We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rachael Waggoner a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Rachael , appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?
I think that education is extremely important but I disagree that it has to be through a traditional route in order for someone to be successful. I think the most important thing is to learn something your passionate about, hone in your skills and make yourself an expert at whatever you committed to doing. You can build a million dollar business from a 4 year degree exactly the same as from getting a 6 month technical certificate. A person’s success is dictated by their drive, focus, determination and sacrifice.
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
I started doing nails in 2012 when I decided I needed a side hustle to support myself while I went to law school. I ended up loving nails and never ended up going to law school. I was given an amazing opportunity to educate for Essie which opened the door to other amazing opportunities. I rented out a commercial space, did a full build out and opened my first salon in 2016. I worked my tail off and saved every penny for 2 years, refinanced my house and purchased a property in 2018 that became my most recent salon The Beauty Collective. I opened the doors in 2019 and today have 11 technicians booth renting from me. In 2021 I signed a lease on a commercial space and put in my application with Colorado to open both a Nail and Esthetics school, of which I am currently under review for approval to open. Lastly, I am also a freelance educator for Valentino Beauty Pure sharing my knowledge of nails and help aspiring techs become successful business owners. I think what sets me apart from other technicians is my willingness to share the knowledge I’ve gathered over the years and genuinely love to see people grow. I also personally love expanding my own knowledge of new techniques and products so I can do nails on my clients that are unique and creative. Knowledge is power and power can be used to help bring people up.
I think I’m most proud of my salon and my school because they are homes to help techs that want to put in the work, get to the next level. Both businesses are platforms that foster creativity and education. I think I want people to know me for being knowledgeable, kind, encouraging and supportive. There is enough business in this world for everyone. I’d prefer to be a contribution by doing awesome services and change the stigma of the nail industry so that people take us seriously as professionals. I want The Beauty Collective to be a brand that people recognize and admire. I want my businesses to be filled with the most incredible talent, skilled technicians and educators that Denver has to offer.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
Funding my businesses has been the hardest part of the entire journey. When I started working in my first salon as a booth renter I saved every single penny I could and worked 24/7. When I finally put together a comfortable chunk of money I researched a commercial space that I would be able to essentially afford to have alone. This positioned me so that any booth renters I was able to bring in would essentially be profit. I saved all off the money from those booth renters for 2.5 years and put that aside with a bigger plan. I knew I didn’t like having a landlord and had dreams of buying my own spot. I was able to refinance the house I lived in and pulled out a bunch of the equity. Between my savings and the equity I was able to amass a large enough amount of cash to use as a down payment and do a build out. I try to be smart with my money and try to not live outside of my means. I don’t put anything on a credit card unless I can pay it off at the end of every month. Credit card interest alone can destroy someone. I drive a car that’s not flashy and it gets me around just fine. I have decided to invest in things that can hopefully give me some kind of return on my investment. Being financially smart will get you much farther in life then being consumed with materialistic things.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
The absolute most effective strategy for growing my clientele was wearing the nails that I do. When I was building my client base I would makes sure my nails were always done and that I was rocking some eye popping art or the latest trend. I made myself my own walking advertisement and I told anyone that would listen that I was a nail tech. I handed my business card out everywhere I went and made sure it had incredible photos so it would catch people’s eyes.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.TheBeautyCollectiveStudio.com
- Instagram: @DazzlinDigits10
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rachael.waggoner1
- Twitter: @DazzlinDigits3D