Hello and welcome to the daring sneaky rescue of my bestie Mel (you might know her as Melissa) from the clutches of yet another salon owner that chooses to ignore the talented treasure working tirelessly in the nail corner.
One of the top nail professionals in the state of Iowa, Mel has sought out advanced education above and beyond the simple schooling required to simply pass state board exams and do the minimal requirements for nails. She has been an educator at a school, plus a position at an international manufacturer was created specifically for her so she could become the first ever second educator for the company in the state of Iowa, and she is beloved for her insight by nail professionals around the world thanks to co-hosting NailOn with Holly and Mel, a live online video broadcast.
In spite of these things, with the caliber of her work, the level of her talent; the salon owners Mel has had the misfortune of working under, have undervalued her because she is a nail professional, choosing to pay her less than the industry standard for someone of her worth. They also opt to charge her for using salon product even though she is generous enough to bring her own products in to cover client requests for exciting things they see online.
The final insult is to ask Mel to perform a premium service on her beloved clients, with less than premium products being provided, even though money for those products is being removed from her pay. To add insult to injury these products will go unreplenished leaving her to improvise.
By stepping in to take care of client’s nails for a bit while Mel recovers from surgery I have gotten a taste of what she deals with and I am saddened and horrified what someone with her talent, intelligence, and heart has been reduced to. Her kindness so thoroughly taken advantage of.
In talking to each client it seems all are frustrated with the unprofessionalism of the current salon atmosphere and would love to see Mel go out on her own. Most begged for her to stay in West Des Moines and not open up shop in Altoona lol there’s quite the difference in cost doing that though.
I’ve done some rough calculations and estimated about what Mel would need to start up her own place in the West Des Moines area from first months rent, furniture, product, salon licensing, etc. The figure I arrived at was $8500. Please don’t share this on social media as I’d like it to be a surprise for Mel, in addition to that I don’t want it to cause her drama at work! Let’s get her into a place where she can thrive, use quality products, offer the services the way they’re meant to be done and continue making you feel good!!
