I had the unique opportunity of filling a beauty school friends' nail tech position at a multi-state chain of department store salons & step into a full clientele when she opted to enlist in the Air Force. This was back in 1987 before quickie walk-in salons became the majority, so I was one of the only nail techs within a large driving radius, but taking her position required me to undergo a lengthy mentorship training process before I could work on any clients.

When you're young, you're impatient. It's only after you've lived awhile longer that you can look back & see with hindsight all the many things you thought you knew, but didn't. That's when I really appreciated the valuable training I received from my nail mentor.

My mentor was the Mr. Miagi of nail techs (YouTube the 1980's Karate Kid "wax on, wax off" to understand what I mean) & she was in charge of training 3 states worth of nail techs who were employed on 45% commission at this chain of salons which provided health benefits as well as optical, dental, plus in-house education on all sorts of salon products.

This is where I learned how to become a professional nail tech. My cosmetology education consisted of 4 days of nails, which was mostly our instructor (a hair stylist) reading from the Milady textbook & quizzing us. Without this on the job mentorship training I would never have been able to move to Chicago without a clientele nor any job prospect & support myself as a working nail tech.

Despite all this amazing nail education & even more that I paid for with advanced classes along the way, I still struggled because I had no concept of business skills & most nail techs are in the same boat. We focus too much on our nail skills (especially nail art) which puts us at a disadvantage because we lack the business skills necessary for survival & advancement.

This causes us to struggle financially due to our fear of consistently raising our prices to keep up with inflation, enabling us to earn a good living just like stylists do. Plus by not understanding how to implement smart salon policies designed to make our nail business run smoother, we allow undesirable clients to create chaos, not only for us but for all of our good clients, too. Consequently, many techs burnout & quit the nail industry.

My goal is to gradually fill my shop with reasonably priced nail-centric business digital downloads which provide value to nail techs. Thank you for reading & if you purchase anything from me, please leave a review so my shop can grow in the rankings. If you experience any problems with your order, please email me first.

Peace out, nail techs!
XOXOXO
Jill Wright, Event Coordinator & Nail Tech
www.NailTechEvent.com