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

Hi Antonia, thanks for joining us today. Before we talk about all of your success, let’s start with a story of failure. Can you open up about a time when you’ve failed?

I think i fail every day , but it’s all in perspective. There’s many ideas or businesses I’ve had that just didn’t work out , yet from each one was a lesson. A lesson on what not to do and on what to do better. Constantly learning and growing as a business owner- it’s hard! While it sucks failing is the best teachers. Like children learning to walk they fall time and time again yet they don’t give up they try again. It’s literally the mindset we need when doing something new and the first time. We can ask for help and have people encouraging/supporting us and that helps!

Antonia, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’ve been a hairstylist for over 12 years and freelancer in events around the DMV for at least 8years. I was also a cosmetology instructor for about 10 years. So when becoming a franchise owner of a nail salon and not a hair salon was not in the plan. I knew i always wanted to be a business owner but i did not want to own a hair salon in familiar with nails as i had to teach it but being a franchisee is all new to me! I decided to look into becoming a franchise owner after being a client and having my daughter.

My salon is not your normal nail salon- we are a luxury salon that offers a different experience. Our clients come to celebrate some of life’s biggest moments with us because we focus on community along with clean beauty! When you step in you’re greeted by name offered a beverage and one thing you’ll instantly notice is there are no heavy fumes/ dust /and friendly conversations happening. We offer gel services and classic manicure and pedicure services. All the profits we use during our services are available for purchase and all natural.

We also support local businesses and give them shelf spaces in order to place their products and produce more sales.

I’m really proud of the community we have built from just a nail salon our clients are welcomed and feel more like family. We want every guest to not only have a great experience but enjoy their service! While we don’t also get it right with each guest we do offer opportunities for us to try again. Our main focus is healthy nails and being sure the products we use are clean and better for our guests health but also the environment. We really aren’t your average nail salon and it’s worth the experience!

Can you talk to us about your experience with buying businesses?

My current is one i purchased! I always say i don’t know if i would’ve made it had i started from scratch! Acquiring a business that was already established was the easy part. Having to set standards, following the guidelines of the franchise , came with a bit of a loss of clients. With loss comes the rebuild – we have now gained more clients, found new ways to reach more clients, rebuilt a team who is motivated and encouraged.

During the process i would’ve asked more questions we were a bit blindsided but it was too late to turn back. We had to tough it out lear new lessons and ask for a lot of grace. Having great mentors helping us along the way was very helpful!

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

Oh my! Almost missed payroll? How about missed it! I cried i didn’t want my team to feel like they weren’t valued everyone has a life and bills that go along with it. Payroll is still one that I’m learning more about every time and it wasn’t one when acquiring the business we asked enough questions on and learning the hard way!

There were many times , but i can only control what i can during those moments and find anyway to make it happen!

Near death moments for the business- absolutely i thought i was going to loose it all by July of 2024. Behind on every bill you could ever imagined, with really no where to turn , find funding etc. Thank God for faith and prayer because truly stress could’ve taken me out – but GOD! We were able to pull funds from every savings account imagined to stay a float. Now while business is growing things are on the up, still looking for funding to avoid moments like this and just not be stressed!

Contact Info:

• Website: Paintnailbar.com/annapolis
• Instagram: _antoniamichaela
• Other: Business IG: paintannapolismd

Image Credits
IG : @k.pricephoto Photographer: Kelsey Price