I wondered what I would blog about after the whole renovation, opening few weeks, and settling in. I thought it would get pretty mundane after that, but, no, life after moving is a whole other story.

Since my opening I've been dealing with the residual from the Groupon deal I ran in January. It's kept me really busy. My retention rate from the deal is around 20%, which is almost unheard of. Because of the people that returned from the deal, I've gotten somewhere around a 50% increase in standing appointments and and overall double the clients since the start of it. Despite the long wait at the end of the deal, I've had people to return, especially after the move to the new location.

I had a few teachers who came in, and ever since they've gone back to school, all of their coworkers want to book with me. Also, the morning news appearance I did on the 4th of July has gotten me a couple of phone calls from people looking for exactly the kind of work I do.

So in light of all that's happening, I need help like nobody's business. I hadn't prepared myself for this hiring process, but business is spilling over and I don't want my salon to get the reputation that no one can get in at Graffiti Nail Bar. I e-mailed a beauty school with a discontinued nail program, so I could get only the licensed, experienced nail techs. I got one response from the school so far. Then a woman just randomly e-mailed me because another local nail salon was full, so she referred her to me. It's really great to have relationships with other nail techs for reasons such as this. The funny thing is, we send business back and forth and have never met in person. So I have set up interviews for both of these young ladies on the same day. I have three other people that will assist me in doing a panel interview from different perspectives of the industry and also professional management. Next is the reference check, background, and a skills assessment. Being thorough is a must for me because I can't have just anyone working in my place. I plan on doing a lot of things in the community as well as networking with other businesses, and I need someone with enough professionalism and skills to handle my vision.

I've finally gotten my retail area started and some merchandise on the wall. I've been without a sufficient retail area since I've been open and though there has been an increase in income from services, that's not gonna cut it. So I've been paying myself booth rent to pay the bills at the salon until my retail gets up and running, which should be in three weeks. I've also got an artist by the name of Britney Boyd (Don't Blink) who creates handmade accessories, and she will be selling her art pieces in my salon. I plan on selling custom hand-painted shirts by my boyfriend, Joseph Boyd (Flight of Fancy) as well. It's my plan to display as much of the Memphis art community as possible.

I honestly don't want to be another nail tech that works inside the walls of a salon and only polishes nails and talks to clients. I'm an artist and Memphis has a thriving healthy art community that I'm always taking part in. I'm ready to be a part of it as well as other local businesses and charities. My entire salon is a work of art, and I love that I'm able to express my creativity and display others creativity as well. This is literally just the beginning.

— Lauren, Graffiti Nail Bar, Memphis, Tenn.