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

Nikki, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s talk about social media – do you manage your own or do you have someone or a company that handles it for you? Why did you make the choice you did?

I manage my own social media with some help. My main social media outlet is Instagram. Instagram has been the most productive outlet for me and my business. I have recently opened two Instagram pages one that reflects myself, my business and what I do as well as some personal and the second page I started so that my employees have an outlet that we can showcase them and their work. I wanted to second page to be an outlet for the entire team. I run both but do have someone that helps me with the team page. I have found that by running them myself it becomes more personal, and people like that. They want to see your face, they want to see genuine content that is created by you. I have hired a social media manager in the past and quickly saw my page go from mine to just another generic page that didn’t genuinely show my work and what I do. And…. I actually LOVE running my social media. Social media is not for everyone and in some cases it may be more beneficial to hire help.

Nikki, 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?

A little bit about me…. I am Nikki Nixon and I am the founder/owner of The Lash & Skin Lounge located in north Peoria, AZ. I began as a solo Aesthetician and have slowly grown my business, clientele and now team. I have 16 years experience as an esthetician with 5 years experience as a lash extension artist. I absolutely love helping others find confidence in their natural skin. At The Lash & Skin Lounge we are a team of 3 Aestheticians that offer skincare services such as facials, chemical peels, dermaplaning, and microneedling. Our goal is to help you achieve your skincare goals and fall in love with your skin. We teach our clients the importance of skincare at home, and offer customized treatment plans that work for each client. We also offer Lash extensions as well as facial waxing and brow enhancement services like tinting and lamination. I want to get to know each and every one of my clients. I truly want to know about them, their life, their families what their looking for from me. My clients are not just another face, not a paycheck , not a block on my schedule. My clients become my friends… I enjoying coming in to the salon and getting to treat them while also getting to catch up with them and what’s new. I feel it is important to build true relationships, I want our clients to come in and trust that we have their best interest in mind at all times… after all, its not about us – its about them. I am so proud of the client relationships I have made and so grateful for the clients that support us and cheer us on.
I want potential future clients to know that we are here for them and we will always do everything that we can to ensure they get the best care, and do everything we can to reach their skincare, lash or brow goals.
If you are not local but want skincare, I do offer virtual skincare options. And am currently working on some really awesome skincare programs that are all virtual! So no matter where you are located we can work together to achieve that youthful, refreshed glow everyone wants.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Growing clientele can be stressful. When building my clientele in the beginning I really utilized my friends and family. I offered incentives for referrals. During this time I tried to also be as flexible as possible, this meant sometimes coming in for one person, because it was the only time they were available. I worked evenings, even when I really didn’t want to. I tried to be as accommodating as possible to be able to get the client on my books. When I have a new client I try to always find a connection and build on that to grow a lasting relationship with that client. Remember, not every client is right for you and your not right for every client, sometimes they don’t re book and that can be discouraging – but remember its ok and someone who is a good fit for you and you a good fit for them will book tomorrow.

I really try to make connections with other beauty professionals and build strong relationships with them. These relationships are vital. This is how we grow, how we learn and these are the people who can help us when something in our beauty business isn’t right. They are our support system, our teachers, our cheerleaders – not our competition. We have to lift our fellow beauty professionals up. It will reflect in your business, I promise you.

Instagram has also been very effective for growing my clientele. Showcasing my services, showing results and utilizing my platform for client education has been huge. This is a great way for clientele that maybe can’t get in as often as they’d like or those potential clients to get to know you, see how you work when it comes to services and learn some things before diving right in. It sets an expectation.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

You have to have time management, learn how to prioritize and set aside time for you and your family. I started as a solo Esthetician originally in 2011. At this time I was starting a family and was opening my business for money, not truly because I wanted to start a business. I wanted flexibility and money.
NEWSFLASH! Starting a business DOES NOT give you a quick paycheck nor does it give you flexibility for family and vacation or whatever else it is your looking to do.
Starting a business is ALOT of work, the money doesn’t come in flowing from day one and it takes ALOT of your time. You need to want it, and you have to earn it.
When opening the doors to The Lash & Skin Lounge I was able to find a rhythm between my family and business. I set boundaries of when I would be in the salon working and when I needed to be off and with family – with this I understood that I my “time off” was not vacation time off but necessary time off for things like school pick up / drop off, athletic practices for my children and that mandatory “mom time” I knew “vacations” weren’t going to happen for a while and that was ok. My husband and I were willing to set those times aside for the future. We also budgeted knowing I would not be bringing in more right away. All money I made for the first couple of years went right back into my business. When the time was right I began to collect a paycheck. But the business always comes before my paycheck.
When it stopped being about fun and money was when my business started to thrive. I opened this business because I love what I do, I love watching clients get excited because their skin is glowing and looks “better than it ever had” or because they don’t wear makeup because their lashes are “perfect”
Don’t get me wrong, I have a business for a reason however, I needed to learn the process, accept the process and find my why and learn patience knowing that with this the reward would come.

If you are starting a business because the core of that business is something you truly support, want and love do it – do it with everything you have. But remember its a lot of work, and a lot of un rewarded work (at first).

I am rewarded everyday with this business by my clients, my amazing team and watching The Lash & Skin Lounge become something I never though was possible.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thelashandskinlounge.com
• Instagram: beautyby_nikkinixon

Image Credits
Baylee Reed (bayreed photography) Halley Pevitt