Editor's Note: Congratulations to Karyn for successfully making it through her first year as a new salon owner! You can read all of Karyn's posts by clicking on the Karyn tag at the left column of this blog, under "Post Categories." (And stay tuned to Blueprint to meet a brand new salon owner later today.)

It’s been a little over a year since I started doing nails, and I cannot believe how fast the time has gone. I am elated to know that I can work on my own outside of a salon and make my job work for me. I have learned how to target the exact clients I want to see, and I have learned that my best resource for getting those clients are my current clients.

My long-term goal is still to venture out of my office space and open my own spa. I don’t feel like I am there yet, but my husband is still encouraging me to do so. I am ever so grateful that I had the opportunity to get my manicuring license and add a skill set that my clients so needed me to have. It has taught me things about myself I was never sure I could do. Creative windows and visions I didn’t know I could do were suddenly at my fingertips. I look at nail polish in a whole new way. It is no longer just an accessory; now it’s a fashion statement.

I think my meticulous nature to bring the best services to my clients helped me to get to this point. The perfect brow wax was already something I prided myself in. Now a detailed natural nail manicure is something I proudly tout as a specialty service.

In the coming month I am adding eyelash extensions, which I love the idea of and I am enjoying the training immensely. There is no limit to what I can do, but I know that eventually one person will not be enough to meet the needs of my growing client base. Spending the last year and a half writing for NAILS magazine has taught me so much and introduced me to so many new people. I have learned so much more than I ever expected to. I am truly blessed to have been able to share my growing pains with you all and to learn to love a challenge, especially since challenges force growth.

I look forward to being able to answer any questions for anyone in the future, and I am again so thankful for this new family that I have been able to be apart of.

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