If doing manicures is what you really want to do, then working with a friend as a tag team sounds like a great plan. As a salon owner, I always tell my staff that we are stronger as a team than as individual nail techs. We can offer more appointment times, cover for each other when sick or on vacation, and split expenses. However, keep in mind that pedicures are the leading and most popular service in the industry, and you will be giving them up. As long as there is give and take between you and your friend this could be a good thing.
I am always concerned when I talk to fellow nail techs in a mentoring situation and they tell me they only want to do manicures or are only going to offer gel nails. As professional nail techs, we should be able to provide clients with every service — not just pick and choose what we want to do. For example, I love to do acrylics; to me it’s an art form. But I don’t limit my services to just acrylics. I do manicures, pedicures, gels, acrylics, fiberglass nail tips, sculpts, pink-and-whites, colored acrylics, and nail art. If it can be done to a nail I do it! When customers call, I never turn them away because I don’t offer the service they are looking for. I want them to view me as the nail expert who is knowledgeable and capable of providing them with just what they were looking for.
— Shari Finger, owner, Finger’s Nail Studio, W. Dundee, Ill.