Marching on!

Yikes....! 

March is knocking on the door....
like a surprised visit from a long lost relative, there is a vague sense of unease as you answer the door and hug and kiss....those unanswered question ffiltering into your mind 'how long will they stay'.... 'why are they here' and .... ' whats her name again?'....well maybe not the last one....but a sense of panic always comes about me when March arrives....I am nearly a quarter of the way through the year and all those resolutions and goal settings I did are still on my list.....hmmmmm thinking about it where is my list? Not only that I am no way near hitting my target weight for that polka dot bikini. 

So here we find our selves and out business slowly poking its head out of the last couple of months, little cash-flow to speak of, and thinking about how the next few months will pan out and what we can do to boost ourselves up the ladder of achievement. 

IT IS TIME FOR ACTION!
we have receive red from Christmas rush, we are done hibernating throughout January and the drama of February is now over! so let us begin to look forward and see what we can do for our Business. 

Here are 5 'to do' for March! 

1. Look at social marketing and make a plan. 
Do you have a personnel time line on Face book and a business page. do not under estimate the power of marketing through Face book, just by posting daily on your page about the nails you do will enhance your local customer base. You page, if your a salon should be for your clients and not filter out to other Nail professionals. 
Build up your 'professional' friend list on your own time line, talk to them and watch what is happening around the world, although not the only source, Face book is a wealth of information. Now look outside 'nails' and check out fashion, hair and makeup and look at how other brands market them selves. 

2. March madness! if you haven't done so already, it seems this is the month to start putting out your offers. Last month cash-flow is notoriously poor for most business, and they see offers and specials as great way to boost income. Don't undersell your product or you will build a false expectation from your customers and then perceived too expensive when your prices return. Instead of discounts and money off, try teaming your treatments and making bundles which are irresistible, and keep your competition at bay.  Offer giveaways on your social media platforms or directly to your clients when they visit. 

3. Look at stock, visiting the trade shows means you can look at different products to offer your clients, change some services on your menu, maybe include some 'limited edition' treatments which are around for a short while. This means your clients will keep looking at your menu card and maybe try something different. Rotate your stock, change your displays and buy in some new items . I visit a local salon once every two weeks, and the same items are on the shelves each time. I just stop looking. every so often there has been a change, and I am instantly thinking' what can I buy'. 

4. Nail art and deign, if you don't already offer design in the salon, this is the time to bring it in, trends are giving us the nail professional an idea opportunity to cash in on whats hot and whats fashionable right now. Use this to your advantage. you should have a display board rocking maybe 3-5 different 'looks' nothing overly complicated, and there should be ten examples of this look in different colour ways. this board is seasonal, and show cases what can be done. there are many more designs your clients can pick and choose from, but this board is your 'teaser'  Right now your looking for on trend spring time looks for nails .....ask your good friend 'google' to show you some images. 

5. Read, plan and Be Prepared......you are about to hit your busy period and summer is coming and you will be busy painting toe nails and preparing people for their annual holiday, use this time to read, prepare and get your self ready. your mental check list should be; The next time you need to change the nail display board on reception will be in June, what designs will you do? How can you market them out to your customers?  Do they need any incentives or offers to try a new treatment? What new treatments can you bring in? Always think 3 months ahead.....and plan! 

I hope you have found this Blog post useful, I would love to hear from you, about this post or any others. Sam x

My Internet Doppleganger

A few weeks ago I did an interesting interview by Courtney Boyd Myers for the Observer.com.   Un related to nails, which made a change, she wanted to discuss my Twitter relationship with another Sam Biddle a 27-year old Brooklyn-based tech stroke gossip blogger . In stark contrast to my industry and my relationship with my followers This Sam seems to love controversy, where as I avoid it! Receiving tweets meant for him, I would wake in the morning to a barrage of cryptic insults and put downs. At first I thought it was for me……but soon realised the problem…...

it makes for an interesting read, and I look forward to someday meeting him in person. 

read more…..

Colour Matters!

Working with colour doesn't have to stress you out, you don't even have to spend an extra hour to create your master piece, and sometimes the most unexpected combinations are the best.  I am on a mission to show every nail tech that bringing a little colour into their business is not only profitable and enjoyable but also very easy.  I have heard all the excuses, but the main one is "my clients don't want it". 

My reply is  “I can't believe that clients are fully informed about their choices, if nail technicians are not prepared to wear colour and show off their skills”. 

You don't have to use the brightest powders in the box, and adorn your colour pops with crude combinations, but some simple adjustments will not only amaze your clients and build your reputation, but you might ignite a new passion for colour within. Using a basic primary and secondary colour pallet your possibilities are endless. 

It’s not rocket science! 

1.You want to feel confident when you use colour, and blending is a simple and very effective way to sell it.  Use on the free edges as a fun french or a section of the nail.

2.Use a complimentary colour to apply some pattern, don't worry about having to produce near perfect flowers in one appointment, you will just as easily wow your client with simple scrolls, lines and swirls which can be added to the acrylic with polish.  You can cap in clear when it is dry.

3. Embellish your work, everyone loves glitter and gems, when you next visit the shows check out the wide range sitting on the shelves waiting to be bought, and please don't stick with the same old rhinestones there are some amazing studs and shapes, crushed shells and pressed flowers available.

What colours work together?

 I admit, I am an instinctive when it comes to applying colour, I just allow my creativity to flow and let it come from within, but that doesn’t work for everyone I know. Colour theory is actually a simple formulation of combining colours that work well together  ‘in harmony’.  It is a set of principles using a colour wheel to give you a visual reference. 

According to this theory, these combinations use any two colours opposite each other on the colour wheel, any three colours equally spaced around the wheel  to form a triangle, or any four colours to form a rectangle. Any of these colour combinations are called colour schemes and will remain harmonious regardless of the rotation angle.

Colour theory only looks at the relationships of pure colours; it does not take colour lightness and saturation into account. While the shades may vary in your chosen colour scheme, you can use any tints, shades, and tones of the colour you have, colour theory pays attention only to the hue component.

My advice is if your going for 3 colours, keep the shades the same, all bright, all pastel for example, to make the nail less busy. 

So we have cover the science bit, lets get busy and start using this theory to our advantage. 

We know from school that our Primary colours are; Blue, Yellow and red, from these three colour we are told we can mix any other colour, called secondary colours, from there we can mix tertiary colours. 

for example -

yellow and blue primary = green secondary

yellow and green = lime green tertiary

The exact shade or hue of the secondary colour will depend on which red, blue or yellow you have mixed, and what quantities you have used. giving you in essence very extensive palette.

But What About Black and White?

Black and white are not classed as a primary, although like red, blue and yellow  can not be made by mixing together other colours.  But Black and white aren't used to create any colour and therefore excluded from the colour mixing theory. They they only lighten and darken your colour palette. If you add white to a colour you lighten it and if you add black you darken it. 

Creating Harmony 'does your nail sing' ?

The colour theory is taught at school, and something which as a'creative' is ingrained in us, but how do we pick the colours we need to make a harmonious nail design. 

First lets look at what that means, what is a harmonious design? It is a nail design which is  balanced and pleasing to the eye, I always say ‘does the nail sing’? Does your nail designs engage the viewer and create an inner sense of order and balance. 

When something is not harmonious, it's either boring or chaotic. Is your design so bland that the viewer is not engaged. The human brain will reject under-stimulating information. or are your nails so overdone, so chaotic that the viewer can't stand to look at it. The human brain rejects what it can not organise, what it can not understand. Although staying in the realms of creativity humans still require a logical structure to anything we see.

Choosing a Colour scheme!

so here comes the over riding question....'what colours go with what'?

Check out this colour wheel and choose a colour. 

The two colours on either side of this colour will reinforce your colour and give you more scope, creating 'haromony'. 

The colour directly opposite your chosen colour will compliment it. These opposing colours create maximum contrast and maximum stability to your design.

Contrasting colours which work together, choose your colour and take three steps to right or left, this colour will contrast beautifully. 

 

Above is some examples of using the colour theory, creating a triangle of complimentary and contrasting colours. 

I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog, I would love to hear from you, either about this blog or ideas on other things you would like me to write about. let me know. Samx