The Beauty Pro Book Club: 4 Reads to Inspire Growth and Success
Four publications for beauty industry professionals to enhance their leadership skills, financial awareness, professional growth, and joy!
by Anne Moratto
The Nail Tech Who Flipped the Pandemic Story
North Carolina nail tech Nancy Pickrell supplements her service business with a new product revenue stream.
by Tracy Vinson
December 9, 2021
2 min to read
Meet the North Carolina nail tech who expanded her business during the Covid shutdown, and not with artwork.
Nancy Pickrell does natural nails only. She was operating her business in a very prominent salon-suites setting near Raleigh, NC, and had just signed a lease to branch out into her own space. But two weeks later she was shut down due to the pandemic. Let me reemphasize that: she had not even gotten to open her new space yet! Talk about a blow to your business.
During the shutdown, she decided she had enough free time on hand to work on her passion of creating custom oils and scrubs for her clients. She knew what they needed—a product that was both organic and would deliver a huge boost of hydration. She figured she’d start with small sizes and never dreamed she’d eventually be making larger backbar quantities. She began by offering kits to her clients that she delivered during the shutdown.
Post-pandemic Business Boost
When Pickrell returned to work after the shutdown, she began with only about 50% of her clientele, so the extra funds she was making from the sales of her products were a huge help. However, she still needed a boost of some sort to help her build her clientele. Remember—she’d just moved prior to the pandemic and needed to fill her books as well as have a wider market for her products.
What helped her make that transition, and how can other nail techs do the same?
“Seek out business classes to help you build the weak link of your business," Pickrell advises. "You can’t keep doing the same thing over and over and expect different results.” After she got some specialized business training, within about eight weeks she was 100% booked. Now she has a waitlist for new clients.
Broader Retailing
Pickrell's spa products are now sold in several retail shops in and around the Raleigh area as well as to the nail-tech industry. She offers portable, retail, and backbar sizes, for wholesale and retail sale, to all licensed cosmetologists.
You can reach out to Nancy Pickrell at: Natural Nails by Nancy, 2717 Western Bypass, Suite 107, Durham, NC 27705; phone 919-818-0923.
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