Now that you’ve got your diploma and confidence, it’s time to go to work and get more clients and practice against everyone you can sit in a chair with. I got a job at an hourly salon, which is actually a good way to start when there are no customers. My first strategy was to establish myself as a nail art technician. You have to make a plan.
When I was a stay-at-home mom, I learned Donna Dewberry’s One Stroke Painting and Toll Painting. I’m used to painting murals and all kinds of art on large surfaces, but as a manicurist, working with a small nail canvas was tough. How do you paint on such a small thing? I knew it could be done, but all I had to do was figure out how to do it. The nail pictured below is my first one-stroke design on my nails.
Thankfully, my boss is a big believer in continuing education and I take regular nail art classes to perfect my skills, as well as regular nail classes. invested in me for The art was very basic, but there was something about it. As manicurists, we need to take classes all the time to hone and improve our skills. The day you stop learning is the day your career stagnate.
Always investing in your career pays off
I quickly became the go-to person for nail art in this small town. I was doing nail art for everyone. I entered a national competition and won. Satisfied with my progress, the number of customers increased rapidly. It grew so fast that I couldn’t keep up. I was happy, but sad at the same time.
Every year my boss would evaluate our work and have us fill out a form with what we would look like a year from now. Every time I had to fill out these forms, I asked myself the same question. I loved my job, but I couldn’t go anywhere beyond the salon where I am. There was absolutely no room to grow and I was stuck as a salon employee working for someone else. I started thinking about where to go from here. Will I only do my nails at the salon for the rest of my life? I felt like I needed more, but where is what? If I had stayed here, I could only have been the employee I wanted more. These questions have been on my mind for years. It was time to start something, but I didn’t know which direction to go, so I kept working.
I was only hired to work part-time when my clientele grew so quickly that I could no longer take on more clients, but I did come to work on some days off. I wanted to be there for my children too. It was important for me to pick up the kids after school and only work when they were at school, but I would often return to work in the evening when my husband came home from work. I’m tired.
My boss hired more girls, so it became my job to teach them how to do their nails like I did. I was expected to teach new staff, some of whom didn’t want my help. Some girls knew everything that was impossible to work with. I really enjoyed teaching, but the extra work was even more tiring. Trying to work with people who didn’t want to learn made me even more miserable. I was just doing what my boss wanted me to do. There is nothing worse than trying to teach someone who doesn’t want to be taught. I was mentally and physically exhausted and worse, I couldn’t dream!! I couldn’t see beyond what I was doing. I’m really stuck!
leave the junk at the door
During the years of my inner struggle, clients had no idea how I was feeling, neither did my boss or my colleagues. I just kept fighting in silence. While my client sits in my chair, he believes it’s my job as a manicurist to make him forget all his problems, so no matter what I do, I don’t let my personal troubles go. never shared. I came to work with my best smile and worked hard to create an atmosphere that made my clients want to come back. I really loved the girls I worked with. Many times my clients have come to me because their time in my chair was entirely to themselves and a way to lift their spirits. This is one of the most important things every manicurist should know. Never tell a client about the hardships in your life!!! Appointment times are all for them!!
We know where our deepest prayers have been answered. I started getting offers from other salons. I looked at a few offers, but mostly felt like the only thing that changed was my environment. I learned that I didn’t want to work for other people and find myself feeling the same way years later.
All I could do was quit that salon and open my own place. We have considered renting a space to have our own salon and have considered moving home and having a home based salon. Moving home is the most cost-effective way to continue your education with minimal overhead. That way I can also meet my kids and work around their schedules. And most importantly, it had the perfect amount of space.
I opened my own salon in 2012.
Birth of TPN nail salon. That wasn’t my original name, but that story is on another blog.
Almost all of my clients have followed me home. Unprecedented in the industry, he lost only two clients. Within three months, I went from working part-time to working 6 days a week, 12 hours a day. My customer base has exploded! In this small town, people love their home salon. did you know who? With the number of clients increasing, I didn’t know what to do. Since I was the boss, it was easy to work around my child’s schedule.
I started getting messages from nail technician students asking me to help them with their nails because they didn’t get the necessary education at school like I did. I knew exactly what they were feeling, so I felt I had to help them. Slowly but surely I realized I could dream again!
There’s nothing better than being able to dream again
I was inspired again, I was passionate again, and more importantly I had a vision of what I wanted to achieve. I considered becoming an educator. From there I became a distributor. My salon has expanded to include her daughter as Head Nail Technician. We are now growing as a family run business!!
