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SEARCHDetroit may have declared bankruptcy, but that’s not stopping talented entrepreneurs like Tamika Johnson from keeping a healthy cash flow.
Tamika Johnson (right, with me) graduated from the Michigan College of Beauty, a Pivot Point member school.
Tamika Johnson (right, with me) graduated from the Michigan College of Beauty, a Pivot Point member school.
If you ever wanted evidence that nails are a recession-resistant industry, I have a compelling case study for you. I found myself in Detroit for a wedding this year, less than two months after the once-bustling Michigan city made headlines for filing for the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. But when I asked nail tech Tamika Johnson — who works out of still-bustling Kut ’Em Up hair salon in the heart of Detroit — how the regional economy is affecting her, her answer startled me: The city’s bust has had no consequences on her nail business. “Before choosing a profession, I Googled ‘recession-proof incomes,’” Johnson told me. “I chose nails. It’s inevitable that people will want to get their nails done. Especially in an urban environment, this is what people live for. It’s entertainment.”
Owner Yody Green cuts and styles hair at the pop ular salon.
I found Johnson via Instagram — and I’m not alone. More of the tech’s clientele finds her via social media than hear of her through word-of-mouth. She started her Instagram account in 2012 and posts new nail designs there throughout each work day. She started her Facebook business page in 2009, the same year she earned her license.
For clients who may have missed her vast online portfolio (via sites like Instagram), Johnson p resents prints of her nail designs in physical albums housed at her table.
Johnson opted to work in a hair salon because the referrals are amazing. With five stylists and five barbers, she gets so many clients she sometimes passes them along to the second nail tech, such as a mother-daughter pair the techs serviced the day before.
W hen I advised Johnson I was in town for a wedding, she asked me what shoe style and color I’d be sporting before handpainting this toenail look.
Competition comes from the spas located at the casinos, such as Immerse Spa at the MGM Grand in downtown Detroit, but Johnson isn’t too worried — after all, if her business can thrive through the Great Recession, it can survive practically anything.
The two nail tables occupy prime real estate at Kut ’Em Up salon — they are right at the front.
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This list of watch-outs from @jodydoesjels prompted us to reach out to her and learn more. We had already fallen for her hand-painted designs and now we wanted to know more about this list she created to help clients decide if she was the nail tech for them.
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