The only way is up

19-year-old Lucy Woodward (@gelsbylucy_) is a self-taught nail technician, nail art fanatic and features as this month’s Rising Star.

You are self-taught, when did you notice your passion for nails and what enticed you into this line of work?

My parents bought me a gel lamp and about five colours when I was 13. I’d sit and do my nails and then they would peel off ten minutes later in the bath! I was too impatient then, but a couple of years later I picked it back up and persevered until I got better, and now I’m blessed to have so many loyal clients that keep me going every day. As a kid I always liked art, but growing up in a world that often lacks support in the creative industry nearly convinced me not to pursue anything like this… I’m so glad I didn’t give in.

What are your tips to anyone who’s thinking of self-teaching themselves the nail craft as a career?

If you’re thinking about beginning a career in nails, all I can say is DO IT! For me, I found it incredibly stress-free; there’s no pressure to please anyone, no unhealthy comparison, it allows you to learn at your own pace and go in any direction you please. Luckily for me, I had plenty of friends and family members willing to be practiced on, and then I went and got my qualification and became official. Something I learned when I started was to take risk and do things that might be a little out of your comfort zone because I guarantee it’ll catch someone’s attention, you won’t regret trying.

How does your style of work differ from other nail tech’s and what are your tips for helping aspiring nail techs to stand out?

When I first started, I took a lot of inspiration from other nail techs (and made sure to give credit, of course!) but as I gained experience, I started to be able to come up with ideas from my surroundings, too. Again, this leaves much less room for unhealthy comparison. I used things like patterned gift bags, plates and wallpapers to create sets that stand out from the crowd. Most of my business growth came from social media; Instagram is really useful to showcase your work, and their recent update takes so much pressure off small business owners to have loads of likes. Likes on a photo don’t reflect your creative ability!

How do you market yourself to be successful in your trade?

I use Instagram for my business and sometimes run small competitions on there to increase my engagement. Giving away a free voucher or set can help your page grow, people often hear about the chance to win something and want to be involved!

How did you manage to build such a great client base?

To be honest, at first, I was just lucky to have my friends and family around to help spread the word that I was getting into gel nails. I started off cheap and gave discount if I could try out new designs and went from there. It’s surprising how much can happen for your business when you ask clients to share a picture of their nails on their story!

Do you work with any brands? If so, what effects has this had on your career?

I’m a VIP for PureNails, which has helped me over the last couple of months as they often share my work onto their page, give discount on my orders and give me access to new products. This also helped my confidence massively; being noticed by a massive brand meant a lot to me.

You take a lot of pride in your social media. How important is this to succeed in a competitive industry and what tips can you offer for better engagement?

I personally love using social media for my business because of the personality you can show through it. I’ve found that my engagement is much better as soon as I write a funny caption, ask a question on my story, or set up small competitions. I’ve managed to make friends from all over the world through my page; we swap tips and support each other’s posts with a friendly like or comment, which obviously helps the business overall.

You use a scheduling app to manage your bookings. How has this affected your success?

I used to use my stories to manually book people in, but the rush every week had become too much to manage. I had reached a point where I was too busy to be able to answer all the messages I was getting, so I now use a booking system (Fresha) to do this for me. My clients get text reminders of their appointment and are emailed the information they need so a lot of pressure has been taken off me to get back to everyone in time. After all, when you’ve been working all day, you don’t want to spend your nights technically still working by texting people back! Your brain needs rest! I think this has helped me in terms of success because I have more free time and it feels more professional.