We recently connected with Kyla Moore and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kyla thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you scale up? What were the strategies, tactics, meaningful moments, twists/turns, obstacles, mistakes along the way? The world needs to hear more realistic, actionable stories about this critical part of the business building journey. Tell us your scaling up story – bring us along so we can understand what it was like making the decisions you had, implementing the strategies/tactics etc.

Scaling up wasn’t easy. Before becoming a full time nailtech, I had multiple jobs. I worked at a radio station, in several stores in the mall as well as Tim Hortons. I was overworked tired and underpaid. One day I decided to see how much money I could make if I ONLY did nails and that was the BEST decision I could have ever made, Putting my all into my business. I started with very little clientele and some days I barely made enough to pay my booth rent. Some days I had no clients at all.. I began to question was quitting my Job the right thing to do. But I stood tall and prayed very hard. I became a full time
Nailtech when Instagram first launched and that platform was the best promotion for my business. I posted several times a day. Sometimes I had
To do sets for free just to have content to share. Now I have a very steady clientele gaining new clients daily as well as hundreds of returning clients.
15 years later I still believe this was the best choice for me. I still enjoy every victory and challenge that comes with being a business owner.

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.

How did I become “TheNailTech”? I was 15 years old with no job no money and I wanted everything teenagers desire. I was tired of begging my parents for money they didn’t have and I wasn’t getting hired anywhere. I took matters into my own hands and took my money and bought nail products from the local beauty supply. I had previous knowledge of everything that I needed because growing up, my mother was a Nailtech. I used to stand over her shoulder and watch everything she did.
I practiced my craft for 2 weeks and then I began charging $15/20 for a fullset. I started my journey and took my talents to Eastern Michigan University doing nails in my dorm room in between classes and on weekends. I then became a traveling Nailtech on summer breaks before I was stationed in a salon.
For the first few months, all I did was polish no designs no long nails because i wasn’t comfortable with my creativity. After watching YouTube videos and constantly practicing, I now offer a variety of designs, shapes, and lengths.
I’m very proud of my growth in this industry. Staying relevant and on top of the trends is VERY important. What keeps my clients coming back is my attention to detail as well as my wonderful personality. I don’t use a drill to shape I use a nail file which allows me to personalize the shape for each client.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

On Instagram I have 21.1k followers. They came from CONSTANT promotion. Realizing the peak hours in your city, area and posting as much as you can during those hours will increase your audience engagement . I’ve had to offer discounts for those who referred me to friends and family and specials for new clients as well as free options for those that would share my work on their social media platform. I also use hashtags so my pictures can be found during random searches. Now, Instagram offers different ways to promote your business that you have to pay for and I use those as well. For example, there is a “Boost Post” option that will suggest your post on timelines that aren’t following you.
My advice to everyone is to just POST POST POST ! No matter how big how small, post it all. It’s going to appeal to
Somebody

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

This is a every year story

In this industry, for
Most people in the beauty industry, we have good seasons and bad seasons every year. For example, the summertime is the best season for nailtechs because of the weather. More woman make it their duty to keep their nails and feet done in this season.

Knowing this allows me to figure out ways to still make money in my slow season which is wintertime for multiple reasons. The weather being the main reason, doesn’t really permit for toes to be done so clients aren’t coming as regularly as they would in the summertime.

I have to think outside the box for ways to still engage with my clients. I come up with seasonal/holiday deals and offers that will still make them want to come get beautified.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://iheartthenailtech.as.me
• Instagram: @TheNailTech__

Image Credits

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