System addict
In 2013 the idea of CJP Nail Systems was born, when creator Jemma Porch began making custom shades.
Jemma has built up the company from being a sole trader to a team of 12 staff who work in the headquarters, and has many others around the country who help run the support group.
“I’d worked as a nail technician for 16 years, and started doing nails as I thought it was an easy option!” Jemma told us. “How wrong was I, it is the hardest skill I have ever had to learn, and to this day I still strive to learn new techniques and skills as much as possible.”
Once the idea of a complete system was born, Jemma worked with a chemist and began the long hard slog of creating and testing many, many formulations, and a little over 18 months later CJP was ready to be launched.
“We started with only a few colours and key products, with a website that cost less than a weekly shop!” said Jemma. “We had invested huge amounts of time and money into the brand and at that stage had no idea how it would go. The day we went live in Dec 2015, we had orders coming in, but with no advertising budget we had to pray people would spread the word, and they did!”
In less than 12 months CJP Nail Systems had four members of staff and had moved into their first warehouse, quickly outgrowing that space and making the decision to move to a larger premise that was triple the size. They also opened their first trade shop and training centre, taking on several more members of staff.
“We worked long hard hours in the early days, sometimes surviving on as little as three hours sleep, for days on end, as a family we made many sacrifices to grow the business, and to this day we still often work unsociable hours and lots of overtime; the whole team pull together and go above and beyond,” said Jemma. “We have been on a huge learning curve and have faced many challenges, such as managing stock control, and also meeting the demand for our products. We have grown as a team, and as a company we strive to improve all the time.”
One of Jemma’s favourite memories is Christmas 2016. They had switched the website off for a well-deserved break, and when it was turned back on after two weeks it blew up! It was then they knew they needed to have a new site with a much larger server. The data showed there were over 8,000 people on it trying to place orders in a space of 24 hours.
The website still generates a lot of new business; on average 30-100 new customers every single week.
With the whole range of CJP products, which is Jemma’s favourite?
“My favourite products change all the time depending on what time of year it is,” she told us. “However, I couldn’t live without Crystal Glass as it is literally the clearest acrylic I’ve ever used, it’s like glass. I adore Pop IT for a super white gel polish base for using with many mediums due to its added adhesion, foils, pigments etc., and lastly Pink Diamonds, the most amazing glitter acrylic. I could keep going as I’m biased and love it all!”
Nail technicians investing in CJP Nail Systems can expect education and business support.
“CJP is always with you every step of the way,” explained Jemma. “It’s not just a purchase, it’s like a lifeline for techs as they can become part of our group CJP Nail Systems (our official Facebook group). They will receive consistent support every step of the way alongside a tried and tested product that creates amazing results.
“CJP techs create the most amazing nails and our new CJP babies who are just entering the industry get support every single step of the way; no question is stupid, and everything is explained in great detail.
“We do many step-by-steps and live videos, and many CJP techs post in-depth CJP videos on YouTube, especially Liz Guild and Charlotte Pilgrim.”
To find out what CJP Nail Systems can do for your business, please visit cjpnailsystems.com
