We were lucky to catch up with Chandler Monroe recently and have shared our conversation below.

Chandler, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

I think this question is multifaceted, and any mildly successful business owner is lying to you if they didn’t think about going back to their 9-5 frequently, especially in the building and growing stage of their business or on days when juggling all the roles gets a little hard. But to say that I am not fundamentally happier despite all of the ups and downs than I ever was at my day job would be a huge understatement. It’s not about how you feel on a minute-by-minute and day-by-day basis, but rather the overarching life of freedom and fulfillment that owning your own business provides for you. That’s the true happiness.

I burnt myself out quickly during my first fully-booked holiday season. I was juggling an influx of oncoming leads that I didn’t know how to manage on top of actually delivering on my services and managing my existing clients. I prayed for the clients and now was praying for the discipline to manage them. I dreaded waking up and going to work because all I wanted to do was stay nestled in my comfy bed, only to immediately feel guilty because at least I wasn’t on my way to wait tables or tend bars anymore. I had to learn (and truthfully. still have to learn) that you aren’t able to guilt yourself into productivity and that growth ultimately will require rest. But frequently, I reminisced on being able to *actually* clock out of my job and forget it once I took off my uniform. I missed not thinking about work constantly when I was home, I missed getting a consistent paycheck, I missed having someone else to report to when a customer was upset or I needed conflict resolution.

But then I remembered how my job is ultimately a privilege, both to myself and to those I serve. I could push my day around to be able to have lunch in the park. I could bring my dog with me on days I could tell he was lonely. I could schedule a week off for a vacation to my favorite camping spot in Zion or to attend one of my friend’s weddings without waiting for my permission slip. I made women feel beautiful, confident, and heard on a daily basis, creating a safe and inviting space they may not always have access to in their day-to-day. No matter how exhausted I was, I kept coming back to the gratitude I felt for all the little things about self-employment that added up in big ways.

The truth is, being a business owner is much more of an emotional and spiritual journey than anyone gives credit for. There are no operations or procedure how-tos that your boss gives you on how to do something and no manager to encourage you or hold you accountable. All aspects of responsibility, discipline, and follow-through are completely on you as the entrepreneur. While this can seem overwhelming, it’s the price you pay for self-employment. You voluntarily choose longer hours and a lengthy to do list, but you create an environment in which you can thrive in the process.

Chandler, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

https://andromedanailslv.com/about <– more info from my website if you want to pull from here as well.

My name is Chandler, and I’m a 24 year old waitress-turned-nail-tech who turned a little fold up table in my living room into a fully booked and flourishing independent nail studio in less than two years. After a college career lost to Covid and a degree I largely found meaningless, I stumbled into cosmetology school in early 2022 and haven’t really looked back since. I specialize in gel nails, focusing on natural nail health and fun but classy designs. I take a spiritual, client-driven approach to business and spend most of my time nurturing consistent and long term client relationships. I fuse traditional corporate professionalism and diplomacy with human compassion and relatability, crafting the perfect formula for the dream private nail experience (plus books that fill out month after month and art that leaves lasting impressions).

I found much success through my social media channels, where I primarily secure my clients by showcasing my personality, day to day life, and unique approaches to/opinions on the nail industry. I’m most proud of my ability to resonate with fellow nail techs so they feel less isolated in the industry and to attract my dream in-person clients so my job never really feels like work.

Recently, I’ve been putting my college + educational experience to use by creating classes and personalized business consulting for current and aspiring private nail techs. I help them build their dream business the same way I did by enriching their entrepreneurial skills and helping them create plans they feel confident in executing, plus give them tailored “big sister” style advice based on my own previous experience. The nail industry is on the cutting edge of moving away from traditional, typically unsatisfying salons and toward a private, luxury self care experience. My programs are designed to help nail techs create more of the safe spaces the industry so desperately needs.

How did you build your audience on social media?

People overcomplicate building an audience on social media. It’s more like you nurture a community by sharing your story, your struggles, and your opinions. No matter my always revolving intentions with my social media (marketing new appointments, posting my fave sets, etc) the main thorough line of my platforms is to document my progress and tell my story.

Have you ever had to pivot?

The entire creation of my nail business was in and of itself, a series of accidental pivots.

All of high school was dedicated to making it to college, and all of college was dedicated to working toward more college and professional achievement in the literary research field. I was working toward a degree in English Literature & Rhetoric with hopes to take it to a doctoral level and try my luck at being a professor. So when spring break of my senior year happened to fall in March of 2020, nothing could’ve prepared me for the disappointment and defeat I would feel. Internship for a prestigious literary publisher in Boston? Cancelled. Study abroad in Costa Rica where I’d be able to teach my own class and enrich my cultural knowledge? Cancelled. The whole world shut down before I even had the chance to be 21, including my job that funded my very first studio apartment along with any sense of joy I found from hobbies like traveling or trying new restaurants.

So I impulsively packed up my little SUV and took off to Arizona, chasing a higher-end serving job since I couldn’t find anywhere in Vegas that would hire me. With all of my classes now online and most of my senior year fragmented and lost, I figured I had nothing left to lose. I spent about 4 months here, where I was able to make some amazing memories and center myself again before ultimately being called back to Vegas with the news of my grandfather getting sick. I graduated early out of spite, slamming the door shut on the disappointment that was, at that point, all I had been working toward for most of my life. I met my now long term boyfriend, abandoning any plans to move back to Arizona. Very shortly after I stumbled into cosmetology school after wandering around what felt like the world’s longest dead-end working a bartending gig I was miserable at.

The rest is history and honestly a little bit blurry, but essentially I kept running into brick wall after brick wall chasing any sense of “plan” I thought I had for my life. The pivots away from anything that made me unhappy seemed to lead me right into everything that did. Eventually, I got tired of playing by everyone’s rules and being continually let down. I had the crazy idea that I’d be able to simply make my own and subsequently, Andromeda Nail Boutique was born.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://andromedanailslv.com
• Instagram: @andromedanailboutique
• Other: TikTok @andromedanailboutique

Image Credits

The feature image photographer is Drake Keane, the rest are owned by me.