Business
2025 nail business planning: expert tips for new year success
Belinda Price, OPI UK&I education and capability manager & owner of Nailspa, Scratch Stars Nail & Beauty Salon of the Year 2024, shares advice… During the busiest season of the year for most nail and beauty professionals, it can be hard to see past 31 December. But as the dust falls (nail dust, usually containing…
Read MoreAward-winning home salon owner: the 5 essential tips for success
Scratch Stars Home Nail Salon of the Year 2024 winner, Kirsty Brown of @paintbrushnails, shares her top tips for building a successful home salon… Having won the prestigious Scratch Stars accolade for her Stirling-based home salon, we asked Kirsty to share her top tips to inform and inspire nail techs who want to create their…
Read MoreThe 3 top times of the year for business retail & how to capitalise on them
Public holidays often influence retail sales, but as a small business owner, how can you ensure you’re maximising revenue during these key events? Research reveals how… Business credit card experts from price comparison website, Money.co.uk, have analysed the average weekly sales and key retail transaction days over the past year – identifying the best days…
Read MoreReturn on investment: what it means & how to calculate it
Global business & beauty education expert, Kim Ford, explains what a return on investment means for your nail business, and how to calculate it. You may ask: what is a return on investment, or ROI? As an example, imagine you purchased a pedicure chair costing £1,000. How many clients have you gained by having this…
Read More5 ways your nail & beauty business can save money
We are all feeling the pinch, so check out money-saving solutions for your nail and beauty business… 1. Be economical with your products Let’s use a nail file as an example. When you consider how much of a nail file you use in each service, it is rare that you use the whole file, especially…
Read MoreA financial guide & checklist for nail & beauty pros
Vorke Kalusi, founder of beauty business resource, Beauty Hunt UK, serves up financial insight… Understanding finance terms Revenue: The money you make from your services. Expenses: The costs of running your business, such as supplies, rent and utilities. Profit: The money left after paying your expenses. Profit = revenue – expenses. Cash flow: The movement…
Read MoreWant to successfully manage & motivate a nail team? Here’s how…
Explore strategies to successfully manage and motivate a nail team with business expert & CEO of PHAB Service Stars, Nergish Wadia-Austin. Leading a team of nail technicians can be both rewarding and challenging, with managers often facing awkward situations that test their skillsets. Understanding how to address these issues effectively is crucial for maintaining a…
Read MoreCommunity chat: 4 networking groups for nail pros
Are you seeking some support from fellow nail techs? Do you want access to hundreds of tutorials to inspire your creativity? Do you have questions but you don’t know who to ask? The answer might lie within joining a nail networking group. Here’s four to have a look at… The Nail Tech Org With an…
Read MoreHow a booking system can benefit a nail tech’s work-life balance
Natural nail specialist & educator, Hannah Beth Clayton, shares how booking software has supported the day-to-day running of her business… Throwback to around four years ago, and I spent most evenings with a pen and paper, messaging clients back and forth to find an appointment for them. My husband would become agitated as he’d want…
Read MoreNail salon events: the business benefits & how to organise a successful event
Nail salon events were once very popular, but that popularity has waned over recent years, says session nail stylist, salon owner & educator, Marie-Louise Coster. I think the pandemic caused us to fall out of the habit of in-salon events; we got so used to not being able to gather together, then had the job…
Read MoreNail pros: Do you compare yourself to other techs? Here’s how to combat it
As nail techs and beauty professionals, we often catch ‘comparisonitis’, where we constantly measure our success against others. We see the flawless work and fully booked schedules of other nail techs on social media, and suddenly, we feel like we’re not doing enough. In the Nail Business Success Club, a nail pro commented that she…
Read MoreHow beauty businesses should deal with client complaints, according to an expert
Global business & beauty education expert, Kim Ford, shares her expert advice on how to deal with client complaints… I am sure many of you have experienced a customer complaint at some time, and it can be a difficult situation to resolve. Let’s explore how dealing with complaints can be made less stressful. An example…
Read MoreHow 2 graduates went from university friends to thriving in the nail industry
I met Olivia Annice, the tech behind Olivia Annice Nails, at university in 2020. Her nail business has since flourished, and I have also joined the nail realm: working at Scratch as a news & features writer since July 2024. We met up to work at Olivia’s first nail event – and here’s our story……
Read MoreWhy are E-files & dust collectors so important to nail technicians?
As a nail technician, ensuring the quality and safety of your nail services is paramount. Embracing nail tools such as E-files and dust collectors can significantly improve the efficiency and precision of your services, and the overall experience for both you and your clients. Here, I delve into the importance of E-files and dust collectors,…
Read MoreHow to keep your nail business thriving during financially tough times
How can you keep your nail business booming, despite bruised client budgets? Elaine Watson, global education director at nail brand, Light Elegance, shares her ideas… Inflation has got everyone rethinking their spending, and a luxurious nail appointment may be on the financial chopping block. But fear not, fellow nail technicians! We’re a resourceful bunch, and…
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