Starting a business to recover one’s sense of self
Velveté Nail Bar sits in a quiet corner of Alexandra Central Mall. Over the two hour conversation, only one young man pops his head in. But just as quickly, he hops out.
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Velveté Nail Bar sits in a quiet corner of Alexandra Central Mall. Over the two hour conversation, only one young man pops his head in. But just as quickly, he hops out.
Lynn confesses that since opening in November 2024, business has not been as great as she first expected. On the surface, it looks like Lynn has done something unique. Although this is a nail salon, it’s one of the few that has homemade bakes, coffee, and authentic Chinese tea, brewed with tea leaves. However, gaining traction has been difficult.
But Lynn is not complaining. Doing a completely different thing to what she had been doing in her corporate life, has been something that has brought her healing and serenity. Over the past 10 years of working in corporate jobs, she found herself slowly burning out from her workplaces, and questioning her value as a professional. After all, when you’re constantly told that you do not measure up, after a while, you begin to believe the story your bosses tell you, however untrue it may be.
Seeking a better way forward
She realised that some corporate professionals, like her, were getting tired of their jobs, and were finding a new way to re-express their passions and love for life. When she first started looking at retail spaces, she saw that many were getting snapped up quickly in 2024.
None of this has to be an extravagant enterprise. It can begin as a simple home cafe or business, just like the many others that have started under similar circumstances. What’s most important is that it helps someone rediscover their passion for life.
It’s true. Corporate jobs have a way of sapping the life out of you, especially when you feel that nothing you’re contributing to, is yours. After all, the profits you gain would ultimately be the holding company’s. You also feel less ownership as the ideas you have sometimes do not find the space to bloom and grow in your workplace, resulting in the feeling that no matter how hard you work, it’s pointless.
Always the right time to start a business
When Lynn first found herself doing someone else’s nails, she realised it was the perfect getaway for her, helping her to unwind and destress. It started out as a hobby. She got curious about why manicures are painful for her, but not others. She searched online, and soon found out that it was because of her thin nail beds. Slowly, she learnt more about how to treat her own nails, and fell into the rabbit hole of cuticles, nailbeds, and overlays.
She slowly upgraded her skills over the years, going to far-flung places like Canada to take a three-day course to learn how to do nails better. Eventually, when it came time to take the plunge, she took it, with some hesitation. She had always been a perfectionist and worried that this wasn’t the right time to start, especially with the worsening economy in 2024. But she knew that even if she waited longer, there would never be a perfect time.
Still, the going had been very tough. She has tried everything she knows, from asking her friends to try her services, to advertising, to collaborating with other influencers to organise events.
The self-care behind the nails
What made it harder for her is that the nail industry does not have a good reputation, with many customers often recounting horror stories. Customers going there for a relaxing time, end up being hard-sold packages, sometimes not being able to leave until they leave with a package. When they buy a package, the next time they go back, they might see the shuttering of the nail salon.
She knows how difficult the industry is. An hour’s treatment may be $38, but if you add in the labour costs, rental, and the cost of the machines and materials, a business can easily lose money each time they take on a customer just doing their nails.
But she remains undeterred in her desire to create a place where people can slow down, and regain the rhythm of life. Doing one’s nails is a paradox. After all, you would think that one’s nails are prone to much exposure, being put through the daily dishes, the laundry, and the clickety-clack of your keyboard. Why do up your nails then?
It is an expression of self-care, allowing ladies (and men) to care for themselves.
It also becomes a space where her customers can unwind, talking about their troubles with Lynn. After all, with 4 hours under the watchful eye of Lynn, it becomes a little dull if one chooses to squint one’s eyes at a phone screen. Many of her customers have come back because they enjoy speaking to her. Lynn recognises that the space she holds is valuable, given that many nail salons are known for their quick and express services, serviced by manicurists that have a constant flow of customers to meet.
What makes the nail salon different is also how there’s a homemade bakery inside, with bakes that are handmade by Lynn’s mother.
It has become a one-stop shop for self-care, where one can beautify oneself, and also relax with tea, coffee and bakes.
Reinventing for survival
But perhaps the biggest takeaway for Lynn is her desire to keep reinventing herself. She knows that staying still, and waiting for business to come by, is not the way. She has tried different ideas. Learning marketing from scratch, she learnt to use Google and social media to boost the impressions of her nail salon, so that more potential customers would come by.
Recently, she piloted a co-working space in her cafe, hoping that it would draw more customers. Another trial has been opening up her space for events, hoping that it would piggyback onto influencers with bigger followings, and bring more people into her space.
Whatever it is, it is not easy, and is probably why she continues to rely on the support from her long-term customers and you, the residents of Our Tanjong Pagar. Yes, there are always bigger outlets offering the same service. But sometimes, supporting local means recognising that having people like Lynn in our community, providing a warm, familiar, comforting place to spend a few hours – that is what brings our community vibrancy.
Being open from 2pm to 11pm daily, from Monday to Sundays, with no rest days in between, is never easy. Why does she do it?
It’s definitely not for the money, and Lynn confesses that she only manages to break even, and can end up earning less than what she did in her corporate job. She also recognises that each time a customer comes to her, it’s not just out of a desire to look pretty, but also a deeper belief: that one is worth the effort, the trouble, and the money.
And we would argue that this self-belief in our own value, has been what has brought Singapore to where it is today, and will continue to bring us further.
Need some care for your nails? Go to Velveté Nail Bar, at Alexandra Central Mall, 03-24.
