We were lucky to catch up with Nicole Pettway recently and have shared our conversation below.
Nicole, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear how you think where to draw the line in terms of asking friends and family to support your business – what’s okay and what’s over the line?
I was fortunate to have the support of my immediate, extended and bonus family aka my friends. They helped financially and physically as they came to me for services, bought me things to help me grow, or let me practice on them. Although I was very grateful that they did those things, I didn’t expect them to. When venturing into the world of entrepreneurship you cannot expect things to be handed to you or that it is going to be easy. It takes a lot of hard work, and sacrifices- both of which can be challenging and discouraging at times. I feel like it’s appropriate to ask people to let you practice on them, to promote your work, share your booking information etc. It’s awesome if friends and family help you financially by buying supplies, classes or equipment but that’s where I semi draw the line. I will create wish lists for myself and share them with people if asked if I need or want anything, but I don’t set any expectations of the people in my life in regards to supporting my business.
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?
I’m Nikki, of Nails by Nikki. I have been a licensed nail technician for 9.5 years. My primary focus has always been the health of my clients natural nail. Unhealthy nails cannot support nail enhancements and to provide what I felt was best for my clients and my brand I decided to exclusively sculpt my clients nails instead of using a plastic nail tip. That became a major draw for me because not many people in my area were sculpting acrylic at that time. Sculptured nails provide a more natural look and feel than the plastic tips, among other superior qualities. Presently I have moved more towards gel extensions as I prefer the lack of fumes and less dust. Regardless of the product I use, I truly want you to love your nails, in whatever state you choose to wear them in. Overall I want you to have healthy nails but immediately after that I want to make them pretty!
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
Following nail school I worked for about a year and a half back home (Pensacola, Florida) then I decided I wanted to move to a city where I saw the opportunity for professional growth. At the time there weren’t many stores or classes available in my area so I decided to move to an area where both were plentiful and in 2015 I moved to Georgia. Life happened that first year so I took a year break and returned to healthcare, but after a year I was able to start working weekends at a salon near my home. This allowed me to build a portfolio of current work and to attract new clients. As my weekends were becoming increasingly booked I started to see clients after work as well. After 4 YEARS of that, I was still scared to commit fully even though I was fully booked for every time that I had available. Finally stepping out of my comfort zone I quit my full time job of nearly 5 years and gave myself a month to fill my calendar before looking for another job. I met that goal but I still nervous and wanting the security of a paycheck so I accepted a part time job which quickly turned into my side job as my nail business was continuing to grow. I was able to use the transition period of working full time to part time to grow my business and eventually quit the part time job completely. I have been a full time nail artist for almost 2 years and it has not always been easy but it has been very rewarding. It was scary, moving , quitting my job and stepping out of faith, but it was all necessary for my professional growth. I could have survived where I was but surviving and thriving are different. I wanted to be happy and enjoy what I was doing but also be able to support myself and enjoy my life.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
Nails by Nikki has been mostly self funded, I used my fulltime jobs to buy supplies, equipment and pay for continuing education but I have also had a great support system along the way. Family and friends have helped over the years gifting me with some items as my business began to grow. For my initial education I was able to get vocational grants for tuition , books and supplies through my schools financial aid office and alumni funded assistance programs.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.nailsbynikki.com
- Instagram: @__nailsbynikki
- Facebook: @atlnails