We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Clarissa Maldonado. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Clarissa below.

Clarissa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How do you feel about asking friends and family to support your business? What’s appropriate, what’s not? Where do you draw the line?

When you start your own business I think asking friends and family to support your business is probably the best thing because with them so much potential clientele can come in. Promoting your friend or families business doesn’t cost anything so why not? I know sometimes it can feel annoying asking people to share, comment or refer you to people but honestly networking is the biggest thing you can do for your business. Of course you will have some friends or family that will not support you but I would say do not let that bring you down because what matters is the ones who do care to help promote or even buy from your business. Always start with friends & family they will help you grow in the long run!

Clarissa, 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?

Well my name is clarissa maldonado, I’m 25 years old living in San Antonio, TX. I have a 6 month old baby boy and run my own small business doing nails. I got into the beauty industry when COVID hit and the reason I got into doing nails was because I saw a lot of girls at the time getting into something related to beauty and being able to work for themselves. I thought to myself that would be so cool to be able to make my own schedule and do something that I actually enjoy but little did I know I would fall in love with doing nails and making girls feel beautiful at the same time! I absolutely love my job and being able to meet so many people. What I specialize in mainly is acrylic nails but along with that comes manicures, nail art & so much more! Sometimes clients come in and absolutely hate their bare nails for whatever their reasons are and once we apply acrylic nails along with nail art they end up feeling so much more confident and this is why I love what I do! To see my clients reactions when their nails are finished is what makes me happy. Knowing there are girls out here who come to me every single month and give me their business means more to me than what they know! I think what sets me apart from others is im more than just a nail tech, I’m your friend. I will be here to listen to your problems and give you advice and that will never leave my mouth. I always want my clients to feel comfortable coming to their nail appointments and to know they will have a good time in my chair. I would say I’m very proud of my growth, I started in my 1 bedroom apartment with a small little table from Walmart and 2 acrylic powders. Now? I have my own suite with so many colors and powders to choose from along with so much loyal clientele! To know I’m able to afford a suite and than some shows that I did it! I was afraid but I took that chance and without my clients I am nothing! I would love for future clientele to know I am here to make you feel 10x more confident in yourself and I will always be a friend and not just your nail tech. I take pride in what I do and will always strive to provide you with the BEST!

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Social media has been the most effective for me! I constantly promote myself on ALL platforms and it brings in clients back to back. I have girls who come from tiktok, Instagram, Facebook! I try to always use hashtags like #sanantonionailtech #210nailtech and it works because when I ask girls how they found me they always say “oh I typed in #sanantonionailtech” and you popped up as one of them. I think asking your clients where they find you and taking that and running with it helps because you know the next client will probably do the same thing! Don’t be afraid to promote yourself everyday because this is what will bring in that future clientele.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I built my audience on social media by asking friends and family first to follow my nail page and then asking them to ask others to help with a follow! Next came perfecting my craft so I had work to post to keep these people interested in my page. Once I felt comfortable enough in providing my services I started with giveaways! Giveaways will bring in so much potential clientele for you because who doesn’t love a free set or 50% off a set? Sometimes I even did goodie basket giveaways. When you do these giveaways you can ask people to follow you, like share & tag a few people in the post and then in return once the giveaway is done you pick a winner! Keep people interested in your page and along with that comes the platform you will create. Even collaborating with another beauty service provider can help build your audience on social media. These are some tips that helped me when I first started off in my industry.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://naildbyclarissa.as.me/
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/naildbyclarissa
• Facebook: www.Facebook.com/naildbyclarissa

Image Credits
@sadiephotography