How It Started, How It's Going: The Curated Club Story

Every business has a beginning. A moment where an idea stops being just a thought and starts becoming something real. This is my story. Grab yourself a cuppa, it's a long one.

It Didn't Start With The Curated Club

Before TCC existed, I was already trying to find my lane. I did a course on creating courses, specifically to help nail techs build their businesses. I started designing worksheets and selling them on Etsy. It felt good, but it wasn't quite it.

Then I went down a completely different path. I spent months designing a subscription box business around e-cigarette juice mystery boxes. The market was shifting, rules were changing, and I wanted to jump on something new. But my heart wasn't in it. Not only was I uncomfortable encouraging the use of a product that isn't good for anyone, I just didn't feel that spark. That satisfaction. That sense of this is mine.

And then it clicked.

The Moment It All Made Sense

I remember the exact moment. I looked at my husband, e-cig business plan in hand, and just said: "Why are we doing this? When I have years of experience doing nails and running a business." That was it. That was the shift. I put the plan down and never picked it back up.

I love helping nail techs get to where I am. I have the passion, the drive, and the knowledge. Built from years of experience, constant research, and investing in my own education. And I loved the idea of working with brand owners too, helping them get seen, while also supporting nail techs at the same time. Everyone wins.

That's where the concept came from: boxes filled with products and education. A community. A club.

The Business Plan (Yes, I Went Deep)

I spent around three months writing the business plan. And when I say deep. I mean DEEP. A 10-year plan. Competitor analyses. Budgets. I even looked into investors, but I'm too emotionally connected to this. I couldn't hand over that kind of control.

So instead, me and my husband looked at our savings. He believed in me. I believed in me. And we made the decision together. Our entire savings pot would go into this. We were buying our first home at the same time. It was a huge deal. But we wanted to do both, and we did.

The Phone Call That Changed Everything

Before I went any further, I needed a gut check from someone in the industry. I'd been watching Nikki Noo Noo during her huge success on TikTok. The movement she was part of with nail brand PR was something else. One Saturday morning, shaking, I rang her. I'd never met the woman. I didn't know if I could trust her. But I thought: f*** it.

I dropped the whole idea on her. Everything.

She loved it. I cried. I was encouraged. She's the best, and she's now one of our Brand Ambassadors. That phone call gave me the push I needed to keep going.

I kept it quiet after that. Finished the plan. And committed.

Finding the Name (Harder Than You'd Think)

I had no idea what to call it. I was so deep in the plan, so emotionally invested, that I kept getting the name completely wrong. "Nail Tech Box." "A Box Just For Nail Techs." Honestly, not my finest creative moments.

The name came from my friend and mortgage advisor, Dawn Wilkes. While I was sat doing her nails. She saw the potential in it straight away and helped me work through it in what I can only describe as a power hour. The Curated Club. As soon as she said it, I knew. If it wasn't for Dawn, who knows what we'd be called.

Building the Thing

With a name locked in, I reached out to local website designers. I found the perfect one. Jessica! We spent weeks meeting in Starbucks, me telling her everything, and she delivered. I'll be honest: I discovered I have a little bit of a diva in me. Some days I was so stressed (let's call it passion), and I'm pretty sure she wanted to quit more than once. She didn't. And the site was brilliant.

For printing, I turned to SR Creative Studios. A small business I'd trusted for years. Thank you cards, leaflets for events. They blew me away. I love everything they've produced, and I hope the subscribers do too.

I built hype on TikTok, gathered emails with early bird offers, and started sourcing products. I spent months emailing brands I'd used and loved. The ones who replied were kind, had great customer service, and offered brilliant, affordable products for nail techs just starting out. Brands I use on my own clients.

I went way over budget. But I don't regret a thing.

The Packaging Problem Nobody Warns You About

Boxes were coming out of my ears. Because they had to be perfect. And then I discovered just how extortionate packaging prices are. That's why I now source the boxes separately, add my own stickers, and get the inside packaging independently. It's time-consuming, but it saves a significant amount of money. Every penny counts when you're self-funded.

The Brand Ambassadors Who Made It Real

I hired five Brand Ambassadors, and I love them so much. It's a cute little family. Without them, most of my first subscribers wouldn't be with us today. There's Nikki Noo Noo, Kelly, Rena, Emily, and Toni, and I appreciate every single one of them.

The brand owners I work with are just as passionate about TCC as I am. They're kind, helpful, and genuinely invested in what we're building together. That means everything.

The First Order (1am, Chaos, and Flowers)

I'll never forget the first order. It was 1am. I couldn't sleep. The site wasn't linking properly, the discount codes weren't working, and my very first subscriber messaged me in the middle of the night to tell me. Thank god she did. I sorted it. I genuinely thought I'd lost her. She ordered minutes later.

I cried. Again.

I sent her flowers. She made me feel so warm and so grateful, and I needed her to know that. I did my entire first month of boxes in the kitchen, Sia blaring in the background, singing away. I loved every second of it.

What I Thought It Would Be vs. The Reality

I had no idea what I was getting into. Here's the honest version:

What I thought: I'd curate some brilliant products, pack some boxes, and help nail techs. Simple.

The reality: I've had to learn how to code. I've updated and rebuilt around 80% of the website. Not because Jessica's work wasn't great, but because TCC has grown and evolved and I've needed to adapt it. I design spreadsheets for budgeting. I manage last-minute brand changes that sometimes mean a complete box overhaul. I coordinate with brand owners across different schedules. I pack boxes over multiple days. I spend days adding the previous month's boxes to the website. Days on the PDFs. Days on content calendars.

And I love it. All of it.

What I've Learned About Myself

I've learned that I work best when I'm emotionally connected to what I'm doing. I've learned that I'm more resilient than I thought, that I can figure things out, even when they feel impossible. I've learned that asking for help (even from strangers, even while shaking) is one of the bravest and best things you can do. And I've learned that the right people will always show up when you need them.

I've also learned that Rome definitely wasn't built in a day. I still have so many more subscribers to gain and so much more to do to stay true to my plan. That doesn't discourage me. It drives me. This is just the beginning.

And perhaps the biggest lesson of all: keeping things too close to your heart doesn't always serve you. Those conversations, the ones where someone really listens, really encourages you, those are the most precious moments. And the people in them are the most precious people. As for those who discourage you? Leave them exactly where they are. They don't have a clue. (And that's putting it kindly.)

Dawn named us. Jessica built us. Nikki believed in us. My husband funded us. The BAs grew us. The brands trusted us. The subscribers chose us.

That's The Curated Club.

Every Month, Here's What I Get Up To

People often ask what running TCC actually looks like day-to-day. Here's a peek behind the curtain:

• Liaising with brands about what's going in the boxes, sometimes this changes completely at the last minute
• Sourcing, checking, and assembling the packaging
• Packing the boxes (this takes longer than you'd ever expect, but I genuinely love it)
• Creating the PDFs and education content that goes inside
• Building out content calendars for the month ahead
• Adding the previous month's box contents to the website
• Supporting subscribers, working with BAs, and staying connected to the community
• Researching, learning, and always looking for what's next
• Printing and laminating posters and tickets.
• And more... loads more ... but this blog is long enough.

The Unglamorous Bits (That I Wouldn't Change)

Let's be real for a second. Social media is the bane of my existence. I don't have the time, and I certainly don't have the budget for big elaborate campaigns. I pack boxes on my kitchen table. I do the laptop bits sat on my sofa. I take the boxes to the post office in Smyths bags. That's the reality of running a small business with your whole heart, and honestly? I love that about it.

What keeps me going is the impact. I've already helped nail techs get clients on those seats. Some of them have gone on to become Brand Ambassadors, creating content that's genuinely getting noticed. That is a huge win for me. It warms my heart more than I can put into words.

Right now, TCC isn't worth a penny as a business on paper. But it is worth so much more than that. To me, to my family, to my husband, to every subscriber, and to every brand involved. It's a community of amazing, kind, passionate people. And I love every single one of them.

Getting Out There

Behind the scenes, we're doing a lot more than packing boxes and writing PDFs. Me and my husband have been getting out there, setting up the stand, talking to people face-to-face, handing out flyers, and having real conversations about what TCC is and what it can do for nail techs and brands alike.

There's something about being in a room full of people in this industry that reminds you exactly why you started. The energy, the passion, the ambition, it's everywhere. And every conversation we have is another connection made, another tech who might just find what they've been looking for, another brand who realises TCC is the right home for them.

It's not glamorous. It's early starts, long days, and a lot of talking. But we believe in this so much that we'll keep showing up, because the more people who know about TCC, the more nail techs we can support, and the more brands we can help grow. That's always been the point.

Still Doing Nails. Always Will.

Yes, I still do nails. I've dropped two days a week from my schedule to focus on TCC, but I'm not down a penny from my clients. Trust me, you don't have to work all hours to make your nail business work.

And I'd never leave the nail desk. Even if TCC becomes so successful I don't have to. Even if I won big on Kiss Radio or hit the lottery. I'd miss it too much. It's part of who I am.

What's Next for The Curated Club

My goal is 200 subscribers by the end of this year. It's been slower than I expected, mostly because running TCC takes up so much more time than I ever anticipated. But it will work. I believe it will work.

We also have the pricing calculator being updated right now, as I type this, being built by an amazing team. Rizidesigns! I've sent them the formulas, they're putting it all together, because that particular bit is very much not in my forte. But it's coming, and I cannot wait for nail techs to get their hands on it.

When 200 subscribers is hit, things are going to shift. In the most amazing way. More education. Courses. New people joining the journey. I'm keeping some of the detail close to my chest for now, because it's a few years down the line yet, and I want to do it properly. But what I can promise is this: subscribers and brand impact will always be at the heart of every decision I make.

If you're a nail tech thinking about building something of your own, whether that's a business, a brand, or just a bigger version of what you already do, I hope this shows you that it's possible. It's messy and scary and over budget and worth every single second.

Welcome to The Curated Club. I'm so glad you're here. Ready to join us? Subscribe here.