Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rou Roubert. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Rou, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Getting that first client is always an exciting milestone. Can you talk to us about how you got your first customer who wasn’t a friend, family, or acquaintance?

Once you start cosmetology school you start doing services for practice. I met a lot of wonderful people and also some that weren’t so wonderful. You start getting tips, even if it’s a dollar it does make you feel like you are doing things right and you are on the right path. Once graduated, you schedule your state exam and in the mean time you are able to get a work permit. It was frustrating at first because you would have to call different salons and explaining that you only havea work permit so a lot of times they would reject you. I finally got hired at a very busy salon, vietnamese owned but very busy. I learned very quickly that a lot of these salons do not follow state’s sanitary requirements making very unmotivated. I was doubting myself because I was doing pedicures all day and was not let to do manicures. So I felt like I was never going to get better. I left that jib due to anxiety and decided to wait until I passed my exam so I wouldn’t mix up what I had learned at school with what I was being taught at the salon. I finally passed my exam and again went salon searching. I kept falling in these commission based jobs that weren’t fulfilling. It felt like a roller coaster of emotions the debating if I was good enough to booth rent or If I should just stay working by commission. I wish I would have immediately started booth renting because once I did, and I got that first client, it feels so good. It nurtures that motivation to keep working hard. That first client is the boost I needed to say “Hey, I think I can do this”.

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.

Well, my name is Rou and I am 33 years old. I am a licensed nail technician in Girard, Ohio and I specialize in acrylic application, soft and hard gel application and art. I love doing any type of encapsulation as well as hand painted art. My journey started as a little girl and my love for art. Since a young age I was enrolled in art classes and I had paintings exhibited in galleries as a teenager. I grew up thinking that I could have made a stable income by being an artist I was wrong. So after years of trying college and changing my degree a couple of times I quit and I decided to focus on being a mother for my children. It was hard times but once my children were teenagers. I decided to try again working and I quickly realized that no regular job. Would accommodate me as a mother and my children’s school hours.So I tried to think of ways that I could make an income but still being able to do my own hours. That’s when I gave art a shot again but it did not go as I expected. I went back to doing my own nails.And I got very creative with the artwork so I decided to practice. My husband encouraged me to go to cosmetology school and get my manicurist license to see if I was able to work and have a stable income while also being able to have a balance with my mom life. I went to school and I completely fell in love with nails. I started my booth rent journey a year ago and it was the best decision I ever made. Because it gives me the freedom to make my own hours and treat my clients. How I want to treat them? For example, I got to take the time I need with each client so I can give them a great service. I get a lot of clients that.Tell me that they’ve never had an experience like mine when going to get their nails done. Because I do take my time. I try to give them exactly what they want and I worry about their nail health. I use quality products. The majority of my products are from V Beauty Pure and CND. I give them options and solutions to there.Nail problems I do repairs.I do enhancements and I give them advice on how to take care of their nails. And this whole journey I’ve also become a content creator I post on my TikTok on Facebook and Instagram. I am trying to keep up with YouTube and Pinterest, but overall I do always create content with all of my work. It’s fun for the clients to see their nails in my social media and it motivates them to get cuter nails everytime. The most satisfying thing about my job is that I am able to get feedback in the moment from my clients and that makes me love my career even more.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

When I first started social media for my business. I remember it was kind of a Hobbie at that time and I was about to start cosmetology school. I was always pushing myself to keep posting everyday even though I did not have any views at the beginning but every video I would cut in a couple of mini videos to have enough content until the next set. When I went to school I kept posting because I kept practicing at home and everytime I would sit on my desk it was an opportunity for content to me. As I started working I got my clients used to before and After videos of their nails and now they actually expect it and if they don’t see me recording they ask me why not so that’s pretty cool that my clients are my biggest fans. They motivate me. I am still on my journey to getting more followers on social media but I am sure that with consistency and patience I’ll be able to achieve that. I just don’t want to post to much to the point I post things that are irrelevant to my career and the audience I want. I always will advice people to be patient but consistent. Not all content is good content but always stay on the lane you want. Even if it takes a little bit longer. I will start uploading different type of videos because I feel like it’s time for followers to hear my opinions more but I don’t like drama so I’m very careful how I will express myself since the goal is to influence in a positive way without offending anybody. Hopefully the goal is met in the near future.

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

Once you start your self employed journey that’s when you really start learning. I have always been a too nice person so no matter how much I want to please my clients I have had to learn how to stand my ground too. You get amazing clients but there’s also some clients that teach you how to say no. It was really hard for me at first but slowly I’ve been able to weed out the horrible clients. I would get people that used to be nail technicians years ago and would laugh at little things that I would do which is so disrespectful and pushed me to have to cut ties and not service these clients anymore. They say not all money is good money and that is the case here. There are some clients that will try to get their money back or not even pay which puts you in a uncomfortable position but with balance you will be able to mold yourself in a still nice person but confident. That’s one of the main experiences I’ve had that has taught me the most about customer service as a self employed beauty service provider.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.vagaro.com/pardonmyfrench
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rounaissance_nails?igsh=Zzg4eXM5Y2d4OWRk
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100081796991916&mibextid=ZbWKwL
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@RounaissanceNails?si=0jYy2EcgHersI2CQ
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@rounaissancenails?_t=8lO2gjMH89b&_r=1