Being a small business owner is hard as it is, but along with being a teenager and a full-time high school student, it’s extremely difficult. A lot of students somehow manage to do it, including Emma Hanks,a 17-year-old nail artist who runs her own business.    

She first started doing her nails herself a few years ago because she had unpleasant experiences at nail salons, and she was also always into drawing and art. She only just started selling them to others a little over a year ago. 

Hanks is in Art III which has an an independent study focus, and Hanks spends class working on her nail designs. “Her designs are fantastic I don’t think I could ever do that,” said Ms. Montana Midkiff, Tunstall’s art teacher. 

She has a pretty good amount of business, including orders for prom season. One thing that she struggles with is promoting her business. She uses Instagram and Facebook to promote it and does all her business through the direct messages on Instagram, or she might use her own personal phone number. 

Hanks wants to attend Danville Community College for cosmetology after she graduates high school, and her overall goal is to run her own nail salon someday.

She works on orders a few times a week and spends for about four or five hours at a time, depending on how complicated the designs are. “My favorite designs to do are the ones that have a lot of details, especially the ones that are movies and tv show themed.They may take longer, but they are really fun,” said Hanks. 

“It’s really stressful sometimes when I have a lot of orders to get done, but I just watch YouTube videos or listen to music while I work,” said Hanks. 

Her prices vary depending on what kind of nails someone gets and how intricate they are, but they range from 25 dollars to 45 dollars.

“Some advice I have for teenage business owners just starting out is to be patient, start out small, and don’t take a lot on at one time,” said Hanks. 

If you would like to buy a set of nails, you can contact her on her instagram, which is @heavenlybyemmaa