We recently connected with Kaneeka Moore and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kaneeka , thanks for joining us today. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you as a business owner?
The most important lesson I’ve learned while working for other companies, is that as an employee I am EXPENDABLE‼️ I learned this over the years of working for different companies. That no matter how hard you work. No matter how long you’ve been at a job. No matter the value you’ve added to someone else’s company, none of that really even matters‼️ You can be replaced “at a drop of a dime.”
The year 2020 really opened my eyes when my then job at a luxury nail salon had to close due to the pandemic. In all fairness, the owner did everything in her power to try to make sure the employees were taking care of. She helped us with unemployment and took the necessary steps on her end to make sure we were covered during this uncertain time. I know that it was also a blow to her as well because she had to close both of her locations. But I believe it was an even harder blow to the employees like myself who relied on one job as our main source of income.
It was a wake up call for myself and many others. If you don’t have something of your own to fall back on, your livelihood is basically in someone else’s hands. I don’t know about anyone else, but that to me is A LOT of POWER to give to someone else over my LIFE‼️ The only people I want to have that much POWER in MY LIFE is THE MOST HIGH GOD and ME‼️ That experience alone taught me a major lesson‼️ To build a legacy for myself and my family so that even when unexpected situations arise, we have a foundation to help us stand strong‼️
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
to embody all of the things that I love
“If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life” – Marc Anthony I believe alot of people over look their passions and skills as a way to create generational wealth. There are people in need of whatever it is we have to offer. “We just have to let our passions and skills make a way for us.” – Coach Rose Smith I make sure to use the same safe ingredients with my oils. Being different and NOT following the trends, but making my own is what sets Nail-ish apart. We don’t celebrate ourselves enough Most people look to the world to give them a pat on the back or to give us our flowers. Instead of giving them to ourselves. I’m most proud of me just taking the steps and risks to starting something of my own!! I’m most proud of myself for not giving up when it gets hard. I’m most proud of myself for putting in my blood, sweat, tears and lots of ENERGY into running my business by MYSELF. For wearing every hat from A-Z. I’m most proud of myself from learning from my mistakes and giving myself grace to grow I’m most proud of creating a brand that helps others stand out in their own unique way.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
What has helped me build my reputation within my market is really just putting myself out there. I do alot of vendor markets which are like farmer markets for small business owners. Networking and connecting with different vendors, organizer’s, and people in general. I also serve in the community with different organizations. Saffron Trust Women’s Foundation, DAWA 💊, Beautifully Loved, The Man In Me, Of Color, & Allure Alliance to name a few. A couple of my “Sisters” and I from the Black Women in Business organization curate a FREE community creative event every month in the park. We call it Create In The Park. We host it at Givens Park under the pavilion. We also curate paid creative events every month which we call Craft & Sip. Which we will be hosting at RichesArt Gallery here in Austin TX. So making connections and getting myself out there is what has helped me the most.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I started to build my social media audience by being consistent. The algorithm can be unkind if you don’t give it attention lol. So you have to create a social media presence by posting content. Alot of people over think when it comes to making content to post. But what I say is, EVERYTHING IS CONTENT‼️ So if you are overthinking it, DON’T‼️ Everything we do on a regular basis in our everyday lives can be content. From what you eat for breakfast, getting dressed, running errands, packing orders, buying materials, the creative process,etc. The content is unlimited‼️ You don’t have to be a professional and it doesn’t have to be perfect‼️ Believe it or not most people want to see the behind the scenes, the mess, the mistakes, the REAL unedited versions‼️
Just do want you enjoy. I love to dance and I like doing funny skits. I make sure to get footage most places I go. When I eat or go out for fun. When I do my markets I make sure to get footage of the different markets and vendors. I highlight other vendors and small businesses. When I work with the nonprofit organizations I get footage of their events. I don’t limit myself to one specific niche‼️ I DO WHAT I WANT TO BECAUSE ITS MY PAGE AND MY CONTENT‼️ And I have fun doing it.
So just have fun with creating the content and don’t overthink it. If you mess up, it’s ok‼️ We aren’t perfect ‼️ Don’t get discouraged from posting because you think you have to be perfect or you feel you don’t have it together. You have to start from some where. And it’s the perfect opportunity to show your progress as you get better over time.
Contact Info:
- Website: Nail-ish.com
- Instagram: Nail_ish_
- Facebook: Kay Moore ✌🏾
- Linkedin: Kaneeka S Moore
- Youtube: Nail-ish Kay ✌🏾
Image Credits
Rhea Rose