Today we’d like to introduce you to Amie Ackley.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
When my family first came to America, my parents could barely speak a lick of English and they didn’t have an education. My mother worked as a nail technician to raise the six of us and after years of hard work, my family and I saved enough money to finally own our own business. We heard that Austin was a beautiful city with good food, great culture, and warm weather so we decided to fly to Austin to see it with our own eyes. Once we got here, we fell in love with Austin and decided to settle down here from Maryland. We then found a location to build our salon in Round Rock and built it from the ground up in July 2019. My husband and I, along with my parents, sister’s, and brother’s families moved to Austin on December 2, 2019 for warmer weather, affordable housing, and a fresh start to have our own salon.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I wouldn’t say it was a smooth road; there were many obstacles that we had to overcome. We opened our doors on January 12, 2020 and were completely blindsided by COVID. By March 18, 2020 we were closed and were absolutely devastated. We hired technicians, a cleaning crew, and a front office receptionist, while we managed the salon. We passed out fliers, advertised on social media, the H.E.B page, and also sponsored school sports teams to get the word out. We put all of our money and savings into the salon and we didn’t know what to do or how we were going to survive the pandemic.
My family and I took out personal loans from banks just to get us through those months. We reopened again on May 29, 2020 and wasn’t sure if we would have any clients coming in. Many people didn’t know and still don’t know that we exist because we are so new. Due to social distancing, we also had very few technicians. We are still having a hard time finding technicians to work. After reopening, we still didn’t have enough clientele coming in so we had to take out more personal loans to pay our lease. We couldn’t get a business loan because we have not been open for two years. Although it’s been rough, we are still trying our best to make it through and recover from the initial hit of the pandemic. We are still doing the best that we can to maintain our small family business and I am still very thankful that we still have our business.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Mani Toes Nail Bar and Mobile Spa?
We are a full-service salon. We specialize in hair and nails. Waxing, nail art, hair coloring and styling, men’s haircuts, women’s haircuts, and children’s haircuts are one of the many things that we do at our salon. We also offer mobile spa services and have provided services in offices, hotels, senior living, hospitals, homes, and more. I would say the one thing that sets us apart from other salons is that we take our time when servicing our clients. We want our clients to feel good and refreshed after they leave our salon.
How do you think about happiness?
When I think about happiness, I think of my family. Seeing my husband, my dog Joey, and my family happy is what makes me happy. Just being with them, having dinner, great conversations, and just hearing them laugh makes me happy. My little guy Joey is my world.
Pricing:
- Regular pedicure starting at $35
- Regular manicure starting at $20
- Men’s haircut starting at $35
- Women’s haircut starting at $50
- Eyebrows waxing starting at $12
Contact Info:
- Email: info@manitoes.com
- Website: www.manitoes.com
- Instagram: @manitoes
- Facebook: Mani Toes Nail Bar & Mobile Spa
- Yelp: Mani Toes Nail Bar & Mobile Spa
