of mine to do this, I didn't
really know what I wanted
making people happy and I love
the feeling when you get a service
you are truly happy with and feel is
worth every penny; the feeling of
assurance and reliability when you
know that consistency will always
be there. I think it is something we
rarely experience as consumers
today and I love that my customers
book a year in advance.
I'd like to have my own salon and
as a business-wise person, it came
naturally to me. Nails by Morena
was established in Oct 2007,
by renting the back room of a
hairdressers with only 2 members
of staff but within 7 months we'd
outgrown it with 4 members of
staff and so in Aug 2008 we had
Monday to Saturday. I thought 4
nail desks was enough but within a
year that changed to a need for 6
then 8, a basement conversion and
an introduction of training courses
by July 2011- we were bursting at
the seams!
mile away where we could
accommodate 10 staff, a training
academy upstairs, the product line
and all the new services we now
offer (beauty, lashes, tan, Botox,
semi- permanent make-up). I
converted the basement to create
2 more treatment rooms including
luxury pedicure spa chairs and a
double treatment room for couples
and pamper parties. We now have
5 treatment rooms and the stand
alone training academy.
being a perfectionist, I'm creative, I
talk a lot and I am excitable, honest
and fair and most importantly I'm
really lucky because my staff make
my life so much easier than it was,
you ask for, any shape, any
design.
chats together and gets
involved, we are very
well known for making
people feel like they've
been coming for years
even if it is their first visit!
We all work as a team
and love each other to
`nail family'. We have customers age
from 4 94, who love to come to
a place where, for a few hours, the
generation gap doesn't exist! My
older ladies don't just get their nails
done; they get lessons on how easy
it is to use an iPhone!
unofficially and numerous nail
technicians locally still work doing
nails based on my training, they
would come out of college without
a clue or hope of succeeding in
the industry, then I would take
them under my wings. 2 years ago,
I decided to take it further and did
my teaching training BTEC course
and created my own courses
which are accredited by `the Guild'.
The nail courses are similar to
NVQ's, involving case studies with
photographic evidence required
to pass and a theory and practical
exam. I currently offer acrylic
nail courses, soak off gel polish,
individual eyelash extensions and
nail art from the Kent Nail & Beauty
Academy. I'll be adding more
beauty and nail courses when I get
5 minutes!
an email forwarded onto me by
someone, there were questions that
said..."Has your business increased
in the recession?", "have you had
to take on extra staff?", "have you
managed to excel and drive the
business forward against setbacks?",
"have you had to move to a larger
premises?" If you can answer yes to
any of these enter! I could answer
yes to them all so, I popped my
details in and didn't expect to get
a reply. The judge Darren was
amazed by my story and how we'd
managed to drive the business
forward against all odds, he rang
in Westgate-on-Sea talks about
her way to her success and
becoming outstanding Business
Person of the Year 2012, awarded
by Professional Beauty.