We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mady Macatula a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Mady, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?
I believe that the biggest risk I’ve taken in my life thus far is having a complete 180 career change and jumping into something more entrepreneurial. My entire life I had one career goal and it was to work in the dental field as a dental hygienist. All of the schooling, internships, and jobs I’ve had in life revolved around a career in dentistry and I really did have a passion for it. The idea for my current business, Nailbiters By Mady, came out of no where yet so organically where it honestly scared me. I feared leaving one passion for another. I felt as though I couldn’t work hard in dental hygiene school while also working towards getting my license to become a nail technician because I did not want to divide up my efforts. I wanted to be 100% locked in to what felt the most right for me and to run all the way with it. Debating whether I should put dental hygiene school on the back burner to explore this new business idea was so risky to me because I’ve grown up to believe that financial stability, job security, and a job in healthcare were the key to a successful life. However, doing nails, taking clients, growing my business, growing financially, and falling in love with the idea of having control over my professional life sounded too good to pass up on. My parents were very big support systems for me when trying to make my decision, and they were with me every time I was going back and forth on my decision. They kept reminding me to believe in myself and that anything is possible as long was you put your all into it. I knew leaving a more conventional career path would be life altering, but what if it was for the better? If other creative freelancers can succeed, why can’t I? And so Nailbiters by Mady became my life, it became the risk I was willing to take because that is what life is about. I believe it’s important to do things that scare you because putting ourselves in an uncomfortable position is where the most growth happens. To this day it has to be the best risk I have ever taken because now I’m growing and learning everyday in something that I am passionate for.
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.
So I am a licensed independent nail artist and technician, and what that means is I get the privilege to make a baddie feel confident, excited, like a princess, or like a boss. I started doing my own nails all the way back in college as a way to save money. I had been to traditional nail salons before, but because I was such a terrible nail biter, I was always self conscious about my nails and the nail techs there usually were not making me feel any better by commenting on them. I never felt happy, satisfied, or relaxed when I got my nails done so ultimately I ended up learning to do it myself. I started off buying fake plastic nail tips from Amazon, painting them with regular polish, and letting them air dry until I was ready to glue them on. Definitely not the most efficient or cutest way to do it, but it was better than letting anyone see my nasty finger nails. Over time I improved my skills because it ended up becoming pretty therapeutic for me to sit there and do my nails for 3-4 hours. I bought new products, more supplies, and kept practicing. I was only ever doing my nails as a creative outlet, not something I would end up doing for other people. Fast forward a few years and my little sister and her college friends are all asking if I can do their nails and I say “why not?”. I took my first real client July 2022 and I have never stopped since. Nailbiters by Mady is the community I have created for the girlies (or guys too because men deserve to be pampered as well) that have had a bad experience at a nail salon, have never felt comfortable with their hands, want fun nail art to express themselves, or just want to have a few hours for some relaxing, funny, therapy. I am so proud of the community I’ve built for myself because I get to surround myself with such amazing clients. They are the ones that keep me going and I literally would be nothing without their constant support. For potential clients, just know that when you book with Nailbiters by Mady you aren’t just getting a nail appointment. You’re gaining a friendship, a trusting relationship, someone who genuinely cares, Expect cute and cosy vibes, free therapy sessions, and lots and lots of laughs.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
Growing my clientele was one of the first challenges I had to face when starting my business. I knew that the potential pool of clientele was there, but what was I going to do to convince them to pick me over going to a neighborhood nail salon? My most effective strategy was truly putting the quality of my work over everything. Ever since I could remember I have been a perfectionist and needing everything to be up to my standards before I put something out to the world. If you perfect your craft and put your all into every single thing you do, potential clients will see that. Something a lot of my clients would tell me is that they could tell how detail oriented I am and that they appreciate someone who is also a perfectionist taking the time to ensure the quality is there. Starting out I wasn’t perfect, so I had to really find the techniques, systems, and products that worked best for me and my clients. When you keep doing what you’re doing and continuously put out great work, people will recognize and see that. The right clients will come with time! I went from having maybe 10 appointments booked in a month to now having 70+ staying booked and busy! I truly believe this is because I have worked hard to create the expectation that if you book with Nailbiters by Mady you will be leaving more than satisfied. It also helps to be friendly with every single person that sits across from me at my table. I think of all of my clients as my friends and try to establish trust and a relationship with every single one.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
Nailbiters by Mady was my side- hustle for a long time while I was working full-time as a nail tech for a nail salon. Because I was still just starting out doing nails, I did not feel like I had enough clientele or appointments booked to hold me over financially. Working at a nail salon was my chance to be able to take multiple clients a day and get used to working in a fast paced environment. I wouldn’t necessarily say that I learned a lot from working there because honestly it slowly became a toxic work environment and I was just going in everyday keeping my head down and minding my own business. However, I do consider it a key milestone in my nail tech journey. I think gaining the experience of working in a typical nail salon was important because it honestly taught me how I DID NOT want my own business to be. I did not resonate with the “get clients in and out as fast was you can to make the most money as you can” mentality. As my clientele grew and my work environment became more and more difficult, I took the risk to go full time. I knew this was just another scary feeling that would push me out of my comfort zone, but necessary for me to grow my business. I still have a lot of growing to do and so many future plans for Nailbiters by Mady. But let’s just say, I’m living my best life now LOL!
Contact Info:
- Website: [email protected]
- Instagram: @Nailbiters_byMady
Image Credits
Shani Edmond
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