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

Crystal, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you tell us a bit about who your hero is and the influence they’ve had on you?

My husband Duy and I really started from very little. I was worried about starting a career I knew little about and with little money. We pulled together what we had to pay for my schooling. Our son was 1 yr at the time and my husband had all his faith in me. He had been working at a bank since I was pregnant. He taught me a lot about finances. I admired his ability to always learn and grow in his career. After I was working in the industry for about 3 or 4 years I decided to branch out on my own. My husband encouraging and believing in me every step of the way. Because of his knowledge in business he made me feel like I was always making the right decision. I would see how hard my husband worked, he even worked full time while completing his bachelor’s degree. It inspired me to work even harder. So, I never gave up because of him. I hustled through the pandemic shut-down by staying afloat selling press-ons. He even helped me deliver them. Because I’ve been so inspired by my husband’s strength, knowledge and support, he’s absolutely my hero. Without him I don’t know if I’d be as successful. We’ve overcome so much together. He is an absolute amazing person and inspires me every single day.

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.

My name is Crystal Hoang and I am the owner of Crystal’s Nail Scene. It is a private and licensed in-home nail salon. I am a nail artist and provide gel manicures and acrylic nail enhancements for my clients. I have been a nail artist for about 13 years now. I specialize in nail art. I have no art style and love collaborating with my clients on whatever they are inspired by! I have been a brand ambassador for Madam Glam New York for around 4 years or so now. I have been featured in Nails Magazine 3 times, worked for Katie Cazorla at the MN State Fair, placed Top 5 in the nail category for the global One Shot Hair Awards and featured in Voyage MN magazine! My husband and his family encouraged me to try nail technology because of the art aspect. I am so happy I took that leap of faith! My life feels so fulfilling, my clients are my friends and I’m able to provide for my family doing something I really love. Some problems I’ve solved for my clients is what has set me apart. My clients didn’t enjoy the hustle and bustle of a busy nail salon. I provide a private personalized experience. I run a clean and professional salon space and provide consistent and quality work. It makes such a difference when you connect with your clients and love what you do. What I am most proud of? My ability to adapt as I grow as an artist in this industry. I never want to stop learning.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I think the most common time for everyone to pivot was the pandemic shut-down. I was in a state of shock when they announced our industry was closed until further notice. We have been saving so hard, now that savings had to go to survival. I couldn’t hug my clients, I couldn’t do art for them anymore and I just started balling. I felt so lost. I didn’t want to just sit around, I couldn’t just sit around. I brought up the idea to my husband of creating custom press-on sets for my clients. He was 100% on board! So I purchased all the supplies and immediately got started. There was no plan B. Soon after selling a few I had so many orders that I started a small website to organize everything. I worked on the orders from the time I woke up and well into the night. It kept me going and kept me from completely falling apart. I felt beyond grateful for the support during that time in my career.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

The year I started working for my in-laws nail salon I didn’t have too many regular clients. I wanted to build lasting relationships. I found more joy doing nails when I knew my clients more personally. So I remembered that my nail instructor always told me “fake it until you make it”. So, I decided to take a little risk and start telling my current clients and potential clients online that I’m booked out for the next two weeks! Even though I wasn’t. This caused clients to book multiple appointments with me ahead of time but also caused a buzz that I’m booking up and new clients were searching for me. Before I knew it I could no longer except walk in clients and 1 year later when I started my own business I was booked out 6 months in advance and unable to take on new clients.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/crystalsnailscene?igshid=NzZlODBkYWE4Ng%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@crystalsnailscene?_t=8hKx6oASw75&_r=1

Image Credits
Myself