We’re feeling pretty blessed to spend time with YN Senior Mentor, OWC
(One Week Course) Instructor and Nail Pro Extraordinaire, Melissa
DeLaCruz. You can check out her work on Instagram @mjay_delacruz.
Interested in giving your nail business a superboost? Here are three
foolproof ways to market and build a successful nail business. Melissa
has traveled around the world with us as a leading educator, sharing our
YN mission to help nail professionals everywhere on the best ways to
improve your nail sculpting technique and channel your inner nail boss.
She knows exactly what it’s like to build a business. She’s done it
three times before. So here are Melissa’s three foolproof marketing tips
that have made all the difference by staying inspired and most
importantly banking that cash.
THE BASICS, WEAR YOUR WORK
You might be missing out on the easiest way to market your work. It’s so
easy; it’s often overlooked. Nail pros, wear your own work. You’re
basically advertising it when you’re around town. People always stop and
ask me about my nails when I’m shopping. It’s also a great way to give
your clients ideas of what to get next. When you go to Starbucks, the
mall, out with the kids or at the grocery store. At the very minimum,
please wear your own work. It’s an easy way to show off and build your
clientele.
I love wearing nails and I always have. So this came very naturally to
me. I love the way they look and the way they make me feel, whether I’m
in sweats or dressed up. People say they’ve never seen a nail tech wear
their own work or had their nails done. I get comments on my nails
several times a day and I let them know that I did them. It lets them
know what kind of work they can expect from me. It even gives them ideas
for nails. When people ask, I tell them that I do nails. I throw out my
Instagram handle or business card. Around the holidays, I can get
pretty fancy and those always get comments, too. If you do polish or gel
polish, you can always do something simple, too. You just have to show
people the best of what you can do.
NICE NAILS, ON THE DAILY
Congratulations, you’ve now got the walking billboard component down.
The next thing key marketing move is to set up your social media
account. Instagram is the best for this. Post regularly. Post every day.
Many times a day. It’s actually what built my clientele now. I kept my
IG up and post daily. f I had the entire day open, my nails looked
fabulous. I changed them out every three hours just so I could take a
picture. I’ve had to build up a nail clientele three times. My Instagram
is like a portfolio now. It shows the variety of what I can do. It
shows that I have an active business. And now my husband Eric, did a
total career change. He does nails now too. He’s posting every day.
Instagram has totally helped him build up his clientele. I send him some
of the overflow clients but he’s almost solidly booked on his own. It’s
really the best marketing that I’ve ever done. We have a great time and
we like each other at work too. And I have YN to thank. At first I was
like, really? I don’t have time for social media. Do I want to take pics
of myself doing nails? But doing it becomes addictive. The clients get
excited about it too, they always want to know what you are doing.
HIGH TRAFFIC NAILS
Identify a few potential clients who are always in front of people and
work in “high traffic” areas. Retail environments are a good example.
Banks. Clothing Stores or Make-Up Shops sales people are great because
that’s fashion. They go hand and hand. Sephora or your other favorite
make-up store. Let them in on your work. When you do their nails; it has
the same effect as wearing your own nails. It multiplies the amount of
marketing exposure you’re going to get. When this kind of person wears
my nails, I always get the referral. The work speaks for itself. If
someone feels like the nails I wear are too crazy. Well then, here’s my
Instagram. Here’s what I can do. This is really how I continue to build
my clientele. When I first relocated to Southern California, I chose to
work in a salon with an unheard of number of hair stylists: 64. The
stylists had assistants so they could tear through 20 appointments a
day. Think about that. If I got my work on just ten of the stylists that
amounts to a marketing exposure to an average of 200 new people a day.
So I approached them and offered to do their nails for whatever they
normally paid. There was a range of prices from a manicure as low as $25
to $45 and then to $85 per set. I would do whatever they wanted or if
they trusted me, they let me pick out a look. I actually landed 13 hair
stylists.
To be honest, I never got one walk in. My prices start at a little
higher than average. So if there were other nail techs two doors down,
they’re charging less so walk-ins would head over there. The thing is
they didn’t have the same education and experience level as me. By
sticking to my prices and building up an active marketing strategy, this
helped me build a profitable business through referrals. I couldn’t
make it if I depended only on walk-in business. I would have been stuck
at much lower pricing. My services start for Sculpted Active Length at
$95 for a full set. Medium Length is $125 for a full set. Longer Length
goes for $150 for a full set. I have a full clientele with a waiting
list. My clients know that everything you get when you sit in my chair
is worth it. I’m worth it. You get someone with my education, my
experience level and my confidence.
WORDS FROM THE WISE
It can be hard to compete no matter where you are. People like to say I
can charge these kind of prices because I am in Southern California. To
be honest, I’m from Tulare County. Look it up. It’s located between
Fresno and Bakersfield, really rural area with a lot of agriculture.
It’s not like Southern CA and Orange County. I charged my clientele up
there the same as I charge down here. I believed in myself and stuck to
my price. It took me 1.5 Years to build up a full book here. You don’t
have to worry about the less expensive competition out there. The nail
market in Southern California is intense. It’s hard to compete here in
LA. It would have taken just 6 months to build my clientele if I started
with less expensive services. But I would be drowning and having a hard
time in business. By word of mouth and through these foolproof tactics I
was able to build my business out on a strong foundation. I was patient
and built it out the right way. I didn’t have to settle. Now I am
having fun and have a phenomenal and satisfying business of my own.
*If you want to learn more from Melissa in person, you can sign up now
for the YN One Week Course. You should all come down and visit us.
Please come out person come come find her here at YN Headquarters OWC.
**This is an adaption from our YN Biz Talk playlist, “3 Key Tips
Marketing Tips for Nail Pros” on YouTube. Follow our YN YouTube Channel
and click here to watch the full interview here:
22 June 2019