If You're New Here...
Welcome!
And we really, truly mean that.
(If you’re not enrolled yet and found yourself here by accident, click here to find and enrol in a course that works for you. We’ll see you back here soon!)
Monaco is a beautiful, unruly beast, and it will give you back everything you put into it, ten-fold. Our community is second-to-none and the most open-minded, supportive, loving group of people you could imagine to exist. You’re going to fit right in.
So let’s get you underway –
1) Join our Student-Only Facebook Community
We have Facebook Messenger Group Chats for each region and for most courses. You can find them all here. Join as many as you like! They’re not at all compulsory to participate in but we do a lot of course organisation within these groups, and they’re your only point of direct contact with Mentors between live lessons.
There’s also a Students and Graduates Facebook group if that’s more your jam. I know not everyone is a Facebook Person but our group is worth joining it for!
PS – Please do not, under any circumstances, private message your Educators on Facebook. If you don’t want to post publicly in the group, email us instead.
3) Complete our Pre-Training Survey
If you haven’t already done this for previous classes, please head over to this link and fill out our Pre-Training Survey. You will need to complete a Learning Styles quiz and Personality Test beforehand so that you can add the answers within the survey. Both are quick and easy but it’s crucial that we have the results to be able to help you learn in the best possible way. We’re trained to fully understand the outcomes and adjust our teaching styles accordingly.
4) Start your Course!
Access the online components of your course by logging into this website. You’ll find them under Dashboard > Courses > Modules.
If you enrolled in individual modules, they should already be there. If you enrolled in the Foundation Certificate in Nail Technology, please give us 2 Business Days to get everything ready for you.
Click on any Module to start going through the course content. You will occasionally see markers that say ‘It’s time to book a lesson’ (which refers to a 3-Hour block with a Mentor, either in person or online via Zoom).
- Start with The Theory of Nails. You can work on this while also working through practical modules at the same time.
- With the practical modules, definitely start with Manicures and Pedicures first unless you have a prior Beauty Therapy or Nail Qualification.
- You can then pick and choose from Dipping Systems, Builder in a Bottle, IBX, Acrylic, Hard Gel, Poly Gel and Soft Gel Extensions in any order. Of all practical modules, we would prefer that you did E-File last, with a bit of experience under your belt.
- The Art of Nails and Salon Success are also awesome courses that you can work on side by side with others. We highly recommend starting Salon Success as soon as you get it, and doing a couple of lessons a week, even if you THINK you’re not ready.
5) Book your Lessons!
(This doesn’t apply to The Art of Nails, Salon Success, or to some Short Course options)
SUPER IMPORTANT – There is a misconception that Lessons are Assessments. We get a lot of students saying they’re not ‘good enough’ to do a lesson yet. That’s the point! A lesson is where we teach you. You see the pre-recorded demos in your course, then you do a lesson and we guide you through giving it a go yourself. Please do not delay booking your lessons!
Only once you have reached a Lesson Marker (‘It’s time to book a lesson’) in your online workbook can you book in to work with a Mentor on a particular skill.
You can book via the ‘It’s time to book a lesson’ page or at the bottom of the page you’re on now. Please make sure to look at the Google Calendar first as some are Online Only, In Person Only, Group, One-on-One or Assessments Only.
Lesson Guides for All Modules
6) Find models for your lessons
Almost all Lessons require models. You can see details of what models are required by downloading and printing the Lesson Guides for each Module (linked above).
A blog post to help you find the models you need can be found here.
You are welcome to use our Student Facebook group to find other students with whom you can share models. This just takes off the time pressure during a lesson.
We’re also aware of but not affiliated with this Facebook Group which might help.
7) Attend your Lessons
- If, at the time of enrolment, you were asked to select a time slot, that time slot should have been confirmed by return email and you will have been pre-booked into lessons at that time. You don’t need to do anything but turn up.
- If you are enrolled in the Introduction to Nail Technology, lessons are optional. IF you want to complete one, you will need to book and pay for it. One-on-one Sessions are $49/hour and Group sessions are $49 for 3 hours. Both are paid through Fresha at time of booking (follow the instructions below).
- If you enrolled in a one-on-one course, you will need to book your lesson but should have received a Gift Card Code via email, which will cover the fee.
If you need to book your lesson yourself, start by looking at our schedule on the Google Calendar below. Find a lesson space that works for you and then scroll further down this page to book that lesson via Fresha.
To Attend an Online Lesson
Download the Zoom App well in advance, onto your phone. On the day of your lesson (or perhaps try it in advance), click ‘Join Meeting’ and type in 957-455-7300 (Tip – It’s our phone number with some extra zeros if you lose it). The password is the same.
You will be able to see your Mentor and they will be able to see you.
Set your phone up somewhere at an angle that we can see your work from. You’ll see examples of how others have done it below.
The goal of the lesson is to polish the skills you saw in the videos you have already watched. If you have met your prerequisites, you have already watched 2 camera angles in great detail go over the skill that you are about to practice. In the live lesson, mentors are there to reinforce that learning, not replace it. They are there to make sure you understood what you already saw, demo to give you a refresher, watch you to make sure you’re getting it right, demo again and again to just show you bits you missed such as file angles.
To get the best out of your experience, I would suggest getting a tripod from Trade Me so that your phone camera is facing down over your work space. Make sure your phone can be plugged in to its charger from your desk and that you have a good wifi signal.
If you live near another student – get together at the same house/salon and stream in together!
8) Complete all remaining criteria for your qualification
Have you completed:
- All prerequisites for your Module? For example, passing the Theory Assessment. The Overview page of your Module will tell you what is required.
- All pre-recorded content in your Module? Click ‘Complete Course’ when you’re over 90% completion.
- All Live Lessons for your Module? The Overview page of your Module will tell you how many there are, and you’ll see them marked as ‘It’s Time to Book A Lesson’ inside the course, or in a list on Fresha, our booking system.
- All Exams associated with your Module? The Overview page of your Module will tell you what exams are required. Inside the Module, usually under ‘Bonus Content’ you will also see ‘How to Pass the XYZ Module’ and another ‘It’s Time to Book a Lesson’ Marker. Once you click that, it will specify your Assessment.
Top Tip – Push Ctrl+F on your computer keyboard to bring up a ‘Find’/Search bar. Type ‘Lesson’ or whatever you’re looking for and this will be highlighted for you.
Practical Assessments
Click any of the Practical Assessment links and then enter your name as Test Test and your email as your real email. You will then be able to see the criteria and click through the entire marking sheet.
‘How to Pass’ videos
You can also access ‘How to Pass’ videos for each Assessment in the relevant online module.
Other Useful Links
Also Note
Book a Lesson
Don’t book anything until you reach a Marker that says ‘It’s time to book a lesson’ in your online workbook. When you get that far, download and read the Lesson Guide for your Module and then come back here.
You can view our schedule on the Google Calendar below. Please make sure to look at the Google Calendar first as not all lessons showing on Fresha will be suitable for you.
- You will see a mix of lessons, labelled either ‘Group’ or ‘One on One’.
- Some sessions may say ‘No Assessments’ or ‘Assessments Only’
- If you see a lesson on the Google Calendar but not on Fresha, this means it is full.
- If you cannot find a one-on-one space to book on Fresha, email [email protected] with your broad availability and a Mentor will arrange a session with you.
When you know which space you want to book into, scroll down and click ‘Book Now’ below but please make sure to read this first –
- When booking, choose Online under the category ‘Choose one of these first’ and then ALSO choose the lesson you plan on completing.
- If you cancel a lesson within 72 hours of the scheduled booking or if you no-show to your lesson, you will need to pay to rebook the lesson.
- We reserve the right to cancel group sessions with low booking numbers and will do so no fewer than 10 days before the lesson. If you are booking leave to attend a lesson please tell us at the time of booking so that we can make sure not to cancel it for any reason.
2) Get Social!
Add your Facebook and Instagram Handles to this post, so we can all follow your journey and celebrate your progress.
You’ll find us @MonacoNailAcademy on Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and YouTube.
We encourage you to use the hashtags #LearnAtMonaco (for pretty much anything), #ShopAtMonaco when you use our products, and #CompetitionFreeZone to promote that you’re a safe space for other Nail Techs to enjoy your work – there’s no spying or copying in this biz, just inspiration and learning!
Tag us in everything you post too – sometimes we only get permission to re-share and promote your work if we’re tagged.