🇺🇸First and foremost, thank you to all the families who have lost a loved one while serving our country. As an immigrant, I feel very blessed to live in this country, and my hope every day is to not take it for granted. A home of the free because of the brave, indeed. Thank you again.
10 years ago, I began finding my professional footing in the nail industry.
Even though I was licensed in 2013, it wasn’t until 2015 that I started to hone in on a niche in my business.
In case you’re wondering what a niche is, it is a specialty within your market.
That would mean a specific style of nails, products, or services, that you hone in on and offer.
Having a niche is so important as an independent nail artist, and it is what grew my business to $90,000 in annual gross income.
And if you are a nail artist early on in your journey, whether you’re completing your nail program, starting your nail business, or are having a real interest in doing nails…
Listen up because today’s topic can quite literally set you up for success.
Today, I’ll share with you why being in the soft gel niche is the most profitable in the nail business, especially if you’re starting out.
Everyone has nails. Therefore, everyone can be your client.
But the majority of people who get their nails done or would think of getting their nails done don’t think of getting nails like {this} done.
That would be the equivalent of thinking that everyone who is first thinking about getting their hair done wants it dyed purple.
No.
Most people want to ease into things, and the reality in our profession as nail artists is that most clients want simple. They merely want the look and feel of their own natural nails enhanced.
Not only that, they want them to last.
No one wants to pay hard earned money for a nail enhancement that doesn’t consistently last beyond 10 days.
Enter soft gel✨
Not only is soft gel the most universal fit for natural nails than any other nail product, whether that’s regular nail polish, hard gel, acrylic, or poly gel, but it is also the most natural-looking nail enhancement. This means it is lightweight and natural-feeling enough that when done properly, the client won’t feel as though they’re wearing “fake nails.”
And let me tell you…
A client’s biggest nail flex is… These are my own nails.
Let’s talk about why soft gel is the most universal fit to the nail plate.
We all have some level of flexibility in our natural nails. Soft gel is a flexible nail material. Therefore, everyone can wear some form of soft gel on their nails. It’s that simple.
Every other nail material is hard, even most nail polish, which is why it chips.
And most people don’t have hard nails.
You’ll have the best retention between natural nail and product… not when you find the best primer or the best base coat, but rather when you have compatibility between the flexibility of the natural nail and the nail product.
Hard nail products will dramatically wear better on clients who already have strong nails, and to find that out yourself… You’ll have to rely on the opportunity for clients to return to you. Which they may not give you if their nails don’t last on the first go. And gambling on the possibility of earning a return client is gambling income to pay your bills.
Besides, hard products, like acrylic, hard gel, and poly gel, require more technique, which at the beginning of your nail journey is just not necessary to cumber yourself with. It’s definitely something you can mature into later on in your journey, with clients that you already have and trust you.
Now let’s talk about why soft gel feels so natural on the nails.
Soft gel is very natural-feeling and wearing on the nails because it is softer, allowing it to wrap around your nails, with a more snug fit.
It also naturally pinches the nails, giving them an elongated look which in turns make fingers look more long and slender.
Furthermore, soft gel is not meant to be applied too thick and even the most viscous formulas, after curing them, they compact and their volume decreases a bit, making them look less bulky, then a hard enhancement.
Overall, the feel of soft gel feels “barely there”.
So let’s put this together, if everyone has nails, and everyone has the potential to be your client.
But most people who want their nails done want or start with having their very own nails just enhanced with a long-wearing product… Guess what? That is where the demand lies.
So let’s analyze supply and demand.
The demand is natural length, cute, and simple.
Go to any public place and you can prove this. The majority of the public will not be wearing 1 inch, artsy nails. (Don’t get me wrong, that’s a niche too!)
So if a lot of people want long-wearing-natural-feeling-cute-and-simple-nails, but they don’t know exactly where to find them, other than those walk-in shops where they get cut, rushed, and left with mediocre nails, that leaves the supply of nail artists who understand the assignment, very low.
Which is why you as a soft gel specialist will always be in high demand.
You know what the majority of clients want, and you have the products and skills to deliver that outcome to them! With very little competition because either the shops aren’t delivering, or nail artists are consumed offering all the things trying to nail competition-style nails to a market that is not demanding that.
This is why since I came across soft gel, I literally wanted nothing to do with anything else. I emptied my drawers of everything not soft gel, and honed-in on soft gel only. That’s when I started breaking into $80k and $90k years.
It has worked for me, and my most focused students who are now booked-solid thanks to specializing in soft gel.
Among some of my star students is Heather, who had an $86k year last year, and Carrie who had similar earnings at $85k.
And I want that and so much more, for every nail artist.
Which is why for as long as I’ve had this channel, I’ve guided all to start and specialize in soft gel.
Now if you believe that now is the right time to get serious about your nail journey, I’ve got something to tell you…
Success starts with mastering retention.
I’ll say it over and over again… If your nails stick, so will your clients.
And the answer to compatibility is soft gel on natural nails.
That is why I created an entire gel nail course to help you master long wearing and beautiful gel overlays using soft gel only.
It is called Master Gel Nails and doors are opening up again next week.
If you have not yet enrolled in this course, in which I teach you my signature method for applying long-wearing gel nails, there is no better time to enroll than during our group class event.
By the time you’re reading this, the course may be open for enrollment here, but if not, sign up for the waitlist here.
Specializing in soft gel catapulted my business in a way I never imagined, and I want the same success I had and that my students are having, for you too.
It starts with mastering gel nails, sign up to the waitlist and I hope you can join us inside the course.
I’ll see you in the next one! Bye for now.
Paola Ponce is a licensed nail tech of 10+ years and a certified Japanese gel educator.
Learn more about her journey as a specialized gel nail artist and her gel nail application course inside her free masterclass here.
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