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SEARCHWe take a walk through a busy day with Habib Salo, CEO of Young Nails.
Founded: 1992
First product: Acrylic liquid-and-powder system
What it’s known for: Education
True story: Young Salo, Habib’s mom, started Young Nails (her first business) at the age of 49
Before there was a marketing budget, a young Young Nails turned to social media (namely YouTube) to spread the word about their products and educational opportunities. “We’re shooting for 100,000 subscribers on YouTube, then we’ll get a badge — that’s huge!” says Greg Salo, president. The strategy paid off big and now Young Nails is running fast to keep up with its own success.
Once he fires up the computer, Habib Salo checks the sales numbers. Then he checks the company website and the trades (nailsmag.com, etc.). Then it’s on to Young Nails’ newest ad campaign, with a comic book hero vibe. The company’s brash, humorous campaigns featuring Habib and brother Greg are instantly recognizable.
Working out production logistics for a brand new powder coating system (SlickPour) takes precious time and patience. Problems inevitably occur but Salo (with vice president of operations Randy Allen) takes it in stride. “When the sh*t hits the fan, there are two minutes of hand-wringing, then we set out to fix the problem.”
One of Young Nails’ largest educator trainings was in session and Salo stopped by to entertain the hardworking Mentors, who flew in from around the country to attend.
Checking out the newest building, which will finally bring the company a dedicated marketing department. Salo and senior brand manager Rachel Schafer mentally place furniture for 8-9 people.
A product’s newly designed brushes were delayed and a quick meeting was called. The agenda: Do we proceed with production anyway, using alternate brushes? Salo (center), along with Rachel Schafer, Randy Allen, Ramon Hernandez, and Tracy Reierson, assess the situation and decide what to do. The answer was no, they were worth the wait.
A 2,800 box shipment of nail lacquer stands ready for delivery to CosmoProf professional beauty supply stores around the country. It took the company two years to get the distribution but persistence paid off: “We’re here!”
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