business idea small starting

love the saying: "Don't be afraid to go out on a limb because that's where the fruit is." I have always been a risk taker. Some risks have worked out better than others. I've lost my share of funds and have had my share of disasters but each and every one held a valuable lesson for me so I just chalked it up to paying for that education! The Idea
In 1983 my twin sister and I decided to open our own business. Neither one of us had any extra money at the time but that didn't stop us. We had both been nail techs in a local beauty salon for a few years and realized that the city did not have have a single "Nail Shop", so we seized the opportunity to open one.
Having no real business experience didn't stop us either because we all know ignorance is bliss, right? To have a twin with as much business ignorance as you makes for a double scoop of bliss.

The Location

We found a great location in a small shopping center that had a space open. The rent was $300 a month and we thought we could swing it and make a profit if we brought in some more nail tech operators to rent space from us. The shopping center contained a cleaners, a dress shop, a uniform shop, and a beauty salon. We were a perfect fit since this was a high traffic area for women! How could we be anything but successful??

Getting the Money Together

We looked the place over and realized it would need some work on the inside. We also needed "stations" for the operators and we couldn't afford the manufactured kind so we decided to have some built from a carpenter we knew would give us a discount. All in all we tallied what our opening expenses would be and we figured we needed about $1500 each to open the business. I had to go to the bank to borrow my $1500.00 but Debbie, my twin sister, already had that amount saved.
We didn't have any financial forecasts. We didn't have a business plan. What we had was notebook and some posty notes for ideas and how much money we would need. But we could FILL a notebook with our enthusiasm and our desire to be successful.

Choosing Our Business Name

Our next step was to decide on a fantastic name. We both agreed on "The Ultimate Nail and Body Care Shoppe". We now had a massage therapist, another nail tech, and a facialist, ready to lease space and become part of the business family.

Remodeling the Space Our Self

We did most of the cosmetic inside changes our self including getting new carpet for the shop from a carpet installation friend. He had just redone a big hotel and had the old carpet to get rid of. We bought it at a huge discount and he installed it for us if we gave his wife lifetime manicures. We agreed and within a week we had a brand new looking floor. We painted. Replaced trim and baseboards ourselves, made our own shop decorations, and were very pleased with our new handmade stations.


"Renaming" the Business

During the whole remodeling process, all of our friends, family, and shopping center neighbors kept calling the shop, "The Twins Nail Shop". After two weeks of hearing this from everyone, we decided not to fight it and renamed the business to "The Twins Nail Shoppe".
Even on the first day, customers would look at me, look at Debbie and then say, "Are you twins?" We would reply with "Yes. We are the owners and that's why it's called The Twins Nail Shoppe". They would always laugh and say, "OH!" I'm not sure if this had anything to do with our success but our whole life it has seemed that people get excited when they actually know a set of twins. Twins fascinate people. They can't wait to ask all the same questions and for those of you who are now wondering....