Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Viviana Torres. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Viviana with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
Well throughout my life, growing up, I’ve learned that you work hard to get what you want. My parents taught me that the things in life aren’t free. The rewards are earned once you work hard. Through school, aiming to make good grades to reward yourself with more opportunities of education. I am currently applying these same work ethics to achieve my goals.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
So I love to consider myself an nail artist that has always wanted to be creative and become my own boss. I’ve been in the industry for 8 years and has been a passion since I was the age of 13. Thankful for social media, I began branding myself as Nailed by Vivi. Along with creating beautiful nails, I enjoy making my clients happy! Whether it’s for a business conference or for a vacation, it’s always in demand for a nail artist like me to achieve the looks my clients desire. Not only is it a paying career, but also a fashion statement. Throughout my craft, I realize that I’m also a therapist to most of my clients. There are moments where they love to share in conversation about their day at work, or an important event in their life, so I love to sit down and listen while providing a service. Being in the industry for years, I realize it was a time in my life to finally step out of my comfort zone, and decided to open up my own salon suite. While enjoying the great company with other nail technicians, I felt that I needed my own space to provide a more comfortable, relaxing, one-on-one experience with my clients. In April of this year, it will be an official year since I opened up my salon. I am so thankful for all the support from my clientele, friends, and family. Who would’ve known that a girl like me with a dream to create beautiful nails for a living, finally have her own business and becoming her own boss?
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I believe the three qualities I needed in order to be where I am today is responsibility, persistence, and education. As a nail artist, I made sure I was responsible for my own supplies as well as picking up my own clientele. By being responsible, it meant being on time with scheduled appointments, being available in the salon back when I did walkins, and making sure I restocked in all of the products I needed to create beautiful nails. To me, persistence is to not give up in the spite of difficulty or of wanting to give up. I’ve definitely had my moments where I wasn’t sure if I was going towards the right path with this career. There will be moments where you will have slow days or the fear of going up in pricing due to the today’s economy. But I always remained positive the whole time, and I have been thankful that it has helped me become the nail artist that I am today. As we all know, education is very important. It is never too late to learn something new, no matter your age. I, myself am a licensed master cosmetologist in the state of Georgia, however, I only wanted to pursue the career with nails because that’s what I was most passionate about. Unfortunately when going to nail school, you only learn the basics that you need in order to become licensed, such as sanitation and the basic skills needed to perform services. I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t always the best nail artist. I was self taught in the beginning, but I am thankful that I’ve had opportunities to go to beauty shows, and private nail art classes that was provided by other master nail artist in order to improve my technique and continue pursuing my artistry because that is definitely a demand in my career today. We all enjoy getting our nails done, but we definitely know that each artist has a unique talent with their art work. And that’s what makes me unique from other nail technicians.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
In this industry, I’m not going to deny that there is always competitive nail artists. I am so thankful. I bumped into someone that was not like that at all. I was fresh out of beauty school, and was ready to conquer the world with what I already knew. Even though I wasn’t 100% confident in my own work, I was willing to gain the experience and learn new things into the work field. I was jumping around from salon to salon, until I found the right place to work well, in a comfortable environment. I met a wonderful person by the name of Jasmine Requena. She was the owner of the last salon I was working in prior to opening up my own salon suite. When I first met Jasmine, it was for a position in her nail salon. Thankful for social media, that is where she found me and saw my work. She realized I did have full potential and talent to work in her salon. When I was first interviewed by her, I was open and told her I was fresh out of school, and was not as talented as her. She has been in the industry for over 20 years. She would laugh and tell me she didn’t mind showing me her techniques in nail art, and proper application for enhancements. Ever since then, I have been so grateful for her to coach me and educate me more in the industry. I definitely consider her as a friend, coach, colleague, and mentor. More importantly, she was my work mother. I was always working in the salon all the time. I love the fact that I started off under commission based pay to build clientele, and then she pushed me out of my own comfort zone to work under her as an independent contractor. I was so scared and nervous, but Jasmin knew it was a push I needed to become where I am today. I was always grateful for her advice and tips, and she always supported me through it all. I greatly appreciate her for everything she has helped me accomplish with in my career.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Www.instagram.com/nailedbyvivi
- Facebook: Www.Facebook.com/nailedbyvivi
