THIENSVILLE, Wis. — Inflation has most consumers tightening their budgets.
In many cases, non-essential goods and services, such as trips to the nail salon, are the first to be cut.
Bay Vongsavath owns Bay’s Nail Spa in Thiensville.
She said her business has been down, but she understands her customers have to prioritize due to inflation.
“The way it is on our end, we try to do our best wherever we can to get our customers back, but it’s just not their priority. They’d rather have their food on the table, their gas in the tank they can go get a coffee, that’s their normal thing,” she said.
She said another obstacle is many people are unemployed while others work from home.
So, they don’t need to have their nails done as often for work.
Nancy Egelhoff is one of Vongsavath’s regular customers.
She typically gets her nails done just for special occasions, but said she agrees people have cut back due to budget issues and economic uncertainty.
She said she doesn’t think this is the end of non-essential small businesses, but said she thinks only the strong will survive.
Vongsavath said she won’t be one of those businesses to give-up, but knows it won’t be easy.
“Get up every morning, sometimes you cry, sometimes, I don’t want to be here. It’s hard and you have to take care of whoever has worked for you for a longtime. They are just like your family, and that’s all I have,” she said.
She said she believes if she can hold on until summer, things will turn around.
Bay’s Nail Spa has been a mainstay in Thiensville for 12-years. For more information and its location, click its Facebook Page.