My schedule has been so busy. I've had new clients to spoil, and I've been busy pampering the clients I've seen for years. I always feel like I can’t tell them enough how grateful I am for their support! I've been networking with other techs online and getting great advice and ideas from all the pictures they are posting. I've absolutely fallen in love with doing pedicures, even more so than I did in school. I've even done a few of them in client’s homes when I've been there to do their monthly massages. They are grateful that I can bring the spa to them.

I finally hung up my nail polish rack in my office and quickly realized that one would not be sufficient. I have more than 40 bottles still sitting in a box that would love to have a home on the wall in my office. Next time I will remember to do a polish head count so I don’t have to pay for the shipping twice!

I have an apron that I wear when I work to protect my clothes -- it has my name on it and “massage therapist” and “esthetician”. (I actually have three of them so I always have a clean one.) I wear it when I run around town doing errands because people then stop to talk to me about what I do. I haven't had a new one made that says “nail tech”, so I've been wearing a t-shirt that says "Got Polish?" This has prompted me to hand out of a lot of cards to potential new clients. The shirt is too cute and I love wearing it when I'm not working because inevitably I meet a new person to talk about nails with.

I was wearing this darling t-shirt over at my parents' house one night, and I knew my mom would love it. But when I pointed out to her what it said, she looked confused, then said: “Who is Polish?”

Who is Polish? What? I did a double take. Sure enough, Polish and polish are spelled the same. I bet that's why that older gentleman at the mall gave me a huge smile and winked when I walked past.

—Karyn, Body Skin and Nails by Karyn, Roseville, Calif.