Update & Dreams From The Chicken Whisperer

Hello everyone.

How have y'all been?

I am scheduled to have my final exam for licensing next month. I'm nervous all over again, but it's normal to be nervous. I have realized that I like working there a lot more when the boss isn't there. One of her brothers is managing the salon while she is away for a few months helping their sister. He is a lot more laid back, but can get down to business in the blink of an eye.He gets the same point across much better, I guess you could say that he has a better delivery.

They have a good bit of customers  there. I hope I stick around long enough to learn what I need. I want to learn how to do acrylic, gel nails, and gel polish well. How can I expect to train someone to do nails, when I myself can't do them?

In my five year plan, I am aiming to own my own  Full Service Salon/Spa. I would like cosmetologists, nail techs, estiticians, tanning beds, and at least one massage therapist.My running joke is, "They can walk in looking like the ugly step-sisters, and walk out looking like Cinderella"I'd like to rent what used to be the pawn shop in town. It was once set up as a video rental store and tanning booth. It has enough room to do a small salon with maybe only 2-3 hair dressers, 5-6 nail techs, maybe one estitician, one massage therapist, and possibly two tanning beds. That isn't even accounting for storage, unless I were to remodel the inside.

A few nights ago I had a dream that my business was very successful, and that I had to move into a bigger building. Specifically it was an old Dollar General building. In the dream we were remodeling the inside. Picking out what paint we would color the walls (by we I mean me and my brother, apparently he is the manager and financial adviser), Deciding where we would put the different areas, and how they would be arranged. We were building rooms in the back side of the store for waxing, massage, and tanning. Hopefully it was one of those precognitive dreams.Seems I couldn't come up with a very creative name for the place either, seeing as how I kept referring to it as Spa of Anytown (Town name changed to protect both the innocent and guilty).

Really the only thing that scares me is that they get a lot of traffic, they are located by a major tourist attraction for this area . Whereas my area, I would be the only one around for roughly 15 miles any direction.

I've already been brainstorming ideas. For instance instead of having a regular pedicure, deluxe pedicure, and luxury pedicure, I was thinking of a build your own pedicure. Start with a basic no frills pedicure for say around $20, and charge $4-$5 more for extras such as massage, paraffin wax dip, sugar scrub, hot towel,  collagen foot masques, or whatever else I can think of. The same would go for manicures too but they would prolly start out at about $15. Some people are in a rush and really don't want all the extras, and it isn't fair they should have to pay for something they don't have time for, or really just don't want. There are a few ladies who come in regularly, but they just want a basic no frills. All they want is their nails clipped, cuticles pushed and trimmed, bottom of foot exfoliated, and nails painted. They don't want the massage or wax dip, but thy still have to pay for it, because it is the standard service.

Ideas? Thoughts?

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