Today we’d like to introduce you to Jenny Garcia.
Hi Jenny, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was destined for the beauty industry. There are pictures of me as a toddler in the mirror with a make-up brush in my hand! I started painting my own nails in the 4th grade after an injury to my thumb ruined my nail bed. I loved having my nails painted after the injury because it made me feel like my messed-up nail was normal again. This really is when the nail obsession began!
I was always a crafty artistic kid. Growing up I took a lot of art classes and just loved to draw and paint. A lot of nights as a teen I would stay up for hours hyper-focusing on my latest art project. I feel like this really helped me when I got into nail art!
When I got to high school my step-mom was a salon owner in my hometown and I was there all the time, watching her do hair cuts, colors, highlights, waxing, up-do’s and the nail tech do nails. I wanted to learn how to do acrylic nails, so for Christmas she got me my own set to do them on myself. I started practicing on myself and my friends and got pretty good at it. I loved being in the salon. It felt like a bunch of friends just hanging out and chatting all day making each other feel beautiful and confident!
I decided to go to Cosmetology school and make a career out of it. I told myself all through high school, one day I will have my own salon too! In beauty school I was constantly called on to do nails because they knew I already had experience doing them on my own, even though I was like, ‘come on y’all, I can do hair too!’ Nails really just fed my creative side and I started doing everything I could to learn how to provide the best nails I could. I am a perfectionist, especially with nails. I wouldn’t want anyone who trusted me with their nails walking out and not be completely happy with the nails they paid for!
I worked a couple of places when I first started doing nails after school. First doing acrylics and other nail services, also some hair here and there, just trying to learn and gain experience. When Shellac polish came out it was a game-changer for a lot of people. The market was starting to shift and everyone was looking for healthy and natural options for every product they used, Shellac nails was the answer to that for a lot of people! The second salon I worked at was natural nail focused and shellac was a hit. I really loved working there for almost 2 years but when a shift in culture suddenly change I realized it was probably time to make my dream a reality and I went out on my own, building a solid clientele. I had my own little suit for 6.5 years all while dreaming and planning up the next steps.
Now for the past 3.5 years, I’ve owned and operated Nailed It. I have to say it has been challenging but really worth it. I loved being able to design every part of the space, and seeing my vision come to life was the best feeling. I’ve had to learn things about running a business I didn’t know but I love learning all about business as much as I love doing nails! Now I’m embarking on the second location in Bastrop, Tx! I’m super excited for the growth!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Hiring the right people has honestly been my biggest challenge. The interviews were probably scarier for me than they were for the interviewees!! All the self-doubt and negative self-talk would get to me from time to time. I just had to keep pushing and do my best, slowly rewriting to scripts in my head! Also just knowing I would be responsible for not only my income but someone else’s was a scary thing!
We’ve been impressed with Nailed It Austin, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are a boutique nail salon who specializes in natural healthy nail care. We promote a relaxing, clean and safe environment. I am proud of how meticulous we are. I really try to encourage this in trainees and help them grow a clientele that would be too spoiled to get their nails done anywhere else! We offer Gel polish, regular polish and fast-drying long-lasting polish for our manicures and pedicure. We only use brands that we have personally tested and love ourselves! The fast-drying long-lasting polish is amazing and so many of our clients are so in love with this new product! We are always looking to add the best products and services to offer our clients.
We also have specialty and seasonal services with treatments like our in-house, specially formulated sugar scrubs, paraffin wax, leg mask with hot towel wraps. We offer beverages like coffee, tea, wine and in summer we have margaritas!
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Oh man, Covid really put a wrench in so many businesses! I know I was definitely in denial when things shut down, I thought for sure things would be back to normal soon and I could get back on track with my goals. I spent a good couple of months completely depressed and didn’t even want to think of my business and what might happen. I finally pulled myself together and started taking advantage of the assistance available to save my business and my dreams. Nailed It was only open for a year when COVID hit. We had to shut down and figure out a way to survive. Luckily we did get some loan help and unemployment for a brief moment. I am so grateful for that help! I learned how important it is to be creative and diversify income streams. Being purely in-person service-based, it was hard to just make ends meet when so many were scared to get out around people.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.naileditaustin.com
- Instagram: @naileditausitn
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=nailed%20it%20austin
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/nailed-it-austin
