Faces of Shift with Frenchies Modern Nail Care

Tell us about Frenchies Modern Nail Care and what you specialize in!

My wife, Stephanie, and I wanted to do more than own a business when we established Frenchies Modern Nail Care. We wanted to make a lasting impact on the nail industry while changing it for the better. With plenty of options for nail services, we looked at how we could provide a cleaner, more enjoyable nail care experience that was accessible and affordable. Since we’ve owned franchises before, we brought a sharp understanding of the nail services marketplace and how to make it thrive.

Our first Frenchies studio opened in 2014 in our hometown of Littleton, Colorado, with the vision of revolutionizing hand and foot care. Today, our franchise has sold over 40 territories and has opened 24 locations across the nation.

What drew you to Shift to be your company workspace in Littleton?

As a small team with half of us based outside of Colorado, a flex space made great sense for our business. Since we’re franchisors, our space needs vary from month-to-month. We conduct training and host potential franchisees throughout the year, so we need the flexibility to access additional space that Shift offers. When we toured Shift, we knew it would be perfect for us. It features access to conference rooms, outdoor space, and extra offices for our remote team members. Add its excellent location near downtown restaurants and stunning facility; we felt like we had hit the workplace jackpot.

What differentiates Frenchies from local competitors? 

A Frenchies studio fills the gap between express salons and luxury day spas. Each Frenchies Modern Nail Care studio is light, open, and airy, with a modern space that doesn’t look, smell or feel like a typical nail salon. Our “we love clean” tagline means each studio uses sanitation and sterilization techniques that go beyond industry standards and regulations. This process guarantees a clean, fresh, comfortable guest experience that’s also kind to the environment.

You “take clean (and green) to a new level.” Tell us about that! 

Frenchies goes above and beyond – revolutionizing the industry with innovative safety strategies to protect guests. Frenchies was clean before it was cool. It’s our tagline – We Love Clean!

Here’s the Frenchies Modern Nail Care Difference:

Our studios serve as a model for cleanliness safety protocols for several reasons.

• We have a 3-step cleaning process for all stainless-steel tools. We wash them with soap and hot water, soak them in medical-grade Barbicide® for 10 minutes, and use a medical-grade autoclave for chemical-free sterilization.
• We only use files, buffers, and orangewood sticks once. They’re yours to keep or toss when your service is done. When we can, we recycle them. However, we NEVER reuse them.
• We use freestanding basins for foot soaks without jets. Jets or pipes trap harmful bacteria–a big no in our Frenchies studios. Our basins are sanitized for 10 minutes between guests. We use cleaners that exceed industry disinfectant standards while eliminating harsh, unsafe chemicals for you and our water supply. Also, because we don’t need plastic liners to provide sanitary foot care, we’re not sending tons of plastic to landfills. Unlike traditional massage chairs, our pedicure benches are custom-designed to be quickly and thoroughly sanitized between clients.
• Our studios use a personal ventilation system at every manicure and pedicure station. It removes stale air and pumps in the fresh air — capturing contaminants in the transfer. It’s more than just recirculating air. We bring the fresh air to you!
• We promote natural nail care by carefully selecting products free of the worst toxic chemicals yet still giving you the beautiful nails you love. That’s also why acrylic nails aren’t our thing. We don’t want you, our employees, or our fresh air exposed to the resins and formaldehyde found in acrylics.
• We are always looking for ways to reduce or recycle the waste generated in our studios. The small things add up to big things over time, like emailing receipts, using LED light bulbs, using washable towels at our handwashing station, and more.
• We don’t use dangerous tools or products (many of which are illegal) that you may see in other nail salons, such as:

• • ​​​Credo knives (foot razors)
  • Electric nail drills that penetrate live tissue and risk severe injury or infection

• • Cheese graters

• • Acid-based products like callous removers or acid primers (Yes, some places use acid!)

• • Porous tools that can carry infection because they can’t be sterilized

• • Products that create unpleasant smells, including acrylic nails

At Frenchies, we commit to cleanliness and sanitation for an exceptional guest experience. To safeguard guests’ and employees’ health and well-being, we go above and beyond industry sanitation standards to ensure a fresh and clean environment at each visit.

What about your industry inspires you? 

We are leading the way to clean up a historically dirty business. Nail salons across the country use unsafe practices and procedures. Poorly run salons prey on the public’s ignorance. They take shortcuts in their sanitation practices to perform more services to make more money. In other words, they rely on the fact that the general public doesn’t know right and wrong when sanitizing a space. Between not properly disinfecting pedicure tubs and tools to the harsh chemicals used, the typical nail salon experience has not been lacking for decades.

It’s inspiring that Frenchies is flipping the industry on its head to provide a top-notch experience for our guests and a reliable, clean, and professional workplace for our talented staff.

What are Frenchies’ core values or company mission? How does either one affect how your company caters to clients?

Frenchies’ vision is to revolutionize the nail care industry. Everything we do caters to that mission, from our clean services to the partners we choose. We care about improving the industry from top to bottom, and our values of healthy, intelligence, accountability, and fun drive that culture. Culture is not fluff–it’s everything in business. At Frenchies, culture starts in the franchise recruitment and development process. We believe everyone involved in the brand must align with our values, mission, and purpose. We have built our processes, education, and resources around these company attributes, and they are reinforced in everything we do.

What is your long-term company vision or goals?

We are already the market leader in providing a non-toxic nail care service. Our long-term goal is to continue growing the Frenchies brand, focusing on delivering an outstanding guest experience. We want to continue providing ownership capabilities to people in their local markets where they can give back to their communities while grooming and affording opportunities to a team of beauty professionals.

We are also focused on adding more products to our branded product line, which supports a healthy beauty brand and allows us to control the costs and the quality of the products we use in our studios.

You have a small, tight-knit team who seems more like a family – how did you create such a great corporate team culture?

Our team is like a family. We have known everyone on the team for many years before working for Frenchies. Each team member was sought out to bring their expertise to the Frenchies brand because they were top-notch professionals and were people we trust and consider friends.

How has joining Shift Workspaces contributed to your growth and success? 

The move to Shift has been an excellent experience for our entire team. From the professional on-site employees to the flexible workspaces, we can focus on growing our business and not managing an office. The most impactful experience has been our remarkable connections with other Shift renters who have helped us connect with resources we would not have met otherwise. Those connections have been instrumental in growing our Frenchies’ brand.

What does your team enjoy doing outside of work? How do you unwind?

We have a pretty active team who enjoy being outside and spending time with family and friends. From hiking to fishing to coaching youth sports, our team knows how to work and play hard!

Any big plans for the company for the remainder of the summer?

The Frenchies team just wrapped up our annual planning meeting in Minnesota! It is essential for us to work on the business and get away for a few days for fun. We reflected on the past year and focused on critical initiatives for the future. Most importantly, we had a fantastic time bonding and being together as a team!