As I See It: Mission Control

In his first publisher’s note, the founder of this magazine stated: ”The purpose of NAILS Magazine is to strengthen those involved with the industry by providing decision making information on current industry issues, economic trends, management styles, sales and marketing techniques, and coverage of any all events important to the further development of the nails industry.” That was in 1983. For 1999, I gathered the staff of NAILS Magazine, including editors, salespeople, and support staff, and we set out to write a new Mission Statement as succinctly as possible while summing up all the things we feel the magazine is—and should be—about. Here’s what we came up with and here’s what it means.

The mission of NAILS is to anticipate and meet the needs of nail industry professionals by providing a magazine and ancillary products that educate, inform, inspire, and enhance their professional image. We’re committed to becoming industry experts by maintaining close contact with nail technicians, manufacturers, distributors, associations, and industry experts.

An interesting challenge we face is that a trade journal must provide two kinds of coverage to its industry, it must reflect what is actually going on in the industry, and it must also lead the industry, sometimes recommending change. In that way a trade magazine acts as an industry advocate. In the process of fulfilling that role, we sometimes alienate the very people we are trying to help or the ones that pay the bill. But we support change that enhances the industry that supports us all.

Besides providing nail professionals with a monthly magazine that is an informational and educational resource, we also feel our purpose is to inspire you. Even if you’ve only been in the nail industry a little while, you are surely aware that these are challenging times. We want to be not just cheerleaders, but to show you ways to get inspired about the career you’ve chosen, how to increase your income (money is motivating), and remind you constantly that what you do is important and makes a differences in people’s lives. You may just be doing their nails, but at the very heart of it, you’ve making people feel good. What more important endeavor is there in the world?