Business Building

Kudos to Nikki! She did a great job on both of our TV segments with WCIU-TV You & Me and 190 North on ABC. (Below is a nail art design Nikki did for the 190 North segment.) We had so much fun taping both segments. Well...after the preparation stress, and the nerves, and only after Summer and Nicole (from You & Me This Morning) and Sam and Eva (from 190 North) made us feel at ease. Then, we had so much fun.

Business has been creeping along. Our Google Offer is going well. We sold a small, manageable amount and are almost a third of the way through redemptions. I’m so glad that I chose to add restrictions and limits to the offer. I’ve heard of places in the area taking at least a year to recover from sold offers amounting to nearly $4,000. {Deep gasp! I think I would faint.} I’ve also read many articles about other nail professionals’ experiences with online discount services. I’m pleased to say that our experience wasn’t bad. I’d even call it worthwhile. So far we’ve seen some discount-driven customers that really cared only to have their service filled and had little interest in returning. This was no major inconvenience since we are still in the business building phase. On the other hand, we have also had several Google Offers guests who chose to make Posh’aah Nail Spa their go-to nail place...yay!

Our experience was so worthwhile, in fact, that I have actually decided to do a second deal with Amazon Local -- another small player in the online deal market here in Chicago. Again, restrictions were added to the new offer. Appointments are required and additional fees for no-chip removals and French no-chip polish were mentioned in the deal terms as well. I found that guests prefer to know this information up front.

Other than that, the biggest surprise has been how small Posh’aah seems in this city. I understand now why some businesses have flashing neon signs with arrows pointing to their front door. It is so easy for a potential customer to walk right by your shop and not even notice the store is there. Now, let’s not go crazy: I have no intention to add blinking, neon-anythings to our front window, but I’m certainly going to have to figure out how to get cute, twinkle lights onto the tree out front.

Here we are in month three and I’ve found that great customer service and word-of-mouth have been our greatest allies. We love speaking and connecting with our guests. Usually, by the end of a service we have made a new friend.

As for further business building ideas, I’m not quite sure what to do next. I’ve got my thinking cap on and will be researching tips on how to attract more guests. Let me know if you have any suggestions.

Until next time, I wish you the very best in your oh-so-polished careers! 

—Makeda, Posh'aah Nail Spa, Chicago