Every entrepreneur begins their journey with a challenge and a vision.
For Lexie Choate-Bewley, a talented esthetician with 13 years' experience, 2020 brought an unexpected challenge. A newly minted mother on maternity leave when COVID-19 struck, she had to find a safe way to continue her in-person work amidst shut downs and store closures.
Rising above, Lexie embraced entrepreneurship and launched her own skincare studio, Skin by Lexie, in Walnut Creek, CA. However, starting a solo venture poses different types of obstacles – building up a new, loyal customer base and brand awareness in an area teeming with established businesses and competing services.
Read on to learn how Lexie used Nextdoor to exfoliate her obstacles and start growing her business.
Nextdoor solutions
Lexie turned to Nextdoor, the neighborhood network for trusted connections, and created a business profile. She leveraged Nextdoor not just for promotion and local advertising of her new clinic’s appointment times, but also tapped into its potential in earning trust and credibility through customer testimonials.
As Lexie found, people are more inclined to support a business if they see positive reviews from their own neighbors. In Lexie's words, “People are going to be more trusting to support your business and go to your business because they’re seeing other neighbors say ‘Oh yeah, I go to Lexie.’” Her strategy also aimed at earning recognition as a Nextdoor Neighborhood Fave, further cementing her local reputation.
That’s how Tati, one of Lexie’s regulars, found the new business: “I saw Lexie's [recommendation] post on Nextdoor and it was very clear that she was the favorite esthetician in Walnut Creek. Comment after comment was ‘Go to Skin by Lexie, go to Skin by Lexie. She's the best.’ I think we really trust our neighbors recommendations, especially with someone local. But when you see so many comments recommending the same person time after time, you know obviously they're good at what they do.”
Results
The implementation of Skin by Lexie’s Nextdoor strategy has been a remarkable success.
Lexie grew her clientele to an impressive 900 regulars in a few years thanks largely in part to her diligent usage of Nextdoor. She witnessed a robust loyalty loop as satisfied customers returned, drawn in by positive recommendations made by neighborhood clients on the platform.
“It’s been really great to build clientele and also have clients say, ‘Hey I saw someone post your name on Nextdoor,’” says Lexie.
When asked if she could share any tips for other local businesses, Lexie says, “Let your clients support you. Your clients want to show people that they love you, they care about you, they appreciate your expertise. Creating Nextdoor pages really helps your clients support you, get the word out, and get more clients.”
How to make your Nextdoor Business profile and start posting
Is your business ready for a glow up like Lexie’s? Follow these simple steps to claim your business page and start posting:
- Visit https://business.nextdoor.com/local and click either 'Sign up for Free' or 'Claim Your Free Business Page'.
- Make a new account, or log in to an existing one, using the same email and password as your new business page. If on a mobile device, the account you're currently using will be linked to the business page.
- Choose whether or not to link your business and personal Nextdoor accounts. This allows switching between accounts without needing to log out. If sharing access with employees, avoid linking your personal and business accounts.
- To create a separate business account, select 'Sign Up' under the green login button.
- To link your new business account with your personal account, sign in with your personal account credentials.
- To add another business page to an existing business account, sign in with your existing business account credentials.
- If you can't find your business page, make sure to search by both business name and location. If still not found, select 'Not here? Create your business page' at the bottom of the page.
After creating an account and claiming your business page, you can now post:
- Log in to your claimed Nextdoor Business Page.
- Head to the Posts tab of your business page.
- Select the + icon next to 'Create Post' and click the pencil icon to 'Create Post'.
- Enter text for your post.
- Add media, an event, or a poll to your post (optional).
- Click Post.
