Today I broke down and took my calloused feet to a nail salon for a European Deluxe Pedicure. And a manicure. And an eyebrow wax. Ok, I really broke down and treated myself.

The pock-marked Asian man who worked on my fingers clucked as he held my hands. “I think you do no color. The nails too short. You need tips or no color. I think color will look bad.”

I went with a nice buff, and he continued to talk. “No customers today. We work on commission. No customers, no money. I should be home.”

I don’t know how many times during the course of my treatments that he mentioned he wasn’t making any money and that he worked on commission. I started to feel guilty with my little $15 manicure and buff, so I asked for the eyebrow wax. I wanted him to say something like, “I’m glad you came in today, lady. You’re one of my first customers today.” But he was obviously disappointed I wasn’t ordering a big-ticket item like a full set of airbrushed nails and a complete body wax.

When he finished my manicure, he flounced down wearily on a stool and flipped through a very old issue of People magazine. He held up a before-and-after of Kirstie Alley. “I don’t know why she got so fat,” he said. “She not bad now, but why she get fat?”

At least he had changed the subject.

His “poor mouthing,” as my mother calls it, made me uncomfortable. It also made me consider my own business. On this blog, I tell the truth about my business ups and downs. One of my most popular posts was “Is my slip(up) showing? When blogs say too much.” I’ve talked a number of times about how I’m not making the money I did at my last job and how I value every penny I make and see it as a few more weeks of independence.

Again, am I being too honest here? Should I create an illusion that Avenue Z Writing Solutions is a large, established company with an office in downtown San Diego and a team of writers? Should I stop telling the inside story here on my blog and simply concentrate on putting my best face forward?

I don’t think that type of deception would work for me, but I don’t think one has to poor mouth to express an honest thought about budgets or income. Sometimes on this blog I let out a sigh and tell myself, “no customers, no money.” But for the most part, I try not to whine about finances.

Besides — I just treated myself to a spa visit. How bad could things be?