Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Arellano.
Michelle, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I fell in love with Nails in 2019. My husband inspired me to get into the beauty industry. I loved how he was his own boss. He made his own hours, he loved what he was doing, he never complained about work. He is a talented Barber. He goes by @fadetoven. He truly inspired me to be an independent business owner. My mother is also, a very successful businesswoman. I always said when I was little “I’m going to be just like my mom”. So, I bought a nail kit of Amazon and slowly started showing myself how to do nails. I started practicing on my friends on my kitchen table. I was learning of YouTube. I really started getting into it and started taking in more people. So, I decided to enroll in Cosmetology School. My parents weren’t very fond of me giving up my career as a Nurse. I wanted to do what made me happy. With the support of my husband, I was able to finish school. My parents eventually came around and my number 1 client was my mom. I got my license and decided that I wanted to be a one-stop salon. My passion was nails but, I was taking classes on everything. I wanted to know it all and provide it all. I went to Los Ángeles, California to learn new techniques on how to lighten hair and install extensions. I went to Houston, Texas to learn how to do lashes. I started providing everything under one roof and I loved it. No one in San Antonio was doing it like me. I wanted to take the next step and work in a salon. I was very thankful to have all of my clientele follow me. I was working in a salon that focused on just hair. I wasn’t able to do nails as much as I wanted because the salon was a hair salon. I began excelling in hair, nails, & lashes. I felt like I needed to take the next step. When the pandemic hit, we were forced to stop working. I hated being at home and not being able to do what I love. Finally, we were out of quarantine and decided to get my own suite. I was completely on my own at that point. It made me really hustle and stay on top of business. I was providing everything beauty under one roof. I realized it wasn’t as easy as I thought managing so many services at once. I decided to hire some help. I hired an assistant to help me with the workload. We were doing two clients at a time, switching off and on, providing two services at a time. I loved it. Others began to ask if I would teach them on what I’ve learned. I began giving out beauty classes & I loved teaching others. I loved seeing people actually learn and love what they were learning. That’s when I decided I wanted a bigger team to help build up and share the joy it brought me. We could only take in so many clients. My assistant and I would be running back and forth trying to service everyone. I decided it was time to open DidThat Hair & Nail Studio. We got the keys in November 2020. We opened to the Public on January. 16th 2021. My vision was to be able to go to one salon and get everything done in one stop. We were San Antonio’s First Full Service Salon to provide over 200+ Services. We specialize in Vivid Hair Coloring, Instagram Nails, & Luxury Lashes. Working in my past salon taught me a lot, how I wanted this to run and how I didn’t want things to run. I Thank God for the amazing team I have. Without them, we wouldn’t be DidThat Hair & Nail Studio. I want to thank our clients for always believing in us and supporting us since the beginning. People always ask me how I did it. I would answer, “You need to have a strong mindset & manifest that you can accomplish anything you put your mind too”.I wouldn’t have been able to get through all the downs without my family. They were there every step of the way. I’m so proud to say that we have been successfully opened for a whole year. We have so many goals that we want to reach this year and getting through the pandemic was our biggest one.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It was tough during the pandemic because it was harder for our clients to come inconsistently. We knew it was tough for everyone so, we gave out amazing deals and discounts. Thank God we still had our loyal clients who would refer us and tag us constantly. What was difficult was opening something different that nobody really had in San Antonio. We started a trend and everyone was trying have a One-Stop Salon. We are different. We have an open concept. We are a walk-in salon. We have people available to accommodate right there and then. Versus having to make an appointment and go to different places.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We love to make others feel confident. Our mission is to have you feeling better than, you walked in. We specialize in everything beauty. Here are some of our top services.
-Hair Coloring, Haircuts, & Hair Styles
-Acrylic Nails, Manicures & Pedicures
-Natural & Dramatic EyeLash Extensions
-Body Sculpting
-Permanent Makeup
-Skin Rejuvenation
& Many More.
We are known for being San Antonio’s First Full Service Salon. I’m so proud of the team I have. They truly go above and beyond for our clients. I couldn’t be more proud to have a team of amazing hustling businesswomen.
Our professionalism, character, & what we stand for sets us apart from others. We put our clients first. We want them to feel like they’re at home.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I love dancing. My favorite memories are when my whole family would stay up all night dancing to Latin Music. My cousins and I would all stay up till 5 am trying to learn how to dance like our parents. I have only brothers and it sucked growing up with no one to relate to. My favorite memories were growing up with my cousins. My cousin Dafne was like a little sister to me. We would pretend to be pop artists and make our boy cousins be our cameramen. When I was little, I knew I was destined for greatness. I always loved being in front of the camera, I loved singing in choir and dancing on the dance team. I was always up for learning new things.
Pricing:
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DidThat Set 100$
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Vivid Hair Color Transformation Starting at 200$
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Lipo Laser 1-Hour 100$
Contact Info:
- Email: Didthathairandnailstudio
- Website: Michellledidthat.com
- Instagram: @Didthathairandnailstudio
- Facebook: @Didthathairandnailstudio
- Twitter: Didthathairandnailstudio
- Youtube: Didthathairandnailstudio
- Yelp: Didthathairandnailstudio
Image Credits
@didthathairandnailstudio
