Well, it’s the three of us now: Natalie officially left the other salon a bit earlier than we expected. Although she was emotionally ready, losing the small income she did have from the other salon will hurt. That is until she got her first appointment! Natalie feels good to get full price (instead of the group-coupon discounts), and she immediately sees how she is going to benefit down the road.

We are taking shifts, covering the salon when we are not with clients, hoping for walk-ins, and walk-ins we are getting! So far we have had about seven walk-ins in the past two weeks. I'd been wondering if we'd get walk-ins at all. When you go to a new location and there is no history, you don't know what to expect. We are on a major street with killer visibility and apparently it is working!

Never underestimate the power of networking. We got our first call from a hairstylist, Jaime. She drove by and peeked in the window and picked up a card that's in the tray on the outside of the door. She called, I returned her call, and she called again and left a message and then dropped by on her way home and made an appointment. Diligent, I would say. She said she knew the salon had potential and was hopeful we were not a discount salon. Natalie gave her a pedicure, and I did gel-polish on her. We spent three hours working on her and bonding. She works in a high-end salon close by with no manicurists. Yesterday we did a referral of hers, another stylist and her two daughters. Everyone re-booked. So just as we are emotionally getting down about not having clients, the door opens! All three of us looked at each other and said, "Yes, we are going to be successful!" It feels good.

--Vicki, Polish Salon, Brea, Calif.