How Urban Nail Box Grew From a One-Woman Show to Over 30% Annual Revenue Growth

Rachel Dang worked part-time as a nail tech while putting herself through school. She loved building strong connections with her clients, so in 2017, she opened her own small, independent nail studio.

Dang has since grown her studio into Urban Nail Box, a popular Seattle nail salon with two locations, 34 employees, more than $1.5 million in annual revenue, and more than 30% annual revenue growth. We talked to her about her growth strategy and how other beauty entrepreneurs can grow both their revenue and community impact.

The early days: Gaining and retaining clients

When Dang launched her business, she started at square one with no customers. To make matters more challenging, her studio was hidden away on the third floor of a building with no visibility from the street. She knew she needed to develop a strategy to attract clients and be more visible to the community.

Word-of-mouth referrals

Even though Dang’s original studio was tucked away, it was still located in a bustling hub full of other beauty businesses. Knowing how supportive the beauty community is, Dang made it her mission to meet each one of them and ask for referrals. She even expanded her network to include every beauty business within a three-mile radius. Word-of-mouth referrals from other nearby businesses ended up bringing Dang her first few clients, who would walk in to get their nails done after their hair or skin appointments.

Online booking

Dang knew that many clients search for nearby nail salons on Google and social media. She needed a presence on these platforms to succeed. Online booking was also extremely important to her because, as a solopreneur, she couldn’t take time away from clients to schedule appointments over the phone.

Dang compared appointment booking software and landed on Square as the most streamlined option. Using Square, her clients could book their own appointments online and receive automated confirmations and reminders — taking manual tasks off her plate. Square integrations with Google, Facebook, and Instagram even gave her a visibility boost, with new clients discovering her business and booking directly from those platforms.

Dang is a master of her craft and has always excelled at building strong connections, so once she got a new client in the door, they almost always wanted to come back. That said, it was important for her to have the right tools and strategies on hand to optimize towards growth.

Square has been by my side since day one and has supported me as my business has grown from one team member to 34. Having everything in one place has unlocked our power to grow so quickly. ”

Rachel Dang → owner of Urban Nail Box

Urban Nail Box’s path to growth

Today, Dang operates two locations with 34 team members and consistent annual revenue growth. The salons are consistently booked out, with the majority of bookings happening online 24/7. Dang opened up about the biggest factors that have contributed to Urban Nail Box’s growth.

A personalized in-salon experience

“An exceptional experience at the salon is part of our identity at Urban Nail Box,” said Dang. The team dedicates itself to a tight schedule, never requiring a client to wait more than five minutes past their booking time. This requires streamlined communication between clients, nail technicians, and the front desk.

Square makes it all possible with a customizable calendar view, mobile app, and Square Messages to view all client communications in one place. An AI-powered Square Assistant even enables automated appointment rescheduling at any time. The Urban Nail Box team keeps detailed notes on each client and their preferences to deliver a completely personalized experience. 

Booking and rebooking with Square Go

When Square launched the Square Go marketplace app, Dang and team were quick to come on board. “Square Go makes booking even easier because clients don’t even have to go online,” Dang said. “They can just look at their booking history and rebook in three clicks from the app. We’d estimate over 75% of our business is returning clientele, and that’s a big reason for our growth.”

Keeping the salon space fresh

Urban Nail Box prides itself on its comfortable and modern space that Dang refreshes with new design features and equipment every few years. She’s taken advantage of Square Loans¹ to make infrastructural updates, and she appreciates the ease of auto-qualifying for a loan, and then paying it off as a percentage of her Square transactions.

Highly authentic marketing campaigns

While clients typically return to Urban Nail Box time and time again, Dang and team have also found that marketing goes a long way to increase visit frequency and value. They’ve implemented automated rebooking reminder emails that prompt clients to rebook after a specified time period based on the services they like to receive.

They also use trend reports and seasonal email newsletters to drive rebookings. “My goal is for our email newsletters to never feel like marketing,” Dang said. “Clients like to hear about what’s new with Urban Nail Box and the team. We also include services that are trending at that time of year and encourage clients to prioritize self-care. We have over 15,000 contacts in Square, and our emails get open rates above 50%.”

So what’s next for Urban Nail Box? Dang wants to launch her own product line, and she’s excited that Square offers retail inventory management and eCommerce to support her when she’s ready. She also owns the successful Aroom Coffee in Seattle alongside her husband, who shares her entrepreneurial spirit. Check out Urban Nail Box if you’re in the Seattle area, or follow the salon on Instagram.