In girl world, it’s the slight changes in our appearance that add a huge confidence boost. If you have your priorities straight, then you spend hours each month aimlessly scrolling through Pinterest, daydreaming about the next nail set you’re going to get. Nails are extremely important, but the problem is they aren’t cheap. Not to mention, half the time you leave the nail salon on the verge of tears because your French tips look a little more like Spanish suggestions. You might be thinking, “it’s not that serious, I’ll just do them myself,” but we all know it’s not that simple. Let’s just say your at-home-nails didn’t leave anyone guessing who did them. To all of the brave souls who bought a nail kit, my heart goes out to you, but next time please leave it up to the professionals. No matter how many people tell you, “Omg they look so good,” trust me, they don’t.
Melissa Higgins, junior, is an exception to this rule. There are only a special chosen few, meticulously selected by Aphrodite herself, that have the determination to make it past the Temu polygel kit and are able to execute the divine art that is acrylic nails, Higgins being one of them.
“I didn’t really need any tutorials,” Higgins said. “I just started doing nails on myself and practiced a bunch more to get better.”
Higgins said her interest began when she received a nail kit last Christmas, and has since made a lot of progress with her art. At first, she said she was only comfortable doing her friends’ nails until she felt more confident in her work.
“I was scared to start charging because I’m not a professional, so I felt bad making people pay,” Higgins said. “I didn’t start doing a bunch of other peoples’ nails until I made an Instagram account this past summer.”
Higgins said that if it wasn’t for her friends and family, she would not have made the Instagram account and ultimately wouldn’t have started her gig. After taking plenty of photos of the nails she did, Higgins said her friends created the account @melissas.manis for her, whether she liked it or not.
“[My friends] kind of forced me to do it, but I’m glad they did,” Higgins said. “After I saw all of the posts they made, I [figured] I actually had to keep [up the account] and start using it.”
Clover Klaus, junior, said she was the one who influenced Higgins to start her own mini business. She said Higgins just needed a bit of encouragement from her friends to have the confidence to kick things off.
“I saw her nail art and I told her that I would pay her to do my nails,” Klaus said. “I made the account for her and even though she was embarrassed, I made sure she kept posting pictures and that’s when she started to get DM’s.”
Tammy Higgins, Higgins’ mom, said she likes Higgins’s nail gig because she thinks it’s a great outlet for her to express her creativity. She said she normally doesn’t get to see much of Melissa’s creativity since she spends so much time playing soccer.
“[I like that] Melissa gets to make some money [doing nails], and I just think it’s a great practice to be an entrepreneur,” Tammy Higgins said. “It’s a great way for her to learn what she likes to do and what she might want to do for a living.”
Higgins said that she doesn’t charge the same as regular salons for a whole set because she’s just a beginner. Even though her prices are low, she tries to set aside time each week to fit in two or three clients, so she still makes decent money.
“I really feel like I earned all of the money I make because I built things up myself,” Higgins said. “I like how I choose my own hours and that I get to be in control of everything.”
Higgins said that in order to start any type of business, especially as a teenager, you shouldn’t feel awkward. She said that you need to have confidence and just do whatever it is you want to do.
“When I first started I thought, ‘no I can’t make an Instagram, I’m going to have haters,’” Higgins said. “Once I finally decided to do it, I felt so much better and now I [can even say] it’s my job.”