Nail Techs Covid Corona Information salon
I had planned to write a post about the transition that The Nailscape is going through since the discontinuation of The Nailscape Box back in February. I was going to explain that I am focusing more on the educational side of my business, in addition to my session manicuring career. I was going to reassure you that the blog and social presence will continue just like it did before the box, but the world has changed so much in a few short weeks, that last month feels like a lifetime ago. Nail Techs Covid Corona Information salon
I have to admit I’ve been avoiding social media since every post is either “Is your salon still open???” or “Sign my petition!” The Covid-19/corona virus situation is dire for a lot of us in the beauty industry, myself included. Being reminded of salon suite rents due and bills piling up while we can’t work isn’t what I look to social media for. I use it for a distraction, and a window into what others are doing. How they’re living, what they’re laughing about, what they are creating, and how their families are doing. It gets harder and harder to want to add to the noise when every post seems to be saying the same thing; we’re afraid.
This situation has shown me how many of us can’t sustain two weeks without some kind of income. It has shown me how many of us aren’t just living paycheck to paycheck but client to client. How many of us would be completely ruined by an injury or illness under normal circumstances like a broken wrist from a fall. And it has shown me just how many of us will put ourselves in harm’s way and disregard directions from experts in order to keep ourselves and our families afloat. Nail Techs Covid Corona Information salon
I take my “position” as an industry leader very seriously. This is why you haven’t seen me offer a post full of platitudes on Instagram, telling us we’re all going to be ok. It’s why you haven’t seen me go live in Facebook to talk about the current climate. I only want to share the truth with my readers, followers, and friends. I don’t know if we’re all going to be ok after the shelter in place orders are lifted. Most of us will still have client demand, but depending on how long things take to resolve, some of us won’t have suites or a salon job to go back to. I don’t say this to scare you. I say this to be realistic. No one knows what will happen next, and that’s why I’m writing this.
It’s ok to admit that you’re afraid and uncertain. I wish more of us were willing to do so. The problem with fear is that it is by nature, very isolating. We are definitely all experiencing the same circumstances, but just knowing that other people in our industry are feeling this way too makes it better somehow. No one understands our unique situations quite like other beauty pros, which is why it makes me absolutely outraged when I see other industry leaders using their platforms during this time to spread misinformation.
With so many of us in very serious circumstances and wondering where our next bit of income will come from, it is objectively irresponsible for people with a platform to spew misinformation, justifying the decisions of those who continue to keep their salons open despite Federal, State, and local mandates to close. To these leaders, I say, shame on you. You built a platform of influence due to either contributions to the beauty industry, or more likely, a prominent position with a brand or distributor that you parlayed into a following. To tell your followers, who take you as authority on many subjects, that this is all being blown out of proportion and they should just wash their hands more is shameful, and the industry will remember.
To beauty pros inundated with information right now, I want to help you sift through the bad info and the noise and get to the real, correct data and direction. I want you to think about why someone would be motivated to share incorrect info. How does the person in question benefit from getting you to do something or act a certain way? How does directing you to ignore CDC and other governmental guidelines benefit them?
Is it because they are a well-known distributor and they need you to stay open so that you deplete your supplies faster in order to purchase more (from them?)Β How about a chemist telling you that the media is to blame for this crisis? Someone who is usually the first person to scold you to stay in your lane because you’re “not a doctor,” is now the one giving medical advice? Just sign up for the membership or buy the book, and you too can be enlightened. Or the doctor telling you that liquid disinfectants are part of a scam that the EPA is in on, but you’d know that already if you enrolled in their “advanced” course!
The purpose of this post is not to encourage division. On the contrary, it is meant to shine a light on the fact that even in times of uncertainty for you, the beauty professional, there are people in our industry who would actively position themselves to profit from your pain and confusion. I encourage you to take information onboard carefully and assess it with a very critical eye. Question the motives of the person giving you that information, and how they benefit from you taking it into your world view. I encourage you to question me, and subject my information and opinions to the same scrutiny. We all have to make our own way in this weird, wacky moment in history. The next steps are up to you alone.
In the spirit of transparency, you can always book consulting time with me for your beauty business here. All I have to sell to you is my experience, honesty, and partnership to ensure as many of us as possible make it through this storm. Nail Techs Covid Corona Information salon
Stay safe, healthy, and home.
Ashley
Resources:
CDC Covid-19 Information & GuidelinesΒ
Pro Beauty Association Covid-19 Info & Resources
Small Business Association Guidance & Loan Resources
Nail Techs Covid Corona Information salon