Today we’d like to introduce you to Toni Walker-Stanley.
Toni, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My interest in doing nails began when I was about 12 after my mom took me to a salon for a french manicure. It was just my natural nails, no acrylic, no gel polish. Once the nail tech was finished and my mom examined them, she asked her to do several nails again because they were bubbly and uneven. The nail tech was clearly annoyed and rushed to redo them and I remember being a little embarrassed that my mom spoke up. However, a few months later my mom got a gift card for a very posh uptown salon and took me with her. That time I got a manicure and a bright purple polish, and when the nail tech was finished I was fascinated with how perfectly she had polished my nails. It was then that I understood what it was that my mom was looking for at that first manicure. Her discerning eye and demand for a high standard of work is something I’ve carried throughout my career and prioritize in every aspect of my business.
After that second salon experience, I wanted to learn how to reach that level of perfection. I started digging through my mom’s old polishes and manicure kit and found enough supplies to do simple french manicures. I wasn’t even allowed to wear colors other than clear or very sheer pinks until I was 14, so I’d like to think the kind of nails I wear and do now are a rebellious response to that restriction. Really, the only reason I started doing my nails was because I had a few bad salon experiences throughout my life. I figured either I could continue going to low-end salons and stop complaining, or figure out how to do it myself. At 12 years old, I didn’t have the money to go back to that posh salon and I didn’t want to go back to “discount salons”, so I decided to try it on my own.
Over time, I bought dollar store polishes and cheap nail art supplies from eBay and continued to experiment on my own nails, but I found I had too few nails and too many ideas. We were at a flea market one day and I scavenged a 50 cent pack of Kiss brand press on french tip nails from a crate full of random items and had what I thought at the time was a genius idea to paint them and then glue them on for a mess-free, longer-lasting manicure. It’s funny now because it wasn’t a unique idea at all, but my discovery of press-on nails is what led me to a way to practice nail art on a much larger scale. I started learning nail art before learning anything else, so by the time I got the hang of the acrylic and gel, I was ready to hit the ground running with the nail art, I practiced on hundreds of press-on nails and made custom press on sets for myself. Around the time and I started college in 2010, friends started asking me to make sets for them and I realized that I could actually do more with these nails than just have fun. I did manicures and press on nails out of my dorm room to make extra money all through college.
I got my nail technician license in 2016 in New Jersey and moved to Georgia shortly after. I had no intention of moving to GA and had no real plan at all. I only came because nothing was working in NJ. I couldn’t find anywhere to live, the new salon that was promising me a job kept moving their opening date, and I didn’t have enough money to live on my own anyway. So, I reluctantly moved to GA. There was one nail tech I had long admired and dreamed of working with, Poochie, owner of Poochiez Paws Nail Studio. At the time, she wasn’t hiring, so I sadly looked elsewhere. After just a week of seeking out different salons, I found a local hair salon that was looking for a nail tech. I was excited at the prospect of having my own setup, and I was able to build a solid clientele there. Funny enough, as soon as I found that hair salon, Poochie called me and offered me a job that I hadn’t even applied for! I was a little disappointed that I missed my window, but it made me realize that this path was right, that my plan wasn’t the right one, that God was leading me to where I needed to be.
I tell people that I’m the worst person to take business advice from because I didn’t make a plan at all. Everything that has happened has happened because I learned to let go and let God do His thing. I did so kicking and screaming at first, but I’ve been sent wonderful clients, amazing support from people who don’t know me at all, and put in positions and places that I’m not qualified for, yet I succeeded in them. I’ve been given opportunities out of the blue that I didn’t even think to want, but I was prepared for them only because years ago God put things in place that would lead me there. It’s overwhelming to try to think of how I got here because so many things had to line up.
After a year of working at the hair salon, I found the suite space that I’m currently in. It was perfect. Finally, I had a place to call my own, the kind of salon that I had always wanted to go to.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Getting here has been more of an internal struggle than external. I see a lot of small business owners profess proudly that they made it this far on their own, but the truth is that just isn’t my testimony. I’ve had the amazing support of my family and friends from the very beginning. It was me and my own doubts about my ability that held me back. I wouldn’t have had the courage to apply for a salon job or get my nail technician license without the encouragement of my parents. When I moved to GA and was looking for a salon to work in, my whole family came with me to take me to different locations. They have packed up my equipment and moved it wherever I needed it, painted my suite, built shelves, etc. The most frustrating part of this journey was and still is being patient with my growth. Building skills when it comes to doing nails requires a lot of time and repetition. I would be in literal tears in the back room, frustrated with myself for not having mastered a skill that I felt I had been working on for so long.
I would tell a young woman starting her journey to allow herself time to grow. And to be kind to herself when she fails. It’s necessary to keep your goal in mind and to keep that drive going, but you can’t criticize yourself so fiercely that you put out your own flame.
Please tell us about Perfect Ten Nails.
I consider myself both a nail technician and a nail artist equally. There is a technicality and level of detailed construction necessary to create a great set of nails, but the visual beauty of the structure of a nail is also important. Because I started learning nail art long before the construction of a nail, I consider nail art to be my specialty; it’s definitely what I’m known for. I’m always looking for ways to challenge myself when it comes to nail art. I want to explore the techniques and trends and see how I can tailor it to my own style or blend it with my own ideas to create something new. I am constantly looking for inspiration in everything; it could be a street mural, lotion bottle, or most often an illustrator. I love the challenge and collaboration of replicating an illustrator’s work. Taking something they may have drawn or created digitally and recreating it on such a unique canvas as a set of nails is very exciting for me. Something that at one time may have been static on a wall or screen can be transformed into portable, moving, active art on someone’s hands.
I’m most proud of my determination to maintain high standards. My refusal to compromise on quality in every area has enabled me to improve my skills as a nail technician, nail artist, and businesswoman. I’ve worked in salons where the expected standard of work was lower than my own and it would have been easy to accept that and remain at that level, but I just wasn’t satisfied staying in that place. I knew I didn’t have the skills to do the kind of work that I wanted to do at that time, but if I wanted to reach level 10, I couldn’t stay around people who were content at level 5. I didn’t always have the confidence to believe that I could get there, but I knew to my core that top tier was where I wanted to be. It’s one of those things that requires so much practice and so much repetition that I struggle to understand how I got where I am. It’s such a gradual transition from one skill to another that you just have to put in the time and put in the work. I take a lot of pride in knowing that I put in that work. As strange as it may sound, I do struggle a lot with being recognized for it though. The reason I am where I am is that I demand so much of myself, therefore, I constantly see areas I need to improve in. I’m well aware that I’m not a beginner anymore, but I’m such an introvert that when people shout me out or give me an amazing opportunity (like this article), I have to remind myself that I have in fact worked for this and I need to accept that I might deserve some of it.
I’m also very proud that I have created the type of salon and become the kind of nail tech I would want to go to. It’s been “nail culture” to just expect that your nails may not come out that great, but it’s fine for the price. I wanted to be different. I take a lot of pride in my clients loving their nails, not just accepting them. It makes me feel really good when they tell me they’ve been looking for a nail tech like me for a long time because that’s exactly how I want them to feel, like they finally found their nail tech soulmate. As a solo nail tech in a suite, I provide a unique, personal experience. We can talk about anything, watch anything, and they can have a private moment. For so many of my clients, their nail appointment is the only moment they’ve had to themselves in weeks. It may be the only time they get to watch tv, not have to answer their phones, or just be away from their hectic lives. There have been many tears in my salon on both sides of the table, a WHOLE lot of really loud laughing, and even more talks about life. It’s therapy for my clients and for me. It’s definitely work too, and I’m tired at the end of the week, but the difference at Perfect Ten Nails is love. I truly love doing nails and everything that comes with it, and it shows.
What advice would you give to someone at the start of her career?
Show up. There is so much value in being prepared for a position that you are planning for. You have to be ready to hit the ground running when the opportunity presents itself. It’s not enough to wait until you have everything perfect and a full client list or full inventory or whatever may pertain to your particular business, to then start the work. Show up when you have no clients and no customers just so you can practice being at work, practice when no one is there. Be in a position to be ready to say yes when someone comes along who can push you into your next level. When I got my first salon job, I had very little experience and was working four jobs (including the salon); one was just weekends and the other three were every day. Most days, I was only at the salon for an hour or two in the evening, but I made sure to be there. Unless it was Saturday, I really wasn’t making any money for the first few months. But I showed up. I sat in the back and I practiced. I made sure I was dressed for work so that clients would see me and take note. I helped clean up. I watched others work. I was making in a week what I now make in a day, but I needed to have a mindset and develop the habits of someone who would one day have her own salon. That’s someone who shows up.
Contact Info:
- Address: 285 Glynn St. South
Fayetteville, GA 30215 - Website: www.p10nails.com
- Phone: 678-723-1211
- Email: inotnw@gmail.com
- Instagram: @p10nails
Suggest a story: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
