We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Yanira Rubio. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Yanira below.
Hi Yanira, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
I would be lying if I said I always wanted to own a salon or do nails! The truth is that the start to my business was from pure desperation. I had a rough up bringing in the streets of ELA, long story short I got involved with the wrong crowd and thought I had something to prove. The 1st time in juvenile hall I was only 12 years old. I thought I knew it all and boy was I wrong! My parents moved us to the Inland Empire in hope of starting fresh and forgetting all about the past. Unfortunately that didn’t happened and I just kept landing back in jail. By the time I was 19 I was a felon and had a 2 year old son. I still remember the last time I went to jail, I called home and I could hear my son crying in the background. I was sick to my stomach knowing I couldn’t comfort him. It was at that very moment I decided this was it for me. I didn’t want to be a statistic anymore! As much as I wanted to change my life around, it seemed impossible. Nobody wants to hire a felon with no education or experience. At this point I had already ment my husband and just like me he also had a past. Every time I thought we would be ok something always happened. It was hard to make ends meet but we stuck it out. The time I spent in jail I did a lot of drawing and even had calligraphy classes. When I was in the streets I did my share of tagging and I guess that’s how I began to love art. I remember writing and drawing on my friends nails a few times and even had one person tell me if I learned how to do nails they wouldn’t have to go to the nail shop anymore. I thought it was a joke but the more I thought about it the more I got curious. So their I was on the kitchen table to our mobile home no AC mid August with a Kiss acrylic kit I purchased at Walmart. I watched every nail video you could think of. I spent all day in that mobile home practicing on myself and my 2 year old daughter. I finally practiced on one of my friends and to my surprise she loved them. She handed me a $20 bill and asked if I could do her mom next week. I remember going to bed and feeling a warm fuzzy feeling … that feeling was gratitude. The more people I did the better I got and I finally thought about actually doing nails as a job not just as a hobbie. I looked on Craigslist and was surprised to see a lot of nail shops hiring. I went to a nail salon and was heart broken when they asked if I had a nail tech license, nail license? What is that and how can I get one?
That was something I could not afford to do so I cried the whole way home in disappointment. A few days later they called back to tell me they could work around it. I spent long hours at that nail shop and a lot of time away from my kids, but I felt in my heart that one day it would pay off, and things would get better for us. I could see the frustration in my husband’s face having to be dad and mom as I worked long hrs and as tired as I was… I was just thankful. Time passed and a lot of stress started building up. I was pregnant with my 3rd baby and I was feeling very unappreciated and worthless and work. I started slacking off and finally decided to leave the nail shop. I told the owner that I couldn’t keep working under her conditions and I was leaving. She said you silly girl what will you do now? I told her I was going to work for myself and she laughed at me telling me I would never be successful because this industry was for her people not for mine. I was back at doing nails from home but that didn’t last long as my home was in no condition to work from. My in-laws let me work from their garage, and it was their that I ment a lot of my long time clients. I met a girl named Trina, she was a God sent. She was in the process of opening up a salon and offered me a position. I explained to her my situation and she took me under her wing. A salon that was supposed to have multiple workers turned into just me and her working. I think the part that I loved so much about Trina was that she had the same work ethic as me. We worked side by side and watched each other grow. One day the opportunity of me opening my own salon came knocking on her door. The property landlord asked if we knew anyone wanting to rent the building next door and Trina quickly said yes!!!! I was very puzzled as she told the landlord I was interested. I told her absolutely not! Once she left Trina said Giirrrrlllll you are ready you can do it and I will help you! I said Trina even if I was ready how I’m I going to get money to open my own business. I went home and just like all the other nights I talked to God but this time it was different. Was I wrong for asking for more? I said God if this is ment for me please let me find a way. The next morning it was super bowl Sunday and me and my husband decided to place a bet….. we won 2 bets which equaled to the same amount I needed to move into the salon. I put the down payment on the space and with a 3k credit card from my husband we started this journey. I had an amazing support system, I was still working at Trinas salon and after work my husband and his family would meet me at the salon to work on it. I definitely had an amazing 1st year, business was booming and I was winning, then covid hit. I had so many obstacles including facing the possibility of not being able to pull an establishment license due to my felonies. I was able to keep my head above water and somehow finish school. I now own Dollish Polish Nail Studio in the city of Rialto. Award winning, top rated Mexican owned nail salon. I became my own boss because no one wanted to take a chance on me, so I took a chance on myself. I didn’t want to be a statistic, and I knew I had to find a way out. I didn’t forget where I came from and in fact, I use it as fuel to keep me going. Not every success story is rainbows and butterflies, and I am proof of that.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Yanira Rubio I am 39 years old. I’m a mother of 3 and a wife. I take pride in the business I have created. You are not just a client at my salon, you are someone we laugh and cry with. We share so much with each other, some of my clients have become some of my best friends. It’s not just about the fancy nail art, it’s about nail health and educating clients about products and nail care. One of the 1st products I started using when I was doing nails out of my in-laws house was Premium Nails. I was introduced to the products by one of my clients who work their. Till this day they are my go to product. They are one of the business that believed in me and my work. I am a brand ambassador and social media coordinator for them and I truly appreciate all they have and continue to do for my business. I grew up with very little and I think it’s important that I give back to my community so I like to sponsor kids in need so that they can stay off the streets. I also host networking events that benefit other small businesses. I want to make a change in my community, when you support my salon you help me achieve that goal. We specialize in all nail services and are highly recommended.
Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?
A few months into opening my salon we had state board hit. I was extremely nervous and scared but they were really nice and even complemented my salon. Before she left she asked for my establishment license, I had no idea what that was and had no clue I needed this little piece of paper. She said don’t worry apply for it right now on line and we will at least have your application on file by the time I get to the office. Easy right? Well as I pulled up the application on line one of the 1st questions was: Have you ever been convinced of a crime and if so please explain. It also said I would need character letters to prove I was no longer a threat to society. I went home and told my husband I was going to have to close the salon because they were not going g to issue my license once they saw my application. I called a friend and asked what would happen if I lied and she said I would automatically be disqualified for lying. With tears running down my cheeks I told her what was going on. I was so embarrassed I wanted to throw up. I had to find the courage to not only tell people about my past but to also ask for letters. When I read the letters I was amazed by all the wonderful things people said about me. A roll model… me?? No way! I was humbled by all this! I wanted to just give up and let everything I worked so hard for just fall apart. I just knew it was to good to be true and everything would come to and end. How could all this be happening how could I just give up! 2 weeks later I received my establishment license in the mail!!! To think that I was going to just give up is disgusting.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
My husband is a maintenance mechanic at his job and it’s pretty handy so he helped a lot. We didn’t have any saved money and my credit was horrible so I couldn’t apply for loans. I got the money for the 1st and last month by placing a bid for the super bowl. My nail stations and furniture was all from home depot and I used a 3 thousand dollar credit card my husband had. I worked like a dog to make enough money to get the rest of the things I needed. Premium Nails was amazing to me and the majority of my Nails supplies was from them.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dollishpolishnailstudio?igsh=MWQ1ZGUxMzBkMA==
- Yelp: Dollish Polish Nail Studio
Image Credits
Abril Flores
Alejandro Torres