Tips 'N Toes Nail Salon - news - Business as Usual

When Tips ’N Toes opened its first branch in SM Megamall in the 1990s, Dina de Villa Tobojka fell in love and became this nail salon’s regular client. In fact, she fell in love with it so much that she decided to become Tips ’N Toes franchisee. In 2002, she opened her first branch at SM City Bicutan, and opened her second branch in Westgate, Alabang in 2005. By the end of the year, Dina plans to put up her third Tips ’N Toes franchise along McKinley road in Forbes Park. As a teenager, Dina had already developed an addiction for doing nails. She learned how to do sculptured acrylic nails and gel nails from do-it-yourself-kits purchased abroad. In the same way that other women get a massage or exercise to relax, Dina finds that it is doing her own nails that clear her head.

Tips ’N Toes offers everything from the usual manicures and pedicures to deluxe services such as foot spa therapy plus, spa manicure, paraffin treatments, sculptured nails and nail art. They’ve also earned a good reputation for other services such as waxing, massages, and. eyelash extensions. Soon, Tips ’N Toes will be launching new services such as gel nails (an alternative to Acrylic Nails), paraffin indulgence (a moisturizing treatment for fingernails), duralash (a volumizing kind of eyelash extension), and gel polish (a polish that hardly chips off especially for those with an active lifestyle).

Dina believes that there are three things that set Tips ’N Toes apart from their competitors. The most obvious difference is that Tips ’N Toes veer away from the typical nail salon workstation setup. Instead of placing a table in between the client and the nail technician, limiting them from simultaneously working on the client’s hands and feet, Tips ’N Toes uses lounge chairs comfortable enough to put the clients to sleep. With a small table on both sides of the lounge chair, the staffs are able to service their clients more efficiently without having to compromise their comfort.

Also, each of the Tips ’N Toes franchisees are able to add personal touches to their store. Personally, Dina likes to practice what she calls "empathetic entrepreneurship”, where she places herself (and her staff) in the shoes of her clients, in order to learn what they really want and what makes them happy.

Dina is also proud of the fact that Tips ’N Toes is in constant innovation mode, continuously in search of the latest technology, materials, and techniques from the United States and the UK, the nail salon industry leaders in the world. They are committed to always being able to offer their clients something new to try.

One of Dina’s favorite mantras is that "there is no room for mediocrity." She hates the "pwede na" attitude of some, and believes that saying "pwede na" means the work is not good enough, and that it could definitely be better.

She believes that to be in this line of business, you must be passionate about what you do. "If you’re not into nails or don’t really care if your nails are manicured or not, then this isn’t the business for you," Dina says. Attention to detail is also important. Dina says that doing nails isn’t as simple as it seems, since there’s so much to take into consideration about the clients and their lifestyle "nail shape, nail length, color of polish, profession" all of these can
have a direct impact on the work to be done. Of course, you have to be a people person, since your real product is your staff.

Dina believes that specifically in franchising; it is incredibly important to have a good relationship with your franchisor. She feels lucky to have a great relationship with her franchiser, Jenny Angeles, who is very flexible and allows her to make suggestions and develop ideas.

Dina also recently opened Beauty Lane Philippines Inc., an importation and distribution company, which is the exclusive distributor of three beauty brands from the United States: GiGi, the top brand of professional hair removal and paraffin waxes worldwide, Ardell, the leading brand of eyelash and eyebrow accessories in the United States, and soon, China Glaze, one of the top brands of nail lacquers in the world.

There is no doubt that Dina Tobojka is an extremely productive, independent woman. She helps support her family, not wanting to depend on her husband to pay for her own little "vices" such as bags, shoes and jewelry. She loves the fact that she can teach her two daughters to become self-sufficient and good contributors to society, and to let them know that being a woman never means having to be dependent.

Visit Tips ’N Toes at any of the following branches: SM Megamall, Tomas Morato, SM City Bicutan, Greenbelt 1, and Westgate, Alabang. If you’re interested in becoming a Tips ’N Toes franchisee, call 635-9824 or 892-6362.

Business as Usual - September 17, 2007