How She Did It: Cinnamon Bowser on How She Created Mobile Nail Salon, ‘Nail Taxi’

By
Christina
– January 13, 2013Posted in: How She Did It & Interviews

What’s Her Name?

Cinnamon Bowser

What’s Her Company?

Nail Taxi- A traveling nail salon that makes house calls and provides manicures and pedicures at public & private parties, as well as women’s conferences.

How Much Money She Started With:

$2,000

How She Got The Idea:

“I was at home with my daughter, who was a toddler, and I had a girlfriend who lived about 30 minutes away and I called her one day to check on her and see how she was doing. She told me she really wanted a pedicure before she delivered her third child. I thought about it, and the idea of us loading all of our kids up to go get the service just wasn’t feasible….so I called around, searched the internet, and I couldn’t find anybody who would go to her and perform the service. That’s when the wheels really got going.”

How She Got Started:

“Up until that point, the only thing I knew about nail care was doing my own nails or going to the salon to have them done. The only money I needed to start Nail Taxi was money for the website, which I did myself through Sam’s Club. Sam’s Club had a small business center on their website and one of them was for starting websites. I bought a template for $4.95/month and that’s what I used for the first four-and-a half years of the business.

Of course, as the business grew we had to update the website, but I think people have a tendency to get stuck on things that don’t matter. Of course you need a web presence and it needs to be professional, but build up to the $25,000 website. You don’t have to start there. Don’t let that be an excuse not to launch the business. ”

How She Got Her First Customer:

“There was a woman’s conference that I saw an ad for in a magazine. The conference was coming to town in a couple of weeks and I said to my husband, “That would be really great for Nail Taxi next year.” I sent an email to the conference director right then and there and maybe within 15 minutes she replied and said, “I’m so glad to hear from you. We would love to have you this year.” The conference was three weeks away. I went on a Saturday in May in 2005. I collected names, addresses and emails from the people that came by our suite, and that’s when it took off from there. I was working full time at another job in May, and from that one event, I ended up leaving my job in September to do Nail Taxi full-time.”

How She Grew The Company:

After laying the groundwork, companies were calling me! Eventually I began doing in-store retail events, corporate promotions and even New York Fashion Week. After our initial success, women began calling me to ask how they could open their own Nail Taxi business, so I decided to license the brand. Since then, I’ve overseen grand openings in seven U.S. cities, Canada and the Bahamas.

 

“In this day in age where people get laid off all the time, there’s no sense of stability. There’s no sense of family at work. I think it’s definitely worth pursuing whatever your passion is and we all have gifts and passions, it’s just a matter of pursuing whatever your ideas are, whatever your dreams are. It’s having the courage to go after them.”

-Cinnamon Bowser

[Source]

 

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About Christina

Christina is the founder and creator of Brooklyn Avenue Journal. She is a native resident of Ohio who developed a fascination with internet companies sometime between college and living the monotonous 9-5 life. This website is the result of that fascination, intended to inspire you to live the life of your dreams.