Jenny Nguyen, a celebrity nail artist in the US, has achieved remarkable success, earning $600,000 (approximately 5 crores) annually through her exceptional nail art skills, that too without a college degree. According to CNBC Make It, Ms Nguyen is the owner of JennPaintt Nail Lounge in Los Angeles, US, where she offers a range of services, from manicures to eyelash extensions. But her most popular offering is nail art, which sells for as much as $500. Her most famous clients include Paris Hilton and Hailey Bieber. Her designs have also been featured in ad campaigns for companies like Apple, Converse and Chanel.
According to CNBC Make It, Ms Nguyen's salon brought in over $600,000 in 2022. However, her journey to fame began far from the glamorous world of nails. Ms Nguyen initially pursued a degree at Hofstra University in New York, but she left college to work full-time and help her parents financially support her three younger siblings.
In 2019, Ms Nguyen moved to Los Angeles. At the time, she was a substitute teacher for a public school district and had planned to continue her teaching career in Los Angeles. "But I wasn't making enough money teaching," she recalled. She knew she wanted to try a new job, but didn't know what she should do next. So, she decided to try working for herself.
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"I was always drawn to entrepreneurship because I'm very competitive, very bossy and I'd rather work for myself than listen to other people tell me what to do," she said. I follow a lot of nail artists on Instagram, so while I was at home in lockdown, I kept seeing it on my feed, and I thought to myself, 'Why not give it a try?'" Ms Nguyen added.
In the following years, Ms Nguyen then obtained her manicurist license online and started to advertise her services to clients on social media. Her vibrant designs then quickly grew a following, where influencers and celebrities' assistants would message her and request appointments.
In 2022, Ms Nguyen then opened the JennPaintt Nail Lounge in Los Angeles. She said that her salon sees about 300 customers in a typical week. "Nail art is always exciting and makes people happy. I'm so grateful to do this work," she said.
