What others say about you

There are times you read something and just weep. I am for ever humbled in this job of mine and thankful that I can touch people in the way I do. I really wanted to share this email with you from one of my members, who wrote her story about the online course for the website.

"After qualifying in college for my level 2 last year, I was so nervous, being on your own, after the year at college you always had a back up from my tutors, Natasha Carpenter and Danni Hibell, its a scary realisation that I had to do it alone.

I eventually took to social media, looking at all the amazing nail art available, and structures, its over whelming, the amount of talent, and skill of other nail techs, it soon dawned on me, how little I actually new, which for a new tech is not a nice feeling, all I wanted was to be able to create these amazing nails, and I knew I could never do something like that.

I was talking to an amazing friend, who is also a nail tech, Anthea Thomas, and she told me to give Sam Biddle's online lesson's a look. OMG seriously, I have never looked back since! Other than to see how far I have come. The confidence this amazing lady Sam Biddle gave me, just by talking to me like another person, in the comfort of your own home. She made it easy to learn, breaking down all her lessons into bite size pieces of information, then laying all those pieces onto a nail. It was like pure emotion for me, my 1st proper nail art piece and I was so proud of it. It made me cry, knowing I could achieve something so beautiful, and the best thing about it, was that I done it all myself. Sam's course not only teaches you about art, colours shading, and letting your imagination free, she helps you understand how to trust your instinct, I was very passionate about nail art and structures before but now there is no stopping me.

The amount of hours of training and love, that goes into every individual nail lesson she provides in the course, Sam has given me a stronger understanding, about being a nail tech teacher, and the journey they have been on to get this far and to be so talented It has given me so much respect, for Sam Biddle and other tutors and teachers in the industry.

Being a nail tech isn't just a job, it's a passion, and you do not get this kind of support, confidence, passion, from watching demos on social media. Online Sam has created a loving family environment, and encourages everybody to be themselves, and love their own individuality.

I have now finished my level 3 in college and just started Year 2 on Sam's online course, for me her support and knowledge, from the very start has been invaluable, and getting to meet Sam herself on her course held in Cornwall, was like meeting a famous star. She has been such an inspiration and idol for me, from leaving college up to now, it has given me the confidence to take constructive critique, and turn it into something beautiful and I have the up most respect for Sam Biddle and other teachers in this industry. Such a tough job to do, so thank you Sam for helping me become, truly inspired and allowing my imagination to be my friend and not my enemy."

Sarah Zinnotti

So much to choose from...

One thing I get asked a lot when someone is booking a workshop is;

How will I know you will cover something I want to learn?

You know when you go into a candy store and you end up walking away with nothing, because there is just too much choice you want it all! 

You end up looking for something you think you want, and ignoring all the other wonderful, mouth smacking, lip licking delights in front of you. 

I am like a candy store!

 I have so much information to share with you, some of it you don't even know you need it yet. 

The best thing on any workshop is to go and learn the TECHNIQUES and APPLICATIONS, not the specific designs. In my courses I will show you HOW to do something. Who cares if it is on a Swan, butterfly or flower....You will learn How to use what I teach you on any picture or design you want. 

That is the secret to Be Inspired.

there is an air lock in your brain.....

So you have your design idea and your all set up, you have collected the inspiration, paints and brushes ready! 

OH NO...... it is just not flowing as planned. Isn't It is the most frustrating feeling in the world. You have the idea in your head, you know just what you want your nail to look like but nothing is flowing, nothing is working right. 

What do you do, throw your brush down in a tantrum and leave it, never to return to this idea at all. Do you beat your self up and persevere until you have something that look vaguely like the plan in your head,  and then throwing it in the 'nail art disaster draw', so it can live in the back in disgrace. 

When you come to your nail design and find your fingers are just not doing what your brain can see, then you need to take a step back. Grab your self a nail tip and apply just one element of your design, practice it over and over again, this tip you can throw away I give you permission. 

Having a fall back tip will go along way to getting you warmed up. Imagine you wanted a glass of water, and put the glass under the tap. But didn't turn the tap on. Your glass is not filling up at all right. But you have started the journey towards ending your thirst by placing the glass under the tap. 

Imagine you have a nail idea but never sit down and do it, your idea will never be realised. So now you switch the tap on but there is an air lock and the water goes everywhere, but it still does not fill up your glass. Starting a new nail design is like an air lock, you have all the pressure or in your case the ideas in your head, but your hands don't understand it. 

In order to fill the glass with water you need a steady flow from the tap, the same applies with creativity. You want to have a steady flow of creativity flowing from your head to your fingers. Get the air lock out of the way with little practice on an old nail tip and eventually your brain will calm down and you will have the muscle control to do what you know you can.

Building confidence means understanding how and why...

I really wanted to touch base and explain something to you. The way I teach, the method, the process of application the content is very very very different to any other class you will attend. 

Salon Viable or making trends work shop is one of the most popular workshops I do, and this is why. 

You will walk away with at least 6-8 nails under  your belt, my aim to is leave you with 10 new ideas and designs in just one day. How can I get so many in the class? 

IT IS NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE EASY! 

I know your thinking, if there is so many they must be easy, so why bother spending out £95 to attend a workshop learning stuff I already know. 

What I will show you is how to work SMART, how to create jaw dropping designs, intricate twists and turns in your art work and pull together a look which sings like a choir at London opera house. (not sure the equivalent in the USA). 

You will also learn HOW & WHY. 

My philosophy is that if you understand something, you have confidence in it, when you have confidence you build competence. 

How  many times have you tried to learn a design, by looking at the picture or watching a video, but not understand how that petal or nose or wing manages to sit perfectly in proportion, but on your nail it looks like a child's painting.  I am going to explain in detail why every thing you do in my class produces what it produces. From the Aquarelle to the fantasy and yes the salon viable is where we begin. 

Now I am an English girl from the south, that means we Brits hate to tell you we are good at something, or brag about stuff, (a major handicap in my opinion) but hold onto your hats because I am going to do something really brave. 

`I am pretty awesome at my job, that job is not nails, nail art or even marketing, it is education. I can see you and what your doing wrong, I can help you realise your creative potential and I can show you just what you need to take that next step in becoming a 'name' for nail art and design."

Can you believe a Bottle of perfume can give you a life lesson?

I have had so many adventures looking for this illusive perfume, mainly when I visit the states. I have given up looking any where else.  It is this bottle of perfume which has taught me one of my most valuable lessons, not just in life but in my art work too. 

I believe determination is key to getting what you want, but when your too busy looking for it, you waste so much effort and energy trying to achieve something which ends up being right under your nose all the time. 

Let me explain myself. I walked for miles looking for this bottle of sweet heaven on one of my trips.  Up the Las Vegas Strip, I dragged my friend into every mall and store, sure I could find it.   I was exhausted and after 3 hours searching every where,  I came back to the Paris hotel, and thought "one last look in the hotel perfume shop and then I am going to bed to sulk" 

There is was! Can you believe it. Not only that but they also had an after shave my husband loves too, which is also not available in Europe. 

BONUS!

What was the lesson?  Don't over complicate stuff, the obvious solutions and answers to what you need are generally there right in front of you. You see I walked past that perfume shop on the way out, and my friend said, "shall we look in here first" NO I said, it will definitely not be in there. 

Yeah I am ashamed to say it, I really did say that.

The answer you need to change your business, propel your nail art career or ignite that passion for design, IS ALWAYS JUST THERE IN YOUR REACH.  Don't think that because it is easy, it is not right, don't think that you should walk for miles until your feet bleed to get what you want. Life is not like that, business is not like that. 

Don't make the same mistake I did and miss something right under my nose because it seemed to easy. Look around you right now, ask for what you need, and hay presto, the answer, solution or item will be there! 

Self worth does not depend on competition.

There is something I learnt this morning which I want to share with you. A quick blog post which I think might just change everything. Changing the way you view the world and others, could change your life....I know, it's deep! 

When we compare ourselves with others to feel special and good  and to raise our self esteem we fall into the trap and become competitive. 

If your self worth is dependant on your most recent successes you fall into a deadly trap and will never give your self the credit you deserve. 

If you start to compare your worst moments with other peoples best ones, you will never find peace and be able to offer self love and self worth.  

Take social media for example, we only see the positive parts of peoples lives, their successes, achievements and accolades. What we don’t see is their struggles, issues and stresses.  

 We are not the sum of our success or failures, we should not look at others and compete or compare with theirs. 

Take the skinny model on the cover of the magazine, we see a beautiful body and compare, lowering our self esteem. But we don’t see the struggles with food, the stress to maintain that shape, the loneliness she might feel or what she might have suffered. 

We might look at the larger woman on the train or plane and judge her, think to ourselves she is out of control and doesn’t have a healthy outlook on life. But we don’t see that with every pound of fat she carries is a pound of pain. We don’t see her suffering, and for the most part that suffering enables empathy. We don’t allow ourselves to get to know her. 

With a competitive mind we see success and failure around us all the time and judge it, compare it to ourselves. What we don’t realise is the see saw action this has on our own self esteem. 

The more success we see lowers our own self esteem, and we dismiss and devalue our own self worth. 

Don’t compete, compare or judge. Just accept what you see and look within to find your self worth. It is all there. I promise you. 

Are you a bully?

How many times do you take a base ball bat and beat yourself up each day. 

So far this morning I have told my self the following;

• your miserable
• your fat
• you don’t eat the right food for your body
• your abusing yourself by not exercising
• if you took care a little more of your house you would find that top your looking for
• your so untidy
• your lazy
• your too old
• your not good enough
• your fat….did I forget to mention that
• how much weight are your gonna pile on before you stop eating that shit

I know right, I would be arrested I told someone else all that in a matter of an hour, would you say that to your best friend, daughter or even some stranger in the street? NO! because it is called abuse. So why do we do it to ourselves? 

 We have a very large and complex brain that seem to just seek out drama, repeat negative self-talk and  create false illusions.

The worst thing, it seems to pile on the fear and hate daily,  every complaint, every dissatisfaction, every problem is drilled down into our brain so it can spin it’s own story, our brain bullies us to be exactly where it wants us to be. 

Because our brain’s job is to keep us safe, it is constantly acting from a place of fear. (like all bullies)  Its primary  job is to ensure our survival. and not to allow us to have the blissful experience of life.

Even when everything is going well, a little voice in our head will say, “Watch out! Something bad is going to happen.” Then panic sets in, and we experience that unnerving anxious feeling of possibly losing all the good we have going for us.

Our brain is a marvel, and expert at telling us engaging stories that are so real and convincing that it’ll influence us to  act out of fear and irrational anxiety. As well as being able to spin a good tale it can vividly replay emotional stories in our mental theatre over and over and over and over.

It’s torture, abuse and self sabotaging our happiness

Before you know it, you’ll start to believe in the stories and trusting them to be true. It becomes a belief, solidified in your mind, yes even the lies. What happens is that we continue our journey in life and start to make choices based on this belief, and then we end up suffering. 

We suffer a lot and sometimes we suffer for a long time because we don’t realise that we are the problem. But there is good news, we are also the solution.

I am a believer we have 2 voices in our head, the loud, vicious one - that school bully, that rages and causes fear and terror in order to gain control of the situation. We also have  the quite gentle one, the delicate flower, who waits patiently for the right time to blossom, with some watering and sunlight it will grow and become strong. 

So what do you do, water your flower, and wait for it to blossom, or is the noise and terror of your bullies voice so loud you can’t help but listen to it and believe the stories. 

Now here is the hard bit, we have to  learn to ignore the bully, and every time we hear that negative self talk to turn away and look at the real truth. 

You have a choice today to believe the ugly lies we all tell  ourselves. Or start to  believe in the truth. and here is how you can do this….

Every day think of 3 things to be grateful of…….think of 3 things which make your life wonderful…..focus on those things all day and keep saying - I am so blessed to have…..

• a beautiful family
• amazing cleavage
• blue eyes
• a garden which his alive and filled with flowers
• a sexy man/woman in my life
• love
• children
• a home
• warm clothes
• food in my fridge
• electricity
• a job
• great skin

and so on.....you know what your grateful for. 

Every time you hear the ugly lies, say right back, ahhhhh that is not true because I have ‘***fill in the blank****’ so I am in a better place today. 

Argue back, tell your brain you are not afraid and it is not in control of how you should be feeling today, tomorrow and forever. 

Take back the power and feel blessed…..play the glad game. 

Rejection - how do you take yours?

I just read a blog post on social media, about a nail tech who was upset that one of her long standing clients called up to say she is going to someone else because they are cheaper.  It happens to all of us and it is a sucker punch to the stomach when it does...but why? 

The client was made redundant and the justification for the move was plausible, she is doing what is best for her self and her life. We have all done it, found a different hair dresser which is closer, or cheaper, changed educator because someone else offers something different, we have even changed brands of coffee cause they have been on offer or shopped in a different super market.

The tech who posted about her customers betrayal on the social media post went onto to say that she was worried for her business, that it kept her up at night. 

I totally related to this, understanding the tortured and torment we put ourselves through when a client decides to go somewhere else. What we have to realise is essentially we are feeling rejected!

In Latin  rēicere, rejection means "to throw back," and is the ancestor of the word rejection. Nobody likes to feel  rejection, to have something thrown back at you, because it makes us feel as if we are not good enough. 

If you are confident that you do a great job, that your  up to date with education and offer the latest application methods. Then there is nothing more you can do and you should accept it and move on. 

But it is hard right? Not taking this as a personal rejection, we put our everything into our craft, so how come someone else can't appreciate it. Put yourself in your clients  position, think about the times you have gone for something  better, brighter or cheaper.  Did you worry about how the person who used to provide you with a service would think, did you personally reject her or where you thinking about your own self and how to better your own situation.

You client is never rejecting you when she leaves, she is thinking of her self and how she can manage her life the best way she can. It is nothing personal, and when you start thinking that way you can move on and sleep better. It has taken  me 45 years to understand that human nature is essential selfish and we are only ever considering how we personally feel about something. 

How can you make your self feel better in that moment of rejection? How do you change the negative thought process? 

Well I zoom into the other persons shoes and look at her position, I begin to realise she is not even thinking or considering me at all.  She is doing what I am doing thinking about what is best for myself and how I FEEL about it.

Nail education...how do you like yours

I had a conversation with my mum the other day about the different opportunities today for nail techs to learn something new. We have the actual face to face workshops and seminars, DVD's and downloads, online subscribed learning. There is also the FREE stuff on YouTube too. But which one is right for you? Have you thought about how you learn, absorb the information and how you can improve this? 

Studies show that online educational programs work. In fact, students today are so used to using the internet that more and more education is now being provided online as it is effective and efficient, it facilitates an easy transference of information where as in the class room the student has more of a passive learning experience and individual learning styles could be ignored. The class structure is stricter with less freedom to absorb and practise when you're ready.  

Face to face learning and online learning is down to personal preference, and I feel the future of the nail industry will hold a place for both to be accessible readily so that your education could become a blended learning experience. 

Heading off to a workshop or class may help to commit to learning at that moment in time.    You are also surrounded (we hope) by like minded people and you are encouraged by the tutor being available if you have an issue. 
Online learning, on the other hand, may be better for certain learning styles as the learning is at a practical rate for the student. So, for instance, someone like me who likes to work quickly and prefers to work along side a demonstration, online learning means I have control of the fast forward and pause buttons. 

Any profession requires a level of re-investment; your continued learning, improving and skill building is what will make you one of the best. It is how you re-invest which is important. Online learning and face to face education should be a considered investment, and if your going to learn anything worth while it is never going to be FREE! 

But what saddens me is that there is a lot of nail technicians right now spending a lot of time looking for FREE education. With the motivation to save money by making do with the snippets of nail tutorials and half explanations through YouTube videos. Generally those free tutorials are there to highlight a product, technique or promote a person - the FREE stuff never gives you the whole story! I will let you into a little secret; it is a marketing tool in order to promote and encourage you to buy into the actual focus of the tutorial. There is nothing wrong with that, I do it all the time. Personally I think some of the cup cake tutorial videos on Face book are mesmerising. But if I wanted to make a cupcake look like a puppy dog, you can bet I would be signing up to a class.   

Surely that time and effort searching for FREE education could be put to better use? What if you had someone on hand to explain where you could improve and get better after you have learnt a technique? Wouldn't that type of education be invaluable? I know there is not always the money, time or resources to re-invest in yourself. My suggestion is to spend your time and money more wisely.  

There is a simple equation you should consider in order to make you and your business successful.

TIME + MONEY = GROWTH
and here is what you should concentrate on;

TIME -spent looking for the free stuff verse's time working at good stuff? 
MONEY - spending £100.00 on your education should give you a £1000 return 

It doesn't matter how you prefer to learn (face to face or online) both ways of learning can work hand in hand and reinforce nail education on a whole. But the one thing to consider is; learn the right stuff the right way. 

Monday Morning Moan

I received a comment on a post this morning...

which wound me up something rotten, I have to tell you, it stopped me in my tracks for a few hours.

I took a breath and understood that, of course this person does not intentionally want to wind me up or insult me and would be horrified if she knew. I also had to remember; she does not know that I have just spent the whole weekend working on tutorials, free films and steps to help nail techs 'learn new techniques' and that I am tired. 
How could she know of the past 10 years worth of content I have published for real techs doing real nails.....and just because it might seem difficult she doesn't know the lessons within a lesson are the most valuable!  
So, on reflection, I am very happy I did not reply..... to her comment.

"Sam, do you ever teach for real life nails" 

I am taking this 'life lesson' as a positive; I do teach nails for real clients, I have a wealth of content available for FREE for 'real nails'  You just need to spend some time and find out what is right for you. YOUTUBE, FACEBOOK VIDEOS and more....pictorial steps (before we knew how easy it was to film) and then there is always the online learning. Which, yes, is not solely for 'real nails' but there is a heck of a lot of techniques and applications you can use in your own work. 

What I am trying to say is, you need to get what you can for each lesson; take it and turn it into something you can use in your own work.

DON'T

rely on other peoples designs to just copy, reproduce and pass off as your own inspiration. 

So why out of all the comments I get, did this one touch a nerve? 

I think I felt a little used. 

I do give away a lot of FREE stuff, I do work hard to bring everyone something they can use in their salon work and I do think about the nail technicians and their clients before anything else.
As much as I want to, I can't make things cheaper, easier and free'er than it is already! 

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but I would have to disagree, it not only becomes frustrating but creates a negative feeling, tempting me to start keeping things close to my chest. 
I am not alone with this gripe, I know a lot of you have also felt the whip of imitation within your career, but look at it this way,  if your doing something right, you will be copied. 

Throughout my career I have always been questioned for giving too much away, people rarely understand how I can give away freely some of the things I have learnt on my travels and my answer to them is this; "I share freely because it is my role as an educator to help others expand their knowledge".  But when things are taken from you, or your good will is misused you are pushed into a place where you ask your self 'sharing freely might not be such a good thing'.  

Life is not FREE, we all have to make a living and I understand we are all trying to carve our own empire with original innovation and inspiration available to us. I am not blind to the fight to be the best, but lets all take one step back for a moment.  This is about the clients and not our own careers, think about the bigger picture and before you dilute your business into many different avenues because it is working for the competition, look at what your business actually needs to grow. Perhaps there is something unique and distinctive of your own you can develop instead of ripping off someone else hard work and ideas. 


For me to stay healthy, my approach to education won't change and I will keep innovating and developing my own original ideas and share freely, I know I have touched a lot of nail technicians worldwide and my actions of  sharing have helped them move forward.  

Do the same and be a leader, let the others follow, they will always be one step behind anyway. 

It is not the action that is important but how we feel about it that will make the difference! 

I know what your biggest nail art hurdle is.

Because I have faced them myself!  One of the biggest stumbling block to creating Nail art is finding inspiration.  The second hurdle for many of my students is the lack of skills to translate this into a nail design.

Inspiration is every where, all around us we see colours, shapes and designs, but the skill is translating that onto a nail and coming up with a design. 

The one thing I see nail techs do over and over again is over compensate because of their lack of confidence and just keep adding more!  The skill of becoming a great nail artist is working out how to translate your inspiration and put the design together over 10 different nails to make it look complete.

What I am noticing is that there are a lot of nail techs looking to social media for inspiration, in fact lets loose the word social media - nail techs are looking at other peoples work and trying to recreate the looks they like.

This is where their problems start! STOP right there! Copying other peoples looks and designs will not only stunt your creativity and  hinder you, making you doubt your abilities and leave you frustrated! 

What you need to do, is find a design you like, and think about the actual application.

Ask your self....HOW? 

What did they use to create the look, was it pigment, did they get the fine lines with the nail art pen or a brush, was using alcohol and ink how they got that effect. Learn HOW, and then put forget the image. Instead draw from your inner creative and use what you have learnt to develop your own unique style. Pull two or three different nail looks together, use a technique or application from one, and colour combination from another. Perhaps the lines and patterns from a third.

Then you have a brand NEW look in your own style, and you feel good about your work!

Remember one thing I always tell my students above all else!

You need to K.I.S.S your nails.

"Keep them simple & sexy"

The wisdom to say nothing...

The other day I overheard conversation, which turned into a little debate, both parties took it in turns to voice how they did things within their business, but getting nowhere in trying to change the opinion of the other. 

Although it is important to stand up for what you think it is right morally, It is difficult to fight the urge to prove yourself and the temptation to explain your actions to others is hard to resist.

It is the wisdom to say nothing and have faith in what you are doing is for the good of your business and the industry, which will ultimately make you the
winner. 
There is no point wasting your time trying to change another’s point of view, they will still make their own opinion of you and your business. 
This valuable energy making sure everyone knows you are more than what they think you are is wasted. 

Ignore this urge, don’t feed the ego, instead send your self some love and give yourself a break. As long as you can continue with good intentions who care what anyone else thinks, surely this is all that matters.

Have you been in a situation where you wanted to shout from the roof tops because you know they are wrong, trying to inform them of this fact, or do you let them continue to insist their way is right and keep quiet. I would love to know what you think? Please leave a comment on this blog and let me know. 

INSPIRATION OVERLOAD

Is social media destroying our creativity?

Do you know the difference between inspiration and creativity? 

Creativity - The use of imagination or original ideas to create something. 
Inspiration - The process of being mentally stimulated to do something creative.

I have watched the industry grow over the last 15 years and the past 5 years have seen it become a tighter community, where everyone is available at a click of a button.

A blessing? Social media has enabled us to reach far and wide and speak to fellow nail techs on the other side of the world, making new friends instantly. It has expanded our businesses, allowed us to network and learn. We have had our eyes opened to new styles, products and application methods. The changing trends from different continents has given us knowledge we wouldn’t have had access to before. Social media has opened other avenues of awareness to help us build our own empires, like marketing and the beauty, hair and make up industries collaborating to expand what we offer to our clients and students. 

Social media and our need to share and show the world what we know has opened up a whole new way of gaining information, expanding our knowledge and learning from others for free, instantly.  

There is an influx of FREE video tutorials in abundance on the Internet. I have not only watched them, I have posted my fair share and I will continue to do so. I’ll be honest with you here; for me, posting free video tutorials is all about marketing my brand and getting my message out to you. I’m guessing this is the case for other people who post their videos too, but who cares its for free right?  

Learning online for free is something we all do in general whilst traveling, watching TV or waiting at the Doctors surgery. However this  new information and inspiration is all lost the moment we browse onto the next video.

So in reality, we learn nothing at all. We just watch a nice video and think to ourselves, 'must try that one day' or, 'I wonder where she got that brush from?’. 

What we think and feel about other people’s nails, products and even the attitudes towards clients is shouted at us in big bold capital letters, with different social media groups for just about everything.

There’s a battle to be noticed, to shine brighter than the rest of the posts, to be innovative and come up with something new and different  in order to stay ahead of the competition. 

Because of this fight to be distinctive, our timelines have been filled with so many different things, the attention span of an individual constantly being diverted and tempted towards something else more exciting and glittery.

Nail technicians are getting drowned in self doubt as they look at art work and video tutorials they hope to recreate by watching a quick 2 minute video, with no practical step by steps on how to succeed.

There are so many new avenues to education today; when I started there was limited internet, no YouTube and definitely nothing like Facebook. My only source of new information was magazines, workshops and shows. With videos and images coming up on our news feeds everyday, are we at risk of inspiration overload? We are suddenly caught like a deer in the headlights not sure where to start when it comes down to doing the work. The mixed messages and techniques floating around our heads making no practical sense at all. 

The questions I ask myself are, “Is our own inner creativity being stunted, are we loosing the ability to come up with our own unique ideas, style and be inspired by whats around us? Do we rely on our newsfeed and YouTube subscriptions to stimulate us and inspire, running the risk of not developing your own style?”

You will never be innovative or unique if you can’t learn to listen to your inner creativity. We all have it, the source of that creativity will not come out unless you’re sat in front of your nail desk, and not in front of your computer.

Stop looking to be innovating and different. Start looking for the right tools and information to build your own style, enhance the fundamental applications and develop the skills you need. That is what will make you unique and distinctive, standing out from the social media crowd. 

I would love to know what you think about this article and how you find your inspiration? Does this translate to being creative? 

I fell into the trap...

It was quite powerful to realise that the effort and energy you put into something based on fear and need is not going to reap the same satisfaction than if you created something based on truth. Oh dear, reading that it does sounds like some psychedelic hippy talk, but please bear with me because I am about to open my soul. 

I am good at being an educator and that is not because I am good at nails.  I do know my limitations and I am out shined by some amazingly talented artists out there, but the reason why I am a success is because I can see the abilities in my students and I can recognise what they need to grow and achieve. I named my business on the basis of inspiring others to be the best they can be.

But life takes you on a path, and down this path are many different turnings and obstacles, opportunities and temptations.  I have diversified into products and lately concentrated on marketing those products. I have invested money, time and more, into different aspects of business and that means the focus has changed because the pressures and responsibilities have increased. 

I started educating because of the joy I felt when I watched someone 'get it', that light bulb moment. The exchange of money for work was a by product, and something that just happened.  The ultimate goal when I created the video’s and workshops was to watch fellow nail techs benefit and grow. It seems I have forgotten about this reward for the effort I put into prepping for a class or designing a lesson and this 'payment' was just not my focus any more. Because of other commitments I fell into the trap of looking at the perceived value; effort = payment. How do you measure that payment, is it monetary or something else much deeper?

Doing nails on a client is not about getting paid, it is about doing nails. Teaching a class is not about how many attend it is about how many will learn from you. Of course life is not free, you have to make a living, to give everything away without an exchange means I would be teaching from a card board box in the street. But what should I focus on, that which pays my bills or the exchange that makes me happy. I have realised today that money is a by-product of the exchange between client and tech, or student and educator, it is not the focus. It will happen anyway, if you’re good at what you do, and give and share with passion and truth.

We all have skeletons in our closet and a past that shapes us. I have my own demons and battle with them daily. My relationship with money and acknowledgment was shaped from past emotional pain in my childhood (no blame attached) I have only just learnt that I need to delete this thinking, this outdated programming, because today I am confusing my role as an educator and business woman, and working from a place of fear and need, based on the thinking that I am not good enough.  

This year I decided to try something new in order to change how I work.  This was so I could concentrate on what I do best and selfishly what I enjoy most. Travelling the world is an amazing experience and I love doing it but leaving my family every other week is not so much fun anymore and gets lonely. With an idea of reducing my time away from home down to every other month but still educating, inspired me to develop an opportunity for nail techs to have access online to  inspiration and creative learning. Through the magic of technology I can be there for my students all the time without the pressures of travel and putting a value on being away from home. Starting my online learning program was purely selfish, and for no other reason than to stay at home.

As a business woman I was very aware that setting up the online learning,  had to be viable as I was giving up a large part of my future and investing time, money and a lot of effort. I got lost in the bottom line. Hello! far cry from WHY I went into to education, I was no longer working from a place of truth, of giving and sharing inspiration. I had fallen into the trap of worrying that I would not having enough and losing something I had already built. 

I had to change my thinking because to make money or become rich from other people is not going to give me the satisfaction I am looking for, earning an income from what I do is just a by-product that may or may not happen.  Focusing on my financial well-being on the back of other people's investment is not healthy for me. It is not about the money! It is an exchange of energy between two people which will give me a far richer reward than a few pounds. 

So I have now opened my soul to you and you have had a look at a small part of mind. How does this affect you? Your clients, no matter how rude, how inconsiderate, how un-organised they are, are part of a business you have invested in based on passion and creativity, and you did not grow this business based on a need for money or to build a retirement plan. I would hazard a guess for more than 75% of the nail techs out there you do what you do because you love your job. You have an opportunity to help each one of those clients express themselves through their nails, even if they have natural nudes or bright pinks. They are able to feel good and look good because of you and the time they spend with you.

You have affected them in a positive way. 

How many of you started this job because it was easy money? Of course not, because you and I know the truth. When the focus on our passion becomes about money, either the lack of it or the fear of losing it, our passion and creativity is affected. We begin to resent our career and those important people who helped us shape it to begin with.

So remember who you are and why you do what you do, and change your thinking. Remember what you do for a living is more than just nails, you touch people every day in ways you can only begin to imagine. No matter what the financial situation you’re in, never make your focus about money or the lack of it. Your truth is always from an exchange of energy and not pennies. 

I seem to expose myself periodically with this blog it has become my therapy as well as an opportunity to inform. I hope my honesty has helped today, being honest with mysterious elf has given me freedom. 

The Inspired online learning

So it has happened...

The launch of the first on line video workshop happened last Sunday, and I have to say the response in the members forum and the nails they have been producing have been amazing.

Looking for creative input in today's on line culture,  nail professionals can be found visiting you tube for a quick fix,  trying to figure out how someone has created the latest look or nail application.  Peering at their screen waiting for the  outcome of some complicated nail, without fully learning the basics or the detail on the application, is this you, do you get frustrated with the limited information available.

Let me ask you a couple of questions first...

Are you looking to up date your nail art skills?
How much would pay for a days training?
Do you see the benefit in in-depth training and feedback?

The most common problem I have found when people are trying to book  workshop is the issue of;

• Time

• Money

• Schedules

• Travel

What if you could; 

• attend a workshop in the comfort of your own home

• watch and re watch the weeks lesson in your own time

• tutorials which are supported with additional materials and steps

• 24 on line lessons, and as the member ship grows so does the amount of lessons 

• to have access to me to give you feedback and pointers on your application and designs

• Benefit from additional discounts and offers through the year.

How much would you be prepared to pay for this...??

 Be inspired On line with me Sam Biddle will cost you just

£96

this is NOT per month or even per sessionthis is for the 12 months of tutorials and access to the members page, plus a whole lot more.

Seems like a good deal...maybe too good a deal?

Yes it is an affordable subscription, just the cost of 1 days workshop with me, however my aim is to provide affordable on line learning which is accessible to everyone, This cost will give you the very best learning at your own pace.

Interested?

then visit the website now and sign up for the next tutorial - scheduled alternate Sundays at 4pm

CLICK ME TO VISIT WEBSITE

WHAT WILL YOU LEARN IN THE 12 MONTHS?

The workshops over the course of 12 months will cover most areas of nail art and design. The difficulty levels of each workshop will vary, but the aim of this program is to develop your creativity and skill set and push your limits. I will guide you every step of the way and the aim is for you to learn the new applications. Each film will vary in depth and will have all the information you need. Plus with the on line group for feedback we can iron out any issues you may have.

Not quite ready to sign up - no problem.

If you want to register your interest but don't want to sign up today - then please add your name to the list, and we will keep you updated as the year progresses. 

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 PAY AS YOU GO VIDEO TUTORIALS

Currently we do not accept monthly payments, the cost of this on line membership is just £96 as a one off payment. If you prefer to pay monthly we do have an option to purchase each tutorial on an individual basis here: -

http://www.sambiddle.co.uk/beinspired/video-tutorials.html

These video's will cost between £8-£12 depending on content. You will not be able to access the online members group or benefit from the discounts and offers.