Julie-Anne Larivière notes 5 lessons learnt in lockdown

Julie-Anne Lariviére, Salon System nail expert and owner of Sketched by J-A Nails, reveals five lessons she has learnt in lockdown… 

1. Support is everything
   

   Julie-Anne Larivière

   Since all nail technicians were deeply affected by the crisis, we have started to form a support bubble and the vibes that have come out of this have been amazing. It has taught us that we are all out there trying out best, doing the same job and that it makes us a better person, and a better business owner, if we all support one another.

2. Online training is handy – but does not compare to face-to-face training
   It has been great to see so many techs doing live demos, courses, etc. over the course of lockdown. It was a brilliant way to keep skills updated during the downtime but you will never quite get the same approach as a face-to-face course. Online training does not give you a personalised learning experience and often will leave you with more questions than answers, especially when it comes to more technical knowledge.
3. It is OK to not always feel creative
   We are all human – there may be days where you wake up and everything you try to do fails and that is OK! We have got to be kinder to ourselves. Artists don’t create masterpiece after masterpiece; it sometimes takes them years to finish a piece. It is exactly the same with us nail techs, so why put so much pressure on ourselves to succeed all of the time?
4. Your clients are the heart of your business
   Without them you simply cannot thrive. Keeping in touch with them over lockdown has made us realise even more now how important they are to us. They are like family and are the foundation of your success; they have believed in you from the start and given you a chance to get to the top. They need to know how much you appreciate them.
5. You deserve a break
   Our lives are normally going at 100mph, we often care so much about the success of our businesses that we often forget about ourselves. It is for that reason that we need to give ourselves some time out. It is not healthy to just keep going – we aren’t robots. When you’re feeling overwhelmed or just need some time, take a break, it will not hurt anyone and you will only come back more alert and relaxed. I know we probably didn’t need a four month break, but you get the idea.