Despite their combined 50 years of experience, the three-person staff at Nail-Lissa Nail Boutique in Somerville, N.J., was a little concerned about opening their doors last March in such a slow economy. “We did have a few moments of thinking, ‘What are we doing?’” says Alice Wallace, a tech at Nail-Lissa as well as an educator for ProLinc. “But I knew that we were all highly skilled and we have something to offer. And we had a vision. We wanted to offer clients something that has been missing for quite a few years in the nail industry — a neighborhood nail salon where clients can come in and relax, hang out, and catch up with friends.”

The trick was making themselves known to the neighborhood they wanted to become an integral part of. “We were generating business slowly with advertising and word-of-mouth. Then the owner, Melissa Moschonikolakis, gave a press release to our advertising rep at the newspaper,” recalls Wallace. “We were hoping for a little blurb, but because the business was woman-owned, they said they wanted to do a feature on us.

“The day the article hit, we booked three new clients. And much to our dismay we have been turning clients away! What strikes me most is that the majority of the people I’ve spoken to were drawn more by the photo than the article. They seem to like the fact that we’re ‘older’ and not young kids just out of school. I’ve even had old clients from 15 years ago who I haven’t seen in years contact me!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, Click here.