Who thought it was going to be easy ??

[electra]

Hi all

when i decided to do nails! i thought it would be easy........ how stupid and nieve i was......

I had been going to my local salon for years having my nails done and she made it look so easy and she was always busy!!!! when she closed down i decided i would do them.

it took me along time to qualify with essential nails and had to add to my training by asking a tech at my sister in laws salon to help (she kindly did and was fantastic) after 2 years!!!! i decided it was time to go for it!!!

i have to say that at the begining i was excited and my leaflets and biz cards were passed around..... the phone rang and i wet myself!!!!! i am so nervous and sometimes get too scared to answer the phone!!!!(i'm not really a weirdo)

i have often thought am i doing the right thing, but my hubby would kill me if i pulled out we have spent a few thousand setting up..

oh sorry i've right waffled here!!!!!!! :smack:

 

['chelle]

Oh my god, Me!!! That was me!!!! Right ladies, confession time:

Before deciding to be a nail tech, I viewed the beauty industry with what I can only describe as a patronising contempt. For me, nail techs were dumb bimbo's who could never aspire to more in life, and spent their days painting nails because they werent capable of anything more.

At some point I decided that my job was not for me and that I wanted to start my own business. I decided to train in the easiest thing possible, and thought that because I'm not a dumb blonde like all the other nail techs out there that I would be miles ahead of the game. I wanted a job that I didnt have to think about, and that meant I didnt have to answer to anyone except me. All the local nail salons are always fully booked so I though that I could do my foundation course, and set up shop, quite literally just like that!! In fact, I even remember coming on this site just after I had qualified and argued with someone because I was adamant that I was going to be doing fab nails after my course. I cant remember who that person was but if its you I apolgise wholeheartedly!!!!!

I've been "doing nails" for about a year now, and I'm still learning and developing, my nails certainly arent fantastic but I would say that in the past couple of months I;ve been happy with them, and hopefully they will continue to improve over the coming months and years.

I can honestly say that this is the single most challenging thing I have ever done. I have nothing but respect now for the women in this industry who produce amazing work (the likes of which I'm sure I will never reach), whilst running a business, and at the same time dealing with the patronising views of the general public and rising above it!! The nail techs I have had the priveledge of meeting since starting in this industry have been inspirational, they produce amazing nails, have wonderful advice to offer, and there hasnt been a bimbo amongst them!! It truly takes a strong and dedicated person to succeed in this business, a "bimbo" as I used to think, wouldnt last 2 minutes in this profession, and it has really taught me not to judge on outward appearances.

As for finding myself a nice little business where I dont have to answer to anyone and can paint nails and drink tea all day: :lol::lol:!! I answer to my clients, and they are THE harshest bosses I've ever worked for. They expect 1st class work every time, they do not mince their words if they dont like something, if they dont like your work they can dock your wages instantly by not coming back to you any more, and will ensure none of their friends pay you either! All that on top of working against the clock to ensure you dont keep your next "boss" waiting is quite a stressful day!

I hope I havent offended anyone with what I said, its just an honest account. I consider myself to be an intelligent person and with hindsight I'm speechless as to how naive I was!!

 

[xAnnaBannAx]

Oh my god, Me!!! That was me!!!! Right ladies, confession time:

Before deciding to be a nail tech, I viewed the beauty industry with what I can only describe as a patronising contempt. For me, nail techs were dumb bimbo's who could never aspire to more in life, and spent their days painting nails because they werent capable of anything more.

At some point I decided that my job was not for me and that I wanted to start my own business. I decided to train in the easiest thing possible, and thought that because I'm not a dumb blonde like all the other nail techs out there that I would be miles ahead of the game. I wanted a job that I didnt have to think about, and that meant I didnt have to answer to anyone except me. All the local nail salons are always fully booked so I though that I could do my foundation course, and set up shop, quite literally just like that!! In fact, I even remember coming on this site just after I had qualified and argued with someone because I was adamant that I was going to be doing fab nails after my course. I cant remember who that person was but if its you I apolgise wholeheartedly!!!!!

I've been "doing nails" for about a year now, and I'm still learning and developing, my nails certainly arent fantastic but I would say that in the past couple of months I;ve been happy with them, and hopefully they will continue to improve over the coming months and years.

I can honestly say that this is the single most challenging thing I have ever done. I have nothing but respect now for the women in this industry who produce amazing work (the likes of which I'm sure I will never reach), whilst running a business, and at the same time dealing with the patronising views of the general public and rising above it!! The nail techs I have had the priveledge of meeting since starting in this industry have been inspirational, they produce amazing nails, have wonderful advice to offer, and there hasnt been a bimbo amongst them!! It truly takes a strong and dedicated person to succeed in this business, a "bimbo" as I used to think, wouldnt last 2 minutes in this profession, and it has really taught me not to judge on outward appearances.

As for finding myself a nice little business where I dont have to answer to anyone and can paint nails and drink tea all day: :lol::lol:!! I answer to my clients, and they are THE harshest bosses I've ever worked for. They expect 1st class work every time, they do not mince their words if they dont like something, if they dont like your work they can dock your wages instantly by not coming back to you any more, and will ensure none of their friends pay you either! All that on top of working against the clock to ensure you dont keep your next "boss" waiting is quite a stressful day!

I hope I havent offended anyone with what I said, its just an honest account. I consider myself to be an intelligent person and with hindsight I'm speechless as to how naive I was!!

Its good to see someone on here being totally honest for a change...instead of saying things they think they are 'supposed to' !

 

[izzidoll]

Its good to see someone on here being totally honest for a change...instead of saying things they think they are 'supposed to' !

Rather an inflammatory comment there...and this time I am not going to follow my own advice and ignore it!!

There are loads of totally honest and upfront geeks on here, hey and even some impartial ones!!!!......OK every so often someone comes on here with an agenda, but they soon get sussed and sorted out.

I also do not see anything wrong with the quotes from the training company letters you have quoted on another thread, save for the Essential Nails one which is a bit misleading.
I have been an Educator for CND and now for EzFlow and I have never made any ridiculous claims to students.
The main aim in a beginners course is for students to work SAFELY!!! as Geeg has said.

I have spent a lot of time over the years talking to prospective students and explaining to them that a beginners or Foundation course is just their starting point to the Industry. They will be able to work safely and get Insurance cover, but they will not be a Nail Technician until they have done 80-100 sets of nails, and keep up with their education

It is up to the student, how hard they work and how much they actually listen to ,and take in, in class as to how long that will take them.

I also started in this Industry thinking it was going to be easy, instead it was 'challenging' and I loved it!!!!, and I still do, and continue to challenge myself.
Maybe it is all in the attitude!......or am I being inflammatory now

 

[Bagpuss]

I thought it would be easy as my nail tech made it look easy....then i did my training and realised it was not easy at all....i also realised i would need to practice...what i never did though was blame the company i trained with because i wasn't doing fab nails right away.

Thats the point i was making...although bored trying to make it now....honest enough for you !!!

 

[Amethyst_Angel]

Oh my god, Me!!! That was me!!!! Right ladies, confession time:

Before deciding to be a nail tech, I viewed the beauty industry with what I can only describe as a patronising contempt. For me, nail techs were dumb bimbo's who could never aspire to more in life, and spent their days painting nails because they werent capable of anything more.

At some point I decided that my job was not for me and that I wanted to start my own business. I decided to train in the easiest thing possible, and thought that because I'm not a dumb blonde like all the other nail techs out there that I would be miles ahead of the game. I wanted a job that I didnt have to think about, and that meant I didnt have to answer to anyone except me. All the local nail salons are always fully booked so I though that I could do my foundation course, and set up shop, quite literally just like that!! In fact, I even remember coming on this site just after I had qualified and argued with someone because I was adamant that I was going to be doing fab nails after my course. I cant remember who that person was but if its you I apolgise wholeheartedly!!!!!

I've been "doing nails" for about a year now, and I'm still learning and developing, my nails certainly arent fantastic but I would say that in the past couple of months I;ve been happy with them, and hopefully they will continue to improve over the coming months and years.

I can honestly say that this is the single most challenging thing I have ever done. I have nothing but respect now for the women in this industry who produce amazing work (the likes of which I'm sure I will never reach), whilst running a business, and at the same time dealing with the patronising views of the general public and rising above it!! The nail techs I have had the priveledge of meeting since starting in this industry have been inspirational, they produce amazing nails, have wonderful advice to offer, and there hasnt been a bimbo amongst them!! It truly takes a strong and dedicated person to succeed in this business, a "bimbo" as I used to think, wouldnt last 2 minutes in this profession, and it has really taught me not to judge on outward appearances.

As for finding myself a nice little business where I dont have to answer to anyone and can paint nails and drink tea all day: :lol::lol:!! I answer to my clients, and they are THE harshest bosses I've ever worked for. They expect 1st class work every time, they do not mince their words if they dont like something, if they dont like your work they can dock your wages instantly by not coming back to you any more, and will ensure none of their friends pay you either! All that on top of working against the clock to ensure you dont keep your next "boss" waiting is quite a stressful day!

I hope I havent offended anyone with what I said, its just an honest account. I consider myself to be an intelligent person and with hindsight I'm speechless as to how naive I was!!

DITTO!!!!

I'm very ashamed to say that I thought it would be so much easier than it actually is.

It takes a huge amount of dedication to achieve the kind of skill required to make the kind of nails that I see in Scratch (or any other publications for that matter)... and I am STILL nowhere near as good as I want to be and think that I should be.

 

[magsham]

My first introduction to the nail industry was - dare i say it! - a home kit like Rio.

I thought to myself 'i can do that!'. When i'd finished (after 3 hours) i was left with monstrosities that i could do nothing with. Luckily, they started falling off after a couple of days. So then i bought an acrylic set off of ebay - again thinking ' i can do that - how difficult could it be?' Well, after a further 4 hours i can only say that they looked shocking! So soaked my poor fingers to within an inch of their lives!

But it was these experiences that sparked the passion to learn to do it properly and i've spent 100's of hours practicing and perfecting till i was confident in what i was producing but i still practice (when the little darlings leave me alone) and i love getting new ideas from here and playing. I've found a college near me that runs the BT22 & 23 and will be enrolling because there is still so much more to learn and i feel it can only help to make me a better tech.

 

['chelle]

I think the issue lies in the fact that an experienced nail tech makes it look extremely easy: put the product on the nail, pat into place, and hey presto - nails!! When we have been for our nails doing in our days before being nail techs we see nothing that suggests that its not that simple.

 

[Cathie!]

When I first started out I didn't have a clue really....I fell into nails by accident.

I did finish my VTCT at college, did an extra one day course with Antony and went to work in a hair salon, where it took me ages to do a set of nails.

However, working in the salon, I had a steady stream of clients and over time my speed improved and taking on more courses my nails improved....I'd say it too me about 2 years from completion of my first course to be happy with my nails.....still always striving for improvement though.

 

[Peter Pan]

i did think this when i finished my college course, but once i realised how much there was to learn, i soon changed my mind - hence why i carried on with more training - and even now - im still doing training, i think ill be past it once i have learnt everything there is to know

 

[adelekeegan1]

I thought it was going to be easy because my tech made it look easy - simple as that. She told me that she had found it quite easy and pointed me in the right direction for my training (bless her)

This was all fine................until the first time I picked up my L&P brush

I don't think you can 'blame' anyone, we all make a free choice and some will be better/learn quicker than others. There is a trend nowadays to look to everyone but yourself to blame for something.

 

[hayls]

I too thought it might be easy! As Adele said, my tech made it look easy, but then looking back she did a shocking job!
When I did my foundation and saw Andrea do the demo nail, we all said, 'oh we'll be able to do that, it looks easy!'. How wrong we were!

I also thought that everybody would want to have their nails done on a regular basis...........how wrong I was, people just dont have the funds these days. I have my very regular clients (about 25-30 in total) then I have my not so reular clients, that I see every other month, I have loads of them, and alot of them have enhancements, but dont maintain them, which bugs the hell outta me, but then they cant afford to maintain them, so.................

Getting this far, has not been easy at all, its been expensive and hard work, but tbh, I wouldnt have it any other way. I have learned stacks, I am a better Tech, and I followed my dream of being a Nail Technician. :green:

 

[fifitrix]

Like Adele and Hayls, I thought that my old nail tech made it look easy. After doing my initial training and during it for that matter I thought omg, I will never be able to do this.

I also realised that there was a lot more to the nail industry than just doing your initial training and getting clients. I booked more training and with the combination of that and this site am still learning every day.

There is still a lot more training that I want to do, so I best go and water that money tree in my back garden :lol:

 

[Vetty]

I'm quite unusual in the fact I'd never had a set of enhancements or seen them done before I did my Foundation Course, so I had no idea whether it was easy or not!!! Andrea did make it very clear to us that Foundation is exactly that, and we would not be a 'fully qualified' tech on that course alone...... I'm so glad I did my research though cos with no idea of the process I would have floundered with less comprehensive training.....