Why Your Nail Salon Might Not Make it Through the Pandemic

A day in the life of a salon owner:

Grab coffee, throw your hair in a bun, race the kids to school a tiny bit early and rush back to open your doors for your first morning client. Your day is fully booked, which is great, because your power bill is due and you have to buy more product. You end up skipping your lunch break to squeeze someone in who was running behind and even though a client decided she wanted to switch her regular fill to French (you couldn’t say no!), you still managed to catch up because you killed it in record speed! Only to find out that your next client canceled last minute. At least now you have time to eat…

Being a nail tech means that no two days are alike.

We techs love nails and we love people! We look forward to seeing our clients and catching up on their lives- all while transforming their grown out nails into works of art every fill! When the month ends, just like most, we add up all of our income, pay our bills and do a happy dance when we have a little left over to buy the kids some new clothes or toys or spring for a fun trip. Oh, and maybe even some white wine for mama!

THEN, 2020 arrives with COVID.

In an instant, life is so different. No time to prepare for the change. Suddenly, we are all faced with life altering decisions.

As many of us live pay check to pay check, a months long shutdown can have irreversible impacts on our livelihoods and businesses. The unfortunate truth of the matter is that many businesses- including salons- can’t make it through a financial drought like the one brought on by COVID.

The difference between surviving and not can lie on factors like our landlords’ understanding, whether we have access to government emergency relief, or if we have any savings put aside to help carry us through.

If our business is lucky enough to make it through the initial financial hit of mandatory closure and has been allowed to reopen- the hardship doesn’t stop there.

Our clients have also suffered financial loss and have experienced a huge life change.

For many, priorities have shifted. The amount of customers who are still able to afford the luxury of salon quality nail care may drop as low as 50-60% of our regular clientele. Not to mention, those of our clients who are considered high risk and choose to forgo non-essential appointments.

To survive on only a fraction of our normal income is something most business owners simply cannot do. We work half the month (maybe more) just to pay our overhead. This type of income drop would require working solely to pay the rent. If our customer base cannot return to a lucrative level, sadly very tough decisions have to be made.

While this is not the situation for everyone, it is an unfortunately realistic path for many small business owners, like us nail techs. Running a salon is a labour of love. It requires hard work, long hours, skill and consistency. We are building a community; for art and friends. It’s a happy and invigorating atmosphere.

Closing a salon down is a heart-wrenching decision that is not made lightly.

Some of us will not survive the pandemic. Even if we try everything to hang on. We can have all the passion, talent and fortitude in the world, but in this global state of emergency, our hand may be forced.

My heart goes out to any tech/salon/small business owner that was forced to close because of the circumstances surrounding the pandemic. Some techs may maintain a smaller clientele from their home, which is a great alternative. And as time goes on and we can regain more control over COVID, more businesses will be allowed to open up. Hopefully, the closed salons might be able to reopen with their full customer support.

Hang in there, my nail tech friends.

And a big thank you to all the clients and customers who have been able to support their techs and small businesses.