NailtechsUnite!

      Last week I spoke about creating or joining a mastermind group. This week I think I found another one. Today I spoke at the first meeting of Nail Techs Unite, founded by Tiffany Jones of Cleveland. The vision of NailtechsUnite is to unite nail technicians by creating an environment that uses sharing to hone technical skills, social skills and professional skills. When LaDosha Wright, another hairdresser friend forwarded me the information about this event last week I immediately emailed Tiffany and asked how I could help and offered to speak. Tiffany welcomed me aboard and even shared at the event today that she had never had someone offer to help her and was thrilled. I have wanted to get a nailtech networking event together for some time now and this was the perfect meeting of the minds.

      To begin Tiffany did something very cool. She had us pair off with someone we did not know and ask them a few questions, five or so things they wanted people to know about themselves and they did the same for us. She then had us introduce our new friend and share this information with the group. It was a great way to get to know a bit more about each person.

 

      Next she shared a bit about herself and went over her ideas of professionalism. When we criticize one nail tech we criticize all nail techs. We are only as good as the company we keep, the technicians we encourage, the professionals we teach. To be professional we need to be consistent. Keep regular hours, provide the same service, be pleasant to all, consistently. We need to have commitment. Commit to our profession. Dress for success keep up with the latest trends. We need to have good communication. Whether you email, text or Facebook with clients, make sure you are in constant communication with them. Tiffany has different specials or her twitter followers, her Facebook fans, her text clients and her email clients. With technology today there is no reason to not keep up with our clients. Educate your customer. Explain why they need to book on a regular basis, why they need retail products to maintain their professional service at home. Educate them about the different services and products. She used the term UV color, instead of shellac or gelish, I liked that. Share information with other nailtechs. Don't get into the backbiting mentality. Share what you know and be a blessing to others and it will come back tenfold. Sanitize/sterilize. Whatever your choice, make sure you are keeping up with state board standards. In Ohio we can only use a file once. Tiffany suggests giving away to the client the used board or buffer block and emphasize these are one use items, Would you like this before I throw it away? Don't skimp if you are running short on time or tools. It's your business and its integrity after all, honor it. Set boundaries for your space. Don't let your clients ruin your workspace with food or drink, messing up your work. Stay educated. Read trade magazines, listen to Nail Talk radio, ok I added that one, attend trade shows and business classes. Our clients want to know what is new, we must keep up on trends and keep our business current. And last but not least be passionate. Tiffany admits she would rather do nails than just about anything. Clients sense our passion for what we do and enjoy being a part of it.

 

       Brittany Nail diva Foster also spoke. Brittany has been a nail tech for 11 years and stepped out on faith two years ago and opened her own salon and started her own natural nail product line. Brittany also spoke about professionalism and building your brand. She shared her humble beginnings from doing all her own graphics and a wix site to now having a graphic designer and web designer. As her salon and product line grew she reinvested money into her business and upgraded her brand. This was so refreshing to hear. Too many nailtechs put the cart before the horse and end up out of the race. She talked about the importance of retailing, that 60% of her revenue comes from it and she had free samples for all of us. And me, well you guessed it, I spoke on marketing. Tiffany would like to have this networking event once a month and provide a forum for help and guidance so we all grow stronger together. If you don't have a group in your town, be the group, start networking with other area nailtechs and learn how to market your businesses together.