willing to pay for) and a high street store. This difference is the packaging and the reason for the difference in price.(price/quality relationship).

Once you choose to become a self employed technician/business you need to think like both a tech and business person else there will be no need for a technician if you can not find your niche in the market to gain the clients and make a profit.

 

[Deena]

Really good thread and so pertinent to so many of us at the moment.

I researched prices and standards when I got the chance recently to have a space in a salon. The whole thing filled me with dismay, to be perfectly honest, and I don't feel I have a hope in hell of competing. Drastic corners are being cut in many areas to get people out of the door in record time, both to compete with the nss and each other. There appears to be an army of wannabe nail techs out there and although I may be wrong, it seems as though the consumer is currently holding most of the <often inaccurate> cards?

I have a friend with a home salon who is losing clients by the week, as some of them said that if she couldn't drop her prices to compete with local £10 sets they would leave her for them. They have!! Although there must be some clients out there who can appreciate and value a properly trained tech using quality products and correct sanitary procedures, there is a great groundswell of people who will simply go for the cheapest option. My friend is currently looking around for alternative employment, as she refuses <quite rightly, I feel> to drop her prices in line with those charging these sorts of prices.

I agree that it is high time the industry was standardised to conform to certain minimum requirements. It might just prevent some true professionals from going to the financial wall! :irked:

 

[slhallford]

What a fantastic thread! So much food for thought.

I just took the leap off the precipice this week. I gave up my job at the distributor I was working at and doing education for to move to my own space in a salon. I knew that job just wasn't working for me to make my goals. I want to be like Gigi someday as well and to do that I had to have more freedom (and more risk) to really spread my wings. I'm going to keep up my Networking group and hope to grow it to support other nail professionals in the state.

I made the decision after the Carevan event I attended put on by an amazing group of educators from CND. I'm going to be working at the Salt Lake City event in June.

I'm alternately thrilled and petrified by my decision but the good news is that I've started as I mean to go on. I'll make it. I will.

S

 

[littlegrohl]

What a fantastic thread! So much food for thought.

I just took the leap off the precipice this week. I gave up my job at the distributor I was working at and doing education for to move to my own space in a salon. I knew that job just wasn't working for me to make my goals. I want to be like Gigi someday as well and to do that I had to have more freedom (and more risk) to really spread my wings. I'm going to keep up my Networking group and hope to grow it to support other nail professionals in the state.

I made the decision after the Carevan event I attended put on by an amazing group of educators from CND. I'm going to be working at the Salt Lake City event in June.

I'm alternately thrilled and petrified by my decision but the good news is that I've started as I mean to go on. I'll make it. I will.

S

Good luck mate.. you sound really positive.. Go get them!

 

[nailzoo]

Just thought I'd add a few cents woth to this post.
I'm quite busy, but in the last few months I have had about 10 regulars move interstate, it's thrown my whole diary out and I have gaps everywhere.

I have bitten the bullet so to speak and am currently doing a full set special at the same price I do infills (plain infills), a full set takes me the same time.

I just don't want to sit on my butt and do nothing.

I'm also working on perfect application with no buffing, my acrylic is smooth enough, (just a final shaping) and a gel seal (faster than Popits).

I bought a new sign for the out the front of the salon (it's metal) and I have made laminated letters which I am going to attach magnetic tape to the back (so I can change the sign as I like).

One thing I am doing is making my specials by appointment only (paid in advance) and the day of the week I am offering specials will change as I see fit.

The specials do not apply on days that are not advertised and they don't apply without paying in advance.

My sign is for drive-by trade, so if they can drive by and see my special, they can call in and pay a their deposit (or it's a no deal).

The worst thing about doing a special is the fact some of those clients don't return (I don't care if i make a certain amount per hour).

Also many people who see a special and book in advance don't turn up (I don't care if they have to pay in advance).

I'm ready for some new personalities in the salon, I've been in the same area for over 20 years. It's time for some new recruits.

In that 20 years there have been another 4 salons open up, so I'm biting the bullet, matching their price on full sets and I'm gonna cut their throats with quality nails and bleed the area dry of potential clients, that in the past could not afford the start-up price with me.

Just to fill some spaces.

 

[littlegrohl]

Just thought I'd add a few cents woth to this post.
I'm quite busy, but in the last few months I have had about 10 regulars move interstate, it's thrown my whole diary out and I have gaps everywhere.

I have bitten the bullet so to speak and am currently doing a full set special at the same price I do infills (plain infills), a full set takes me the same time.

I just don't want to sit on my butt and do nothing.

I'm also working on perfect application with no buffing, my acrylic is smooth enough, (just a final shaping) and a gel seal (faster than Popits).

I bought a new sign for the out the front of the salon (it's metal) and I have made laminated letters which I am going to attach magnetic tape to the back (so I can change the sign as I like).

One thing I am doing is making my specials by appointment only (paid in advance) and the day of the week I am offering specials will change as I see fit.

The specials do not apply on days that are not advertised and they don't apply without paying in advance.

My sign is for drive-by trade, so if they can drive by and see my special, they can call in and pay a their deposit (or it's a no deal).

The worst thing about doing a special is the fact some of those clients don't return (I don't care if i make a certain amount per hour).

Also many people who see a special and book in advance don't turn up (I don't care if they have to pay in advance).

I'm ready for some new personalities in the salon, I've been in the same area for over 20 years. It's time for some new recruits.

In that 20 years there have been another 4 salons open up, so I'm biting the bullet, matching their price on full sets and I'm gonna cut their throats with quality nails and bleed the area dry of potential clients, that in the past could not afford the start-up price with me.

Just to fill some spaces.

Nailzoo can i ask.. Do you find that this is a case of swings and roundabouts..
By that i mean.. does this sorta thing happen every few years?..

I ask because this is my second year.. and while i was doing quite well client wise.. i lost 2 .. one because she prefered nss.. (easier/walkin/cheaper)
and one because she moved.. loosing just two has givin me gaps.. and im working on filling those.. but after reading your post, im hoping that this is just the way of the business? and with perserverance and some savvy thinking..i can get through these times?

 

[RedAdmiral]

Ok my 2 pennith; there are millions of shops, millions of clients but when you know exactly which client is for your shop you will be flying.

We all want bums on seats but drastically dropping my prices has never been something I did. I instead choose to have a varied menu. I offer the cheapest file & polish yet the most expensive full set in town. I created a cheap set of nails - natural with airbrush white and do forever french nails 25 quid more, manicures the same something for everyone.

I spent alot on kitting out my salon and training and am happy to go to work each day, granted some days are slow but i get out there on my lunch break and chat to the retail shops asking how its going and would THEY like to come in for something. I'm quite a savvy networker and use this to my advantage.

Without sounding spiritual if you believe in your heart that you will make the money you will, if I get up and feel negative I think of my neice, designer shoes, something funny until I am laughing inside and say right I have to work extra hard to day but I will hit my daily target - 9 times out of 10 it happens - its not magic. I'm happy, people see this, they believe in my skills and they end up happy.


I've experienced some crazy times over the 6 yrs I've been a tech - at 1 point I thought this site was all I had. I read peoples posts and felt I can do this and I hold onto that feeling every day.

Recently little grohl I've had an itch to do fashion week I'm looking at the LookBook everyday so that is what I'm gonna strive for.

HTH's