Today we’d like to introduce you to Breeanna Dacoff
Hi Breeanna, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I got started doing nails 6 years ago while I was a flight attendant. I needed more money and I remember I knew how to draw on nails because in high school I was always drawing on my natural nails. So I decided to teach myself while doing friends and family nails to make some extra money and I took 4 to 5 hours on one person, it was horrible. The design was pretty but the nails was only lasting a couple days. All of my friends said I should really go to school and take it serious because my drawing and designs was very good, so I did. Once I took nails serious I started working at a small nail shop by my house to get hands on practice, then I started doing house calls for people I knew and their friends. I started to get very busy, I seen Draya Michelle, an influencer post that she opened a nail salon and was looking for nail techs. I emailed my resume not thinking I would get hired cause I was still very new in the industry, only 1 year in. She hired me and from there I would say I really took off! I went from taking 4 to 5 hours on 1 client to now doing them in 1.5 to 2 hours, I was getting very experienced. Draya had me doing all of her celebrity friends then these friends needed house calls so I gained a personal relationship with clients and they recommended me to their friends so my name was being passed around. I found myself giving up too much money in percentages for the quality work I was producing so I decided to open my own studio out of my apartment because by this time I’ve gain personal clientele who followed me where I went. A lot of my influencer clients helped me spread the word about my new location and helped bring new clients. I’ve been in my private studio for 4 years now and thanks to all my loyal clients who have been telling their industry friends about me, I am grateful to still have celebrity clients. I’ve worked on set for different actors and commercials from current clients who referred me to work on set.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There’s a lot of ups and downs in the nail industry. Winter season I’m slow at the shop but I’m grateful to have my high clientele’s for house calls to make up for the shop being slow. A struggle for me is when I moved from my loft apartment in mid wilshire area to the valley because I was pregnant with baby #2 so I needed a bigger house. My business was fully established and doing great so now I had to figure out where I was going to open up a shop in mid wilshire area to keep all my clients. I ended up finding a shop that wanted me to pay a booth rent. all of my clients was used to coming to a personal location like my loft where it’s quite and relaxing so they did not like the new location, I started to loose clients. I started to get worried about how I was going to pay this booth rent with no clientele, so my boyfriend built me a studio! For Christmas my boyfriend built the studio I am currently at on Melrose and Highland and I’ve been there for 2 years now.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I do Gel X, hard gel, acrylic and pedicures. I specialize in Gel X which is what I’ve been doing since the start of my career. I’m known for my artistry, I draw art on nails. What sets me apart from others is how fast I can do a set and how I can just see a photo and have my clients nails looking exactly like that photo. What I’m proud of is how far I’ve come, from doing nails as just a hobby and now turning it into a full time business! I did not think I would be an entrepreneur as my career.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Oh yes! I’ve learn to never get comfortable and to always have a backup plan! Like I said this industry is very up and down, I’ve had so many clients tell me “Once I find a nail tech I like I stay loyal” which is not always the case. Life happens and people move to other cities or can no longer afford to get their nails done with my prices so I did loose a lot of clients due to COVID!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://nailsbybreedee.booksy.com/a/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nailsbybreedee/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/NailsByBreeDee/
Image Credits
Natalie Harlco, ASAP Rocky, JD sneakers
