We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chiquiti Williams a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Chiquiti , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

It started when I went to my local nail salons; I’m not bashing anyone’s business, but I knew there was an issue when I was spending more money every other week to get my nails done than I’d ever spent EVER. I was watching other nail technicians videos on YouTube one day and took notes on what products they used, retention, and the do’s and don’ts of nail care. Of course, because I was not a professional at the time, I began on myself. I didn’t imagine I’d be doing nails for this long when I first started a year ago because I had no support other than my partner.

There were many times when I cried and wanted to give up, but giving up on whatever I want to do is never an option. I needed to work out how I was going to attract clients, where I was going to start, who I was going to talk to, and so on. It was DIFFICULT! After taking a course to become certified as a nail artist, I started my booking site. After approximately 3 months of filming TikTok videos, posting on Facebook to let people know I do nails, and posting on Instagram, I had my first client, and man, was I worried. I didn’t give that set my all, so instead of charging, I did a couple sets for free; it wasn’t the best choice, but it was something to get my foot in the door to let people know who I was, although their still learning about me I think I’m heading in the right direction to get their attention.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Those who are unfamiliar with me My name is Keta, and I am from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I am now a resident of Dawson, Georgia. I got into the nail industry because it’s something I’ve always done for self-care and now I’m able to do it myself, which is hands down one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life. I must say that owning a business is not easy at all, but in order to have a successful business you have to apply yourself in ways you never thought you could, and be aware of the rejection you’ll get from those who aren’t taking you seriously at the moment.

The type of service I provide is nail care services. I specialize in acrylic nails, and press on nail. I want my clients to know that I’m no different than they are, I had to start from somewhere and the type of business I run is the type that will welcome those that would like to know how/where to get started, I’m not a gatekeeper when it comes to becoming successful.

How did you build your audience on social media?

How I built my audience was not easy either, I’m still building but for the few followers that I do have I gained them by promoting myself EVERY SINGLE DAY. Never get tired of promoting yourself, they may not interact but somebody somebody’s watching you. I also started by paying for ads on social media, I’m not shame to say I paid to promote my business and work, it’s all apart of marketing yourself. If you have enough followers on TikTok go live and talk about your business.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

My most effective strategy is being productive. When I’m out in public I pass out my business cards and if I don’t see anyone I put them on their car window, ask store owners if I could put my business cards in their store, you always have to be productive no matter what.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://klawedbyketa.as.me/schedule.php
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/klawedby_keta/