We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tony & Trish a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Tony & Trish, appreciate you joining us today. What’s something you believe that most people in your industry (or in general) disagree with?

We are proud to be in the beauty industry where we get to pamper and elevate our customers’ beauty needs using the latest modern techniques and technology. We are also proud to be a part of the Bakersfield communities. This wonderfully baking-hot city is our home. It’s where our kids were born and where we chose to raise them. We see the role of our nail salon as a servant of the community. We are not here for the short term. We are here to support the people when it comes to beauty. Many salon owners, who are typically immigrants and/or Vietnamese, place most of the focus on their businesses and not the people who actually pay for them. In other words, they focus too much on the profit and not on the community that they serve. My advice is always, focus on the customers and the communities that the business serves.

Tony & Trish, 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?

My wife, Trish, and I have been together for many years now. We met over ten years ago and instantly fell in love. It’s just one of those love stories where you just know you can’t live without the other person. Don’t get me wrong, our relationship got tested multiple times and it grew stronger every time. She was the first one that introduced me to the beauty industry, specifically the nail & lash industry. Trish was already an accomplished beauty technician when we met. I knew nothing about this career but both she and I saw great potential in it. We fell in love and started working together, from one nail salon to another, stretching from San Louis Obispo to Bakersfield, CA. At every salon we worked at, we honed our skills and our business acumen. We dreamt of having our own salon one day. Fast forward almost 10 years later, the opportunity came to open a salon in the Bakersfield South West area. A thriving area with sophisticated customers. One that would put our technical skills and business mindset to the test. Grand opening day came and it was an instant success. Our friends, families, and customers came in droves to support us. It was beyond our wildest dream. Unlike our competition in the area, we are a huge supporter of our communities in Bakersfield. We’ve been living here for decades. We got married here. Our kids were born here and they go to schools here. We are Bakersfield and Bakersfield is in our blood.

Beside giving the most excellent services we can every day to our dear customers. We want our salon to be a one-stop shop for all beauty needs but also a refuge for any one who wants to just escape the baking heat and relax among friends.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Building an audience on social media takes quite a few similar skills as a physical brick-and-mortal business. I would say dedication and consistency are the top two. I was placed in charge of social media and advertising by my wonderful wife. First, I had absolute dedication to making the business work. That was the foundation for all my successes so far with the business. I created accounts on all the prominent social media networks like, Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, Yelp, Google. To be honest, it took a lot of work and time because I was new to many of these. But I had to do what I had to do. I had to grow with the business. I made sure all the sites look professional and had all the necessary contacts information, I would update them every week on the approaching Grand Opening day. Keep in mind that the accounts were created three weeks before opening day so the information had time to circulate on the network. Make sure to give the salon a sincere, heartfelt story to connect with the customers. I wanted my customers to know that we plan on being here for a long time and giving it our best every day. In addition, all of these social media platforms allow users to add strangers and that exactly what I did. I added random people in the area and sent them messages about our upcoming salon. I also gave them a 10% discount if they would visit the salon and show us the messages. These are all good techniques to get new customers to one’s shop. The rest is just doing a fantastic job that makes them want to come back. Second is consistency. Dedication is nothing if it’s not consistent. Without consistency, there’s no trust. Same principle applies when it comes to social media. People want to see your presences and it’s always a good reminder that you’re still around pumping out good work. So I post content daily. It does not have to be much. A few short videos on the profile story do the trick.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

There are 3 principles that my wife and I live by when it comes to running our family salon. They are: (1) Always Improving Our Skills; (2) Treating Customers Like The Kings and Queens They Are ; (3) Be A Positive Force to Our Employees.

First, we never stop learning. Perfection is for the dead. When it comes to the beauty industry, there are a plethora of new techniques and technologies that come and go every year. In order to stay relevant, we have to learn and adapt.

Second, our customers are our life force. We are eternally grateful for their loyalty and their support. We would not be here without them. That’s why we take their concerns and their needs seriously. However, that does not mean customers are always right. Sometimes, there are misunderstanding regarding certain procedures or products, those are the times to explain to our customers what they actually expected versus what the products or procedures would give them. Often, out jobs could be educational that we take pride in that.

Third, the business can only run as good as the staff and employees that run it. So it is of utmost importance that every of our employee feels included, heard, and gets treated fairly. We are proud to say that we have a fun, loving, and enthusiastic team who work hard and loyal to the business. We are fortunate to have found such a wonderful work family.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vip_premier_nails/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vip.premier.nails.bakersfield
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/vip-premier-nails-and-spa-bakersfield