A Full Summer, A Few Hard Lessons, and Sundays Off Again — Fall at Nail Dreamers

Hi everyone,

It's been longer than I'd like since my last post back on July 12, and I want to start by owning that. Not gonna lie, going to 7 days a week this summer meant something had to give, and most weeks, it was this blog. Between the chair, the schedule, and everything in between, there just wasn't much left in the tank by the end of the day. That's the trade-off I signed up for, and I don't regret it, but I do owe you an update, so here it is.

Why we went to 7 days in the first place

When we opened up Sundays this spring, the goal was simple: we wanted Nail Dreamers to be a place you could come to any day of the week, no matter how busy your schedule is. Flexibility was the whole point. And for a lot of you, it worked. We got to meet clients who could only ever make it in on a Sunday, and that made the extra day worth it.

But the honest truth is that it's been hard to staff. Most people, understandably, don't want to give up their Sundays, and finding team members willing to work that day consistently has been one of the bigger challenges we've faced all year.

A couple of things worth being upfront about

A couple of things happened this summer that were just unfortunate, and I'd rather you hear about them from me than wonder.

One of our long-time team members, Katy, has had to step away for a personal matter that needed her immediate attention. I'm keeping the details to myself out of respect for her privacy, but I wanted you to know why a familiar face has been missing, and that she's very much missed and on our minds. We're hoping to welcome her back when she's ready.

We also recently parted ways with a new hire who told us they could commit to six days a week. We built our booking schedule around that commitment, trusting it fully — and it didn't hold. After a handful of no-shows in their very first week, we were left calling clients to explain why we couldn't provide the service they'd booked, even though everyone had confirmed. That's one of the worst feelings in this business — having to tell a client we can't help them because a staff member didn't show up. Integrity isn't something we compromise on here. If you tell us you're going to be at work, we need to be able to count on that, because our clients are counting on us. So when it became clear we couldn't rely on this person, we made the call to part ways. It wasn't an easy decision, but it was the right one.

Staffing — finding people who show up consistently, and helping the ones who do grow into their best work — has honestly been the recurring theme of building this business. It's not glamorous to admit, but it's the truth, and at least we know exactly what we need to keep working on.

A bright spot worth celebrating

Amid all of that, there's real good news too. We recently welcomed Kim to the team, and she's already exceeded every hope we had. She and Jennifer are good friends outside of work, which honestly captures exactly what we've always wanted Nail Dreamers to feel like — a family business, in every sense of the word. Kim's work is excellent, her work ethic is some of the best we've seen, and she has a natural warmth with people that puts clients at ease the moment they sit down. We're so thrilled to have her, and we think you will be too.

Where that leaves us this fall

With all of that in mind, and now that we're heading into autumn, we've made the decision to go back to being closed on Sundays. Our hours going forward are Monday through Saturday. It's the schedule that lets us actually staff every day well, rather than stretching thin across all seven.

I know some of you came to count on Sunday appointments, and I'm sorry for the shuffle. We'll keep listening, and if we can find a sustainable way to bring Sundays back down the road, we will.

Good things take time, and building a business — especially one that runs on people, not just product — has taught me that progress matters a lot more than perfection.

We're not there yet on staffing, and maybe we won't ever be fully "done" with that problem, but we keep showing up, keep training, and keep trying to be better for the people who walk through our door. That's really all any of us can do.

Thank you, as always, for being here through every part of this — the good months and the messy ones.

We're looking forward to what's next!

See you soon,

Hannie & the Nail Dreamers Team