One of the most unique things about watching Alondra work is the fact that she moves so quickly with her own set of acrylic art. Most nail artist I've been to don't ever have their nails done.
NAILS BYAlondra
Written by: Jax B.
Photography by:
CharlesMark Photography
J
Jumping almost directly from her garage into a salon known as Nails the Luxe on Northgate Blvd, 19 year old Alondra Valle is one of the youngest entrepreneurs I’ve had the pleasure of meeting in Sacramento, or anywhere else for that matter. As soon as she graduated high school in 2014, she completed her certification for a Manicuring License a few months later in October of that same year. Now, doing roughly 53 clients a week, with appointments booked through September and into the next month, it’s obvious she’s doing something right to be so hugely successful at such a young age. The question is, “what?”
Alondra’s story is one of those endearing instances when you can accredit her success largely to her father. And if you ask her, she’ll tell you that she’ll never hear the end of it. Growing up, Alondra said she would get her nails done all the time. Then a point came where her dad said he won’t pay for it anymore, so she’d better learn how to do them herself if she wanted to continue to have them done. Parents—what do they know? Well, apparently a lot because that was the spark that ignited the fire which would grow into the passion that is her life today.
Although Alondra comes from an artistic family, with her mom painting and drawing her whole life (designing all the tattoos in their family), the ability to do nail art the way she does takes time and dedication. With LOTS of patience (and a little help from YouTube), she practiced and practiced on her own nails until she got good. Then she got noticed.
When she was a sophomore in high school, two seniors asked her to do their nails for prom because her nails were always on point. She recalled fondly, “They came to my house, sat on one side of my bed and I sat on the other, and did their nails just like that—in my room. It was crazy, but so cool.” That day, they asked her if she had an InstaGram and when she said no, they set one up for her right then and there. Even now, to this day, IG the main platform for her advertisement and appointment scheduling.
Now one would think if you do nails so good, it must be an automatic decision on your life direction. Not the case for Alondra. Originally working towards degree in forensic anthropology, nails were definitely not her idea of a full time career path. In fact, she was just going to do nails to pay for school, but ended up falling in love with her work, and more importantly, her clients.
Throughout my conversations with Alondra, one of the key points repeated was how happy it makes her to please her clients and earn their respect through her skills and attentiveness. She said with a big smile, “My clients are like my family.” The relationships she built changed her direction in life, and now she wants to continue building them and do nails forever. Then, starting nail school, she realized the potential in doing what she loves full time.
Going to nail school definitely helped her learn the techniques and develop her talent, but she didn’t want to stop there. This young entrepreneur has a good head on her shoulders and is going places. She decided to enroll in business school to make sure this is what she wants to do long term; and if so, learn the best steps to take to make it happen. She not only figure out it was the career path for her, but she also discovered she enjoys the business aspect of things as well.
Alondra’s 5 year plan revolves around finishing up her degree in Business Economics at Sacramento City College and owning her own salon. To work towards that goal, she just paid for her own mom to enroll in nail school so one day she can work for and support Alondra. Unfortunately for all her faithful friends and fans in the Sacramento area, she plans to open her first place in San Mateo because of her familiarity with the city and the Hispanic-based clientele out there which make up the majority of her customers. She strongly believes that the key to success is to start looking for grants and investors young, while saving money. And in the beauty industry specifically, finding long term clientele who are faithful to you.
To people who consider starting their own businesses, Alondra encourages you to never give up. Take it day by day. There were times she had no clients, felt depleted, and didn’t want to do it anymore. She even said there would be days when no one showed up and she just wanted to give up. But because she loves her trade and believes in herself, she persevered and clearly it was worth it.
Having a high school sweetheart, her boyfriend of 6 years who is extremely supportive, makes the journey a little easier. She shared that he always makes sure to look out for her best business interests for her, even when she’s not. However, with all serious commitments, and as most entrepreneurs should know, the long strenuous hours can be a little stressful, especially on relationships. Thankfully for Alondra, not only does she have a doting boyfriend, but also a loving family encouraging her every step of the way.
If you haven’t done so already, check out Ms. Valle on InstaGram to see some of her client’s amazing nail art and designs, but also her own! You wouldn’t think someone who does nails all day would want to worry about their own; but she says it’s her best form of advertisement, and as her main tools, she wants them done right at all times. Not as outlandish as some of the designs she does on others, she prefers plain and simple, with a lot of bling. After all, diamonds (or Swarovski crystals in this case) are a girl’s best friend, right?
Alondra clearly Eleva8s the game by doing very high quality work at a low cost, with her main concern being her customers’ happiness rather than the bottom dollar. If this rare attribute doesn’t make her a complete success within her 5 year projection, then her skills alone definitely will. We at Eleva8UP wish her a lifetime of positivity and nothing but success in all her endeavors.