Are you a true professional or do you just have a professional mentality?

[TwinkleTips69]

Well Geeg.....I dream of being a true professional! But as everyone on here knows, it is not an easy journey at all!

When I was lucky enough to afford to have a junior, I was able to travel for courses a lot easier, but now it's just little old me in the salon, its a nightmare trying to get a day away from the shop for education.

I aspire to be a CND Grand Master, but lets face it.....that does not come cheap. I have SUCH a long way to go.....and the cost in time off, a closed salon, travel and course fees....has kept me from pushing myself to my true ability!

I am respected in my area as a professional by both my clients and my competitors, and people like the fact that my services are consistently at a high standard (the highest I possibly can give!). I personally know I have a long way to go to achieve TRUE professional status, but I know I have a professional approach to my work. I try my best to keep up to date and NEVER cut corners....even if it means I take a little longer than I should.

Great post! Peoples comments are very inspiring, and re-assuring that there are many techs who understand the difference!

 

[tigi]

excellent thread, thougth provoking and inspiring. I consider myself a qualified person inthe nail profession, because , well, i am one. I think the more training I am doing (have done sooooo much training for various things its making my head spin), the more I can critique my own work. the more i critique my own work, the more i want to learn, need to know and seem to developed a hunger for knowledge.

I want to be a professional in every sense, and will continue to behave like one, treat my customers as if i am one, I dress like one, I buy my products like one, so maybe i am edging nearer to being one? I think i consider a proffesional as someone who has all the answers. so thats why i am not one today.

 

[champagne]

I like to think of myself as a qualified up & coming professional, this to me means knowing my chosen profession inside and out, which i dont yet !

I have only been in the nail business for just under a year, I have achieved soooo much in that year but i have a long long way to go before i would use the term professional x

 

[mely-bely]

Great thread, as always Geeg!

I THOUGHT I was a professional until I actually became one this year! I have been a licensed tech (I love the tag Technician - makes me feel smart!) for 11 years. I thought I knew a lot, but until I got on this forum and bought Dr Schoon's book, I realized I didn't know squat!

Now, when someone asks me a question or says something uneducated (I don't want acrylic because my nails can't breathe) I can combat this with science and research as my guide. I love being able to say, "Don't take my word for it! Read this book!" Woohoo! NOW I am a professional.

I know that there are still a million things for me to learn, but I look forward to learning more every day and becoming better. My mamma always said to me, "the day you quit learning is the day you die" and I couldn't agree more!

 

[nailzoo]

I think I'm professional although I only have a qualification in Backscratchers (even as an official educator). Fiberglass and I don't do it (go figure).

My title and recognition as a professional was given to me by others, from then I have had to live up to it.

I have literally clawed my way through the Australian industry, been back stabbed several times, along with those attempts to drag me back down a rung or 2 and I've also had other that have helped push me back up a few rungs.

I'm a bit like Mae West and I'm gonna coin a phrase of hers ....... "I climbed the ladder of success, wrong by wrong".

Sometimes it's not easy being a man (actually I started off as a boy) in a womans world, but then again sometimes I feel I have an advantage.

Being around for what seems forever has it's ups and downs.

I love being inspired by others and find my inspiration in odd places.

Sometimes I am inspired by students ...... sometimes even the not so good students have just 1 little thing that is really cool and can be added to my repertoire.

I am also inspired when I judge competitions and see how others operate, I have judged world champions, but find I learn more from the middle of the road techs.

A I progress in years in the industry, I find inspiration less and less, I have specific ideas and don't like fancy nails, glitter or fancy styles, actually I don't like fake nails or odd shapes, so that eliminates about 70% of what techs are doing.

I much prefer a nail that matches with what my client has (and their ability to maintain it) ,....... not much into French as I don't find anything natural about it and due to the NSS flooding the market, from a distance all French tend to look the same. I like to do nails that people question if they are real or not (that's my game) and that's my aim.

I get sour every now and then, but boost myself back up by passing along information to help others. My videos do this for me (editing and adding just the right music) to create a mood. I can't wait to get home after I have filmed something, then that leads to doing another (it actually drives me mental) But I love it.

Every now and then someone comes along, picks up a brush in front of me, my eyes light up and the bran goes into sponge mode.

I was recently inspired by Geeg, just talking for hours without doing nails (sharing notes before teaching), sharing ideas, agreeing with each other just at the sight of a raised eyebrow or smile .... it was a silent "knowing", prepping nails for each other, using a different file, playing with different tips, using different instruments.

I have been doing better nails since meeting her.

No matter how professional we/you get, never pass up the chance to be inspired by others.

Sharing information is invaluable ........ face to face is 10 times better.

You guys live relatively close to each other ...... if I lived in the UK I'd organize bring a plate, bring a bottle "NAIL DAZE" (4 techs at once is enough), then 4 hubbies afterwards.

The husbands can go to the pub,or the footy (organize it around your men, then they won't care what you are doing) when the blokes are occupied too.

Nobody has to be teacher, everyone has to be a watcher, you will be blown away at the little things you can learn and add to the way you are doing things.

WE can all learn from each other, never think you know enough to be exempt, exile or isolate yourself.

This is a brilliant community ......... use it, ...... face to face, brush to nail.
AND HAVE FUN

 

[jac extreme]

Yes I think it would be good to see a 'post master' class and I think there has been talk of one in the past maybe worth a mention again xx

I think this would be a great idea, I know that once I had gained my Grand Masters I never took another class, that was partly due to the fact that I was in mid divorce/ moving, an opportunity did arise but at the time I was not in a great place in myself to go for it, so this would be brilliant

 

[geeg]

I think this would be a great idea, I know that once I had gained my Grand Masters I never took another class, that was partly due to the fact that I was in mid divorce/ moving, an opportunity did arise but at the time I was not in a great place in myself to go for it, so this would be brilliant

OK OK we get the message!! :lol: :hug:

 

[Anna Lee]

This is a good thread so I'm bumping it back up to see if we have anymore views.

As for me, I consider myself to fully trained, but I don't think I am fully qualified to be classed as a true professional yet.

 

[yeahyeah]

that's a much better definition than the americanized version of the word professional which refers to anyone that gets paid to do a job (ie professional criminal) lol
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