Elizabeth Perez: Nail Business Owner

Elizabeth Perez posing in front of a sunset.

By Andrea Espino, Staff Writer

For months, junior Elizabeth Perez has been painting her family and friends’ nails, but on March 9, 2021, she officially started her nail business. The idea of opening a business was always a goal she had, and her family and friends were always satisfied with her work and continuously told her that she should start her own business. To Perez, they are her greatest supporters.

“I for sure wanted to, but something was holding me back. It was the fear of my business not succeeding, but over time I learned, that patience is key,” Perez said.

She has been taking in customers since the beginning of March from friends that reached out to her on Snapchat because she had been posting nail work that she’d been doing on her sister. She then made a Snapchat story specifically showing other people her nail journey. Perez was shocked that around 100 people wanted to see her practice this form of art.

Another way that she brought customers in was through Instagram, where she made her own Instagram page called @the.lux.mani. She is very grateful to have such supportive family and friends that always repost and share all of her pictures. On Instagram, Perez is able to reach a wide audience of people of all ages around the Illinois area. Right now, she has over 100 followers looking through her account. Perez is super active on this account by posting her work and other necessary content.

Although she already has a great variety of customers right now, Perez plans on making her business much more successful with more availability, service options, and social media. Expanding her service options beyond manicures would benefit her because people want a  variety of services. Social media will also increase her audience when her clients post their nails on their socials and tag her nail business in the post.

Starting a nail business can be a bit expensive, but Perez was willing to invest in her own supplies so that she is able to give her clients the best experience possible. She also had some help from her parents to cover some costs.

“When I first started my job in August, I put some money aside to invest in myself and expand what I already had at home. To start off, I already had a UV lamp and a couple no-chip colors. Over the past few months I was able to buy more no-chip colors and acrylic powders, as well as more nail tools,” Perez said.

All of her appointments take place in her home, and each appointment can vary in length. For example, if a client wanted a no-chip manicure, it would take around 30-40 minutes. But, if they wanted acrylics, it would take around two hours or more depending on how intricate the designs are.

Elizabeth says that the difference between a nail tech and a nail salon is that nail techs take their time to make sure everything looks perfect, while a salon rushes to get their clients’ nails done. The reason why acrylics take that long is because she makes sure that the prep, acrylic, and designs come out perfect. She is a very detail-oriented person and always wants to know from the client if something looks off and to be comfortable telling her because she will gladly fix it.

Recently Elizabeth has been getting lots of requests for almond-shaped acrylic nails and dainty and trendy designs that she hand paints. She loves drawing and doodling because it’s a fun way of expressing her creativity on someone’s nails.

Elizabeth’s hard work doesn’t go unseen by her clients that are always satisfied with her work. “I asked for a basic French design but with different color, and I loved the end product. She was very professional, and I recommended her to everyone,” junior Kirsten Nicolas said.

“I’ve gotten my nails done twice from her, and she’s very talented. It takes a lot of patience to do nails, and she does an amazing job,” junior Evi Hatzopoulos said.

If you are looking for a nail place, definitely reach out to Elizabeth Perez on Instagram @the.lux.mani and look at her previous work on clients.