The journey to opening my first nail academy – Part 3
By Erica Turley | 10 May 2019 | Business, Feature, Tech Talk, Training
Well it’s all coming together now! I can see my vision becoming a reality and the academy opening is all very exciting, however I think we’ve hit a bit of a brick wall due to tiredness.
Working all week then spending the weekends at the academy is taking its toll. We are doing all of the work ourselves, which takes so much time and energy.
Over the last few weeks, our daughter has had her birthday, we had a friend over from Canada staying with us, and a new arrival to our family, a Maine Coon Kitten! These things were planned and organised last year so time at the academy has taken a bit of a hit. I feel incredibility guilty that we are not spending quality time with the kids, and they are getting bored each weekend upstairs at the academy while we work. We brought their Nintendo Wii and a T.V down to keep them occupied, but it will be worth it, I want them to see their parents working hard and creating a better future for us all.
Our house is a tip, we’ve bulging washing baskets, we’ve now found someone to do our ironing which is a lifesaver, but everything at home has come to a complete stop! We are literally treading water with the chores, and the local takeaways have seen a lot of us lately, too. My poor clients have had to sit in front of me with me having no make-up on and hair scraped back while I zip back and forth from home and the academy during the day, but they’ve been great and incredibly supportive. I’m so appreciative of their interest and positive words about what I’m doing.
Regarding the work at the academy, we’ve installed new raised floors, new walls, and we are now wallpapering and laying new flooring.
Under the raised floor, I’ve hidden a little note for someone to find in the future, on the lines of a time capsule! It’s all really coming together nicely, yet we need to repair and decorate the hall stairs and landing, replace a WC and renovate an office and teaching room. Cost wise, it’s all going to plan and there have been no hidden costs as yet, but I don’t want to jinx it!
I’ve been spending lots of time sourcing materials, designing shop signage (internal and external), window frosting, and figuring out what licences I need which I’ve now sorted and paid for. I’ve been sorting quotes for stock, which I’m still yet to finish doing, and working out how much money I need to put aside for this.
For the feature wall, which will be seen on entry (behind the reception desk), I have a vision of what I want it to be like and its coming together, yet I feel I’ve bitten off more than I can chew as I’ve got to apply over 100,000 crystals to it by hand! When it’s finished, I will share some pictures of it with you.
The other week I had a fabulous feature in the local Facebook group and website, A little bit of Stone, so all the businesses and locals finally found out what is happening to 5 Radford Street. I was very nervous but all I’ve had is well wishes, positive comments and support. I’ve been made to feel so very welcome on the high street. If the academy door is open, people often pop their heads in to see what we are doing and ask questions, and people have been stopping me in the street to ask me how the refurbishment is going, or asking me if I’m ‘Erica Turley’! It’s quite a weird feeling, but it’s pretty cool!
I’ve also featured in the Readers Gallery article in Scratch magazine this month, too. To top it off, the HD Team is a finalist in the Nail Team of the Year category in the Scratch Stars Awards 2019! I’ve never been to the awards party before so it will be a totally new experience for me and I cannot wait! So all in all, it’s been a great few weeks, crazily busy but fabulous.
Right, I’m heading off to the academy as we speak, so I will fill you in on its progress in a couple of weeks!
Erica
