20 Years. 20 Lessons.
Reflections on two decades of artistry, hospitality, resilience, and heart
Twenty years ago, I opened SOAK with two pretty simple beliefs.
First, nail artists deserved a stage of their own. At the time, nail techs were often treated like the opening act for hairstylists. I believed they were the headliners - artists, professionals, relationship-builders, and an incredibly important part of the beauty and wellness industry. SOAK was created to give them a place where their talent could shine.
Second, I wanted to create a different kind of spa experience for our clients: a luxurious little vacation that could fit into an hour. A place to be pampered, have a cocktail, take a breath, and reset - without having to put your clothes in a locker, change into a robe, or commit half your day.
Two decades later, I am incredibly proud that we believed in that vision.
Of course, 20 years of owning a small business teaches you a few things. Some lessons came easily. Others came through mistakes, difficult years, amazing employees, loyal clients, changing trends, bad reviews, very long days, and probably more than a few toilets I have cleaned myself.
So, in honor of 20 years of SOAK, here are 20 things I have learned along the way.
1. Being a teacher prepared me for business more than I realized.
Before I was a business owner, I was a teacher. As it turns out, running a classroom and running a small business have a lot in common. You are managing people, personalities, expectations, schedules, problems, and about a million things happening at once. Teachers deserve far more credit for that skill.
2. Hire for their hearts, not just their hands.
Talent matters. Skill matters. But values matter more. You can teach and develop a lot of things, but who someone is at their core has an enormous impact on your culture. Hire people who care about their work, their teammates, and the people they serve.
3. Clients are the heartbeat of your business.
Take care of them. Listen to them. Learn from them. Never take their loyalty for granted. Twenty years does not happen because of one owner or one great idea. It happens because people continue choosing to walk through your doors.
4. Don't Yelp Yelp to tell Yelp it's terrible.
That is how you get on the blacklist. Lesson learned.
5. Learn from reviews, but know when to walk away.
Reviews can be an incredible source of information. They can show you where you are succeeding and where you need to do better.
They can also occasionally become the equivalent of bullies on a playground.
Listen for the lesson. Make changes when they are warranted. But when it is just a bully being a bully? Walk away.
6. The business will always find a way to surprise you.
You can have every shift covered, every i dotted, every t crossed, and an incredible team you trust completely.
Then a pipe breaks.
Small-business ownership has taught me that you can plan for almost everything - but never quite everything. The unexpected is part of the job. You take a breath, solve the problem, clean up the water, and keep going.
7. Support your entire industry.
There is room for all of us.
Supporting other businesses, artists, educators, and professionals makes the entire industry stronger. The better we all do, the better it is for everyone.
8. Watch The Bear.
Seriously. The Bear has become one of our favorite teaching tools at SOAK - for customer service, hard work, teamwork, and taking pride in what you do.
We have even used clips during staff meetings.
Richie is our mascot.
Thank you, Chef.
9. Nail techs are the headliners.
This lesson came before SOAK even existed.
We built SOAK on the belief that nail artists deserved their own stage - not to be treated as an add-on or the opening act for another service. Twenty years later, that belief is still at the center of who we are.
I am proud that SOAK has been a place where talented techs can build careers, develop relationships, and be recognized for the professionals and artists they are.
10. Small-business owners are fiercely loyal.
There is something special about the small-business community.
We understand what it takes. We know the long hours, the risk, the responsibility, and the enormous amount of heart behind the scenes.
Being part of that community is a badge I wear with honor.
11. Listen to your employees.
Get to know what they are good at - not just what their job description says they should be good at.
Find their strengths. Give them opportunities to use those strengths. Tailor roles when you can so people have room to grow.
Your business gets better when your people get better.
12. It is about we, not me.
No one builds a business for 20 years alone.
SOAK is the result of every person who has contributed to it: our team, our clients, our partners, and the people who believed in what we were creating.
It has always been bigger than one person.
13. Stop worrying about who copied you.
Take it as a compliment.
If someone borrows an idea, do not waste your energy looking backward at what they are doing. Keep creating. Keep evolving. Focus on what you are doing next.
14. Not every year is a growth year.
Some years are about growing.
Some are about changing.
And some are simply about surviving.
Surviving is something to be proud of, too.
Looking at you, 2020.
15. Take out the trash. Clean the toilets.
Never ask your team to do something you would not be willing to do yourself.
Leadership is not standing above the work.
Sometimes it means jumping in and doing whatever needs to be done.
Except nails. I cannot even color inside the lines.
16. Things got better when I stopped obsessing over money.
Ironically, the financial side of the business improved when I stopped making money the center of every decision.
Instead, I focused on quality. I came back to our original vision. I invested in our team and concentrated on creating an experience people wanted to return to - a little luxury, a lot of pampering, and a chance to reset in the middle of real life.
The numbers followed.
17. You don't have to chase every trend.
Twenty years brings a lot of trends.
Some are worth watching. Some are worth trying. And some can pass right on by.
You do not have to reinvent your entire business every time something new comes along. Know what works. Know who you are. Stick with the things that continue to deliver.
Like the mayo-mustard combination at Port of Subs, some things just work.
18. Create core values - and actually use them.
Core values are not words you put on a wall and forget about.
Hire by them. Lead by them. Make decisions by them. When things get complicated, come back to them.
They are there to remind you who you said you wanted to be.
19. Systems make things simpler.
As a business grows, complexity grows with it.
One of my jobs as an owner is to keep asking: How can we make this easier?
Better systems create consistency, reduce frustration, and give your team more time and energy to focus on what they do best.
20. Coach your team - and have a coach of your own.
Teach your team. Coach them. Then teach them how to coach and support one another.
And do not forget that you need someone in your corner, too.
Twenty years in, I still do not have all the answers. I do not think any business owner does.
The goal is not to know everything. It is to keep learning.
Here's to the Next 20
When I look back at SOAK's first 20 years, I do not just see a business.
I see the people who worked here, the clients who trusted us, the relationships we built, the mistakes that taught us something, the ideas that worked, the ones that absolutely did not, and a community that allowed us to keep doing what we love. SOAK has changed over the years because it needed to. But the heart of it has not.
Our nail artists are still the headliners.
Our clients are still the heartbeat. We still believe everyone deserves a little luxury, pampering, and time to reset - even if they only have an hour. Our team still matters more than any trend.
And we are still learning. After 20 years, maybe that is the biggest lesson of all: stay true to who you are.
Spectacular customer service.
Own your own energy.
Assist each other - always.
Kindness above all.
That's SOAK.
Thank you for believing in us, growing with us, and allowing us to care for you for 20 incredible years. Here's to the next 20.