Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Janay Lebsock. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Janay Lebsock. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Janay thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.
I come from a loving and supportive household. My parents, Kip and Christy, have always been my solid foundation in life and they are two of my favorite people. When I started making press on nails I lived in a small 600 foot apartment but didn’t have the space for my new hobby and all the supplies that came with it so my parents let me set up my operation at their kitchen table. I would apologize for the overwhelming monomer smell and my dad would always laugh and say “it doesn’t bother me! I can’t smell anyways”. When I would finish painting intricate designs on practice nails I would run over to the living room to show them off. My parents loved seeing what I was creating, which made me excited to keep going. I now own my own house and have a whole room dedicated to Nailed by Janay which I call the “nail room”. I know my mom misses having me sit at her kitchen table working on nails every day but I’m sure she enjoys having a clean table now!
I decided in 2023 I would start selling my nails at pop-up events and right away my mom offered to help. The night before my first event she stayed up late with me getting signs ready, packing totes, and setting up a mock set up in my garage to make sure we had a plan for the morning. I love it when my mom starts to interact and engage with customers by adding her own tidbits when we are at a pop-up event. My dad is also always willing to help with my pop-up events from letting me use his four-wheel drive car when it’s snowing or being there early in the morning (sometimes in the snow) to help me set up my tent and later take it down.
One day my dad came home after taking my great aunt to a doctor appointment and told me this following story. As my dad was checking my great aunt into her appointment my dad noticed the receptionist had nice nails. He complimented her nails and said, “my daughter owns a press on nail business and makes cool designs like yours”. The receptionist said, “I am not able to wear press on nails because they always fall off”. My dad quickly answered her saying “My daughter came up with a formula to make them stay on”. This made me laugh so hard and still does because it makes me picture myself in a lab coat coming up with some proprietary formula in a beaker. The real formula is some good nail glue and making sure to prep your nail beforehand!
My parents have always been supportive in whatever I choose to do. When I ask for help, they are instantly there with no complaints or questions. It is not lost on me on how privileged I am to have the parents I do. I wouldn’t be as far as I am today in my life if it weren’t for their unwavering love and support.
Janay, 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?
I have always been obsessed with beautiful nails. From the way they look, to remembering the feeling of my mom scratching my back with her long nails when I was young, to the sound of nails on a keyboard. I love it all. The first time I got acrylic nails I was in 5th grade while visiting my mom’s best friend Janay- yes, I am named after her! My mom dropped me off at the salon with specific instructions to get a French tip but that wasn’t going to cut it for me. I nixed her “suggestion” and opted for something more me… bright pink with flowers. Imagine a 10-year-old walking around with these long pink acrylic nails. You couldn’t tell me nothing!
From then on, I always had to have my nails done. It wasn’t till my mid 20’s that I realized I really hate the process of getting my nails done. It started becoming an inconvenience to find the time and I didn’t find it relaxing. Not to mention the frustration when one would break!
Early 2020 (pre-pandemic) I started down the rabbit hole of watching TikToks of people doing their own acrylics and if there is one thing you should know about me is I believe I can do anything at least half decent. I bought all the supplies and started to do my own acrylic nails. Creating masterpieces on a little canvas was a fun challenge for me.
Then the pandemic hit and luckily for me I knew how to do my own nails and had time to pass with this new hobby. I quickly fell in love with the nail art aspect of doing nails. I started posting my creations on my social media pages and friends and family started asking if I could do their nails. I had worked in a nail salon before but am not licensed to physically do someone’s nails, so the idea came of making press on nails.
At that time what I remembered about press on nails was they were flimsy, you always needed to have glue around, and them lasting a few hours to a couple days. So, I set out on creating durable press on nails that are stronger than the ones that the big box stores sell. I started making acrylic and soft gel press on nails and people loved them. I however was still a full-on acrylic girl but I realized if I am going to be selling these press on nails I should probably try them for myself for proof of concept. I put my first set on and documented how long they lasted, and I was shocked. On day eight my pinky nail popped off but that was it. I glued it back on and continued to wear that set for two weeks.
This is when I realized I was on to something and Nailed by Janay was born. I wanted to save customers time and money spent at the salon without customers having to give up the quality and durability. With Nailed by Janay’s press on nails customers get sets of nails that are customizable, hand painted, durable, and can be reused with proper care.
Nailed by Janay is truly my passion project as I work by day in the finance world so by creating nails I am able to be creative and create something my customers love.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
I think there is a misconception when it comes to starting a business that you need a lot of money to start. It depends on what your business is of course, but you don’t always need to start off with everything day one. I slowly grew over time. I bought a few supplies from Amazon and started there. In the beginning I used the few supplies I had and started doing my nails then I would post them to social media. I didn’t always have a whole room in my house dedicated to nails. I started at my parent’s kitchen table. When I first started selling my press on nails my packaging wasn’t perfect. I ordered some bags off Amazon and picked up some glittery paper from Michaels and would tape the nails to that paper. It wasn’t till three years in that I purchased business cards and branded materials and four years till I bought a website. It was a steady accumulation over those years that built over time to where I am now. When I would make money, I would put it back into my business. I am typically the type of person who needs to have everything perfect before I start anything but what was nice about Nailed by Janay is that it grew organically and taught me patience in that there is time to build and that everything doesn’t happen day one. Businesses are constantly changing and not having everything at once gives you the flexibility to pivot when needed.
How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?
Social media is a great way to keep in touch with clients! I like to follow my regular clients on social media as it is a way for me to get to know them on a more personal level. Sometimes I’ll see a set of nails I want to create that reminds me of something one of my clients would like and I’ll add it to their order as a bonus gift. If a client tells me a set is for a special event I’ll add a hand written card with a personal discount off their next set. As a customer I know I would appreciate knowing that a business is thinking about me in a genuine way.
Another thing is whenever a mistake is made I own up to it right away and make it right. I’m typically able to mitigate this with showing my clients a sample picture of their set before sending it to them but things happen. I want my customers to know they can come to me if they are not happy with their purchases. It is important to me to make it right when it is my mistake and something I can control.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.nailedbyjanay.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nailedbyjanay/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NailedbyJanay/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@nailedbyjanay
Image Credits
Allie Wellner Photography Molly Gram Photography