
Networking to Grow Your Business
Let's face it, there seems to be a nail salon on every corner and some in between. So what's a salon owner or nail tech to do to build her business these days? How about networking with other local businesses?

Let's face it, there seems to be a nail salon on every corner and some in between. So what's a salon owner or nail tech to do to build her business these days? How about networking with other local businesses?

“While it’s not a product or service that you can make money from, offering gift-wrapping is a wonderful way to thank your loyal customers for their patronage throughout the year and to make their stress-filled holiday time just a little bit easier,” says small-business marketing expert Nanette Miner.
If business is slow, it’s time to crank up your “brave meter,” says Kristi Valenzuela, a success coach with Crystal Focus Coaching.
“Within our industry there are three categories with which you can choose to align yourself: budget/economy, intermediate/midsection, and luxury/top end,” says salon consultant Maxim Titter. There is no right or wrong category, she emphasizes, only the danger of not knowing which category you belong to.

Here are some products specifically for men, and some tips on how to get those guys into your salon and keep them there.

Stitched together from the best of the web, the Franken-Web is a compilation of 17 awesome salon website features we’ve found online. Use these examples to inspire your own salon website, and watch your business come alive.

Not only is Megan DiMartino the creator of the Novita Clinicals line of skin care and spa manicure/pedicure products, she’s the proud owner of Georgetown, Texas-based Novita Spa on the Square, a thriving day spa.

A new business development e-book titled Building Your Clientele in 6-9 Months: A 360° Guide to Generating Income is available on the NSI website to help nail technicians across the globe.

"Go to where the media is!” says Nanette Miner, a small-business marketing expert and co-author of the book, 101 Media and Marketing Tips for Salon Owners, Stylists and Managers.

For clients of Salon Riviera in Redondo Beach, Calif., receiving a traffic or parking ticket has an unexpected upside: Bring the ticket to the salon and new clients will receive 50% off their service.

Attention-getting design and visual merchandising — the art of placing retail products in a way that increases sales — can give you a major advantage over your competition. Even if you don’t have a hefty visual merchandising budget, remember that creativity, initiative, and a sense of humor don’t carry a price tag. A visual strategist at Chute Gerdeman Retail shares 11 Dos (and a few Don’ts) to help you prepare for a successful holiday season.

Being your own boss is a rewarding choice, but it takes commitment and perseverance. Seasoned techs offer tips to help you succeed.

Hosted by Athena Elliott, a certified medical nail technician and a Minx specialist, the show gives listeners the straight talk on the nail biz — including current trends, industry news, interviews with celebrity manicurists and industry leaders, and local salon reviews.

Purse Bags from Action Bag Company are perfect for holding a gift card or small products. Available in nine colors with matching ribbon tie closure. Add your logo with our Free Art Options!
A sign that lifts my spirits is that as I write this, the September issues of all of the consumer fashion magazines just came out and they are bigger than I’ve seen them in the last few years.

Universal Companies’ education program — Advance with Education — offers targeted topics to cover the needs of industry personnel, from business owner/manager to nail technician, skin care professional, or massage therapist. Spas may choose from a wide range of webinar classes or workshops held across the U.S.

We know we should be saving for retirement — or taxes, or that vacation — but often we can’t seem to find a way. A free service called Auto-Save from Integrity Payment Systems automatically deducts a pre-determined amount each time a client pays with a credit card and deposits the amounts into an interest-bearing, no-minimum savings account.