Business

Reader to Reader: What issue scares or concerns you the most about the future of the nail industry?

December 26, 2010

I worry about information out there! We are in such an age of information, and with that comes misinformation. For consumers and professionals alike it is hard to know what is truth and what is just myth. Then we as professionals have to know the truth and convince our clients that a news report was wrong or an article/blog didn’t tell the whole truth. - HEIDI FLORES, La Bella Salon, Lindale, Texas

Supply costs! Especially with everything else going up, supplies are sort of expensive now. What’s the price going to be like in the future? - HANNA MOULDER, Beauty and the Beast Hairstyles, Pensacola, Fla.

My concern is the lack of education — when I got my license I was thrown into the real world with very little knowledge or experience. - LORI YBARRA, Corpus Christi, Texas

My fear is the continuing decline of the economy, and losing clients because my service is a luxury not a necessity. After 28 years in this profession, I have weathered the discount salons, and I refuse to lower my prices to compete with these salons. I am worth my price and I use only top-quality products (whose costs are rising). I want to continue to be successful. - LEISA DAVIS, Reflections Salon, Fresno, Calif.

My fear is that techs hang on to the old and need to step up and embrace new technology. There are now colored gels, gel polishes, colored acrylics, and more; the new technologies are endless. If you distinguish yourself your clients will pay what you are worth. That is the fun of a business based on clientele — you know from your interactions with your clients how you do. - JENNIFER WIRTH, NailpopitUSA, Mount Horeb, Wis.

I worry about my future (as in retirement). I’ve been a nail tech for 15 years and not being married, I don’t have anyone else to support me. I worry about how I will support myself when I’m in my 60s. - CHANTEL ESTRADA, NailZ & Co., Cotati, Calif.

In the future the prices will inflate, products will change, but I expect that. What I’m scared of is that those clients who still insist on going to the “back door salons” will not have a natural nail to work with anymore because it will be so destroyed as to be hopeless. What I mean by “back door salons” is the state board walks in the front door and the so-called nail techs run out the back door. - DIANNA MEDEIROS, The Make-up Bar, Cherry Hill, N.J.

Topics:product costs retirement reader surveys economy

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