Multiple Impressions

Just a quick share:

The owner of the salon where I booth rent (Patti) has been a CND Shellac ("Wildfire", to be exact) lover since its release in May, 2010. Her favorite color since she was a child has been cherry red... the color of old Mustangs, and her long-held vision of "glamour". It also helps that this guy she's been seeing LOVES that color on her nails, and owns at least one fancy car in that color.

So, when I brought OPI GelColor into the salon, she balked. It took quite a bit of convincing; I even promised her I would remove the GelColor and apply Shellac if, within a week, she didn't like the GelColor. We chose Big Apple Red, because it's the closest GelColor to Shellac's Wildfire... and still, she was unsure about it when she left my chair that day.

A week later, I asked her thoughts. "It's not rubbery like Shellac..." At the time, I had no idea if that was good or bad; it's true, though. Shellac, being a hybrid, is rubbery. It's meant to bend a little with your natural nail. It won't do that on an enhancement, of course, but she doesn't have enhancements. This bendiness is also one of the reasons why Shellac doesn't do so well on nails that are prone to peeling &/or are super-thin... too much bend will break the Shellac, and it'll come off.

Another week went by and, due some some snow in our area, she had to reschedule her appointment to accomodate some of her clients. By the time I got her back in my chair for her re-do, it was a full 18 days from the day I first did them. Aside from working about 50hrs/week (give or take) as a full-time hairdresser, she also has an active social life... and the morning of her appointment with me, she had unpackaged & assembled two new salon chairs, then broke down the boxes for recycling.

During the box-breakdown, one of her nails' GelColor peeled off. So, she got a good 18 days of wear (Shellac would be peeling one her by day 12 or 13, unless I double-top-coated). After she declared, "I LOVE this stuff!", I also confirmed the color choice. She said, "This is actually closer to my favorite OPI shade - Thrill of Brazil - than the Shellac was." Um, yeah... actually, it's a dead ringer for the regular polish with the same name, but, she's sold!

Shout Out to Shutterfly

Last year, my beloved Ed Wyse Beauty Supply (sorry, ladies; these stores are only open in Oregon, Washington, & Idaho) gave me an OPI calendar. It was really cool; people had sent in pics, and OPI had chosen some quotes from their fans off of OPI's Facebook page. This year's calendar... boring.

A nail tech friend of mine posted some status messages about the nail calendars she was making; selling them to her clients for $12 each. Now, I know I don't have the clientele that warrants selling them, but I do have a Shutterfly account. So, I hemmed & hawed; asking my husband & mom what they thought. Ace, as usual, told me he didn't think my clients would buy them, but to make one for the salon. Mom loved the idea.

I was still on the fence when I got an e-coupon; $20 off my next order (plus, free shipping over $30 is standard right now, and they have prints starting at 9c each). That did it for me. I set about deciding which photos I wanted; pulling a few extras just in case. Then, I figured out which layout I wanted, and how many photos each month. I had a hard time figuring out a couple of months' text, but once that was done, I sent it to my nail tech friend, Cathy to look it over.

She said it looked great, and helped with the last month's quote I couldn't come up with. I deleted all of the religious holidays (I am agnostic, & my clients run the gamut); substituting neutral-sounding ones (ie: Santamas, Leprechaun Day, etc), & added my immediate family's birthdays & my wedding and work anniversaries, then got to work on the prints I wanted. We had my stepson's senior portraits & my stepdaughter's sophomore pics we hadn't printed, yet, as well as some snapshots I wanted to frame for my studio.

So, now, I wait patiently for it to arrive... and my wonderful friend, Cathy, gets my OPI one (since they're limited release, and she didn't get one). I'm already working on next year's, with photos I'm taking now (less of a time consuming process later). As you may remember, one of my goals for this year was to take more pics of my work. So far, so good!

New Year; New Goals

I don't make "resolutions"... I believe setting goals & making plans are a better way to work toward achieving success. So, this year, I sat down and made a few plans for this year.


1. Take the remaining two CND certification classes: Master Architect & Master Sculptor.
2. Download the SQUAREUP app so I can finally take credit cards.
3. Take more photos of my work (preferably, *all* of my work).
4. Get my retail up to par, and sell, sell, sell!
5. Attend at least one networking event.
6. Repair the few holes in my walls left from the previous techs, and give my room a fresh coat of blue paint.
7. Get my room fully reorganized (which *will* happen as soon as my husband builds me that corner polish rack I've asked for).
8. Buy a new pedi chair OR a massage/heat pad for the current one.
9. Add at least five more regular clients.
10. By the end of the year, I will need upgraded brochures & business cards -- 2013 brings price increases, and I'll be a "CND Certified Grand Master"!

I'm sure I'll add more as I think of them, but this list of ten is a good start!

I'm also curious: What are YOUR goals within your business this year?