Here at Santaluces, there are many students who are entrepreneurs and run successful businesses. One of the many students is Senior Monica Jeanbaptiste. She currently runs a nail business and has great plans for the future ahead! I asked her a few questions about her business and her input on what it’s like being an entrepreneur.
To begin, what is your business?
“My business is providing acrylic enhancements for the nails but with quality work and designs.”
What motivated you to start doing nails as a business?
“My motivation was wanting to have my own nails done the way I like them without having to go to other people. Anytime I would go to the regular salon, I was never satisfied with what I got.”
How do you manage running a business and to keep up with school?
“At first it was really hard because I was involved with basketball and medical. So at that time, I would only take one client a day after school then which led to only weekends. Eventually, once I hit Senior year, I knew what I wanted to do and I now have much more time on my hands given the fact that I leave after my 4th-hour class.”
What’s your advice to those who want to start running a business?
“My advice to anyone who is trying to start up their own business is to please stay consistent and unique! I found that the only way to catch the eye of everyone around is to provide something the consumer has never seen before. If they have, do it in a way that’s better than everywhere else. Consistency is also the main key to getting your business to jump, too, because if you’re not constantly promoting yourself or working on your craft, nobody will ever see your business and you’ll never get better.”
Was there a point in time where you felt like giving up?
“At a point, I did fall off because I had personal things going on. I stopped posting as much to promote myself and I started seeing a decrease in bookings and activity on my accounts. But then I snapped out of it and changed up my approach to things. Now my business is just thriving each and every day.”
What is the most challenging part about being an entrepreneur?
“The most challenging part is finding time for yourself. Unlike a lot of my peers, I sort of fell off the social scene. I stopped going out, I couldn’t participate in a lot of events for school because I just didn’t have the time. My priority is to start up my business so when the time for graduation rolls around, I’ll be set for any adulthood obstacle.”
Where do you see yourself five years from now as a nail entrepreneur?
“In five years from now, I see myself owning at least two fully operating facilities. My goal is to open up my own shop and have people come in whenever to get serviced. I would like to have all specialties in my shop, so I’ll rent out spaces for nails, hair, makeup, etc. I also want to have a school where I teach beginners how to do nails and also guide them through starting up their own business.”
If people want to book an appointment with you, where can they book/contact you?
“For anyone looking to book an appointment with me, you can head over to my website gleefultipss.as.me/schedule.php or text my business line at (561)359-4632. If you’re curious to see my work, head over to my Instagram page @Gleefultipss :)”
Here are some pictures of Monica’s great nail designs:
