STARTUP or SHUTUP! : Startup Playbook for Founders & Creators · Colin Fraley | Founder & Startup Playbook Coach

How to Start a Nail Business in Chicago | NBN Nails | Owner Nasjali Cruz

·1 hr 35 min·5 clips

Najali describes one day with six clients, back pain, tears, and praying for help in her salon.

1. STARTUP or SHUTUP! features a conversation with Najali Cruz about starting NBN Nails in Lakeview, Chicago. 2. The host met Najali while driving Uber on a rainy Chicago morning, and Najali is the 20-year-old owner of NBN Nails. 3. The episode asks how an 18-year-old opened a nail salon across from her high school and kept it running. 4. Najali says her mom kept pointing out a corner spot and pushing, "Let's get a salon," until they opened it. 5. She says she went to nail school as a junior in high school and got her license when she turned 18. 6. Najali says she originally wanted to teach nails, but the salon became the next move when she could not return to school for teaching yet. 7. She says the location worked because the salon sits across from her high school, near a Starbucks, and near people she already knew. 8. Najali says she sent flyers to students for homecomings and events, which turned the school connection into promotion. 9. She says her mom co-signed the lease because she had just graduated and could not sign it alone. 10. Najali says the rent was affordable and the landlord was flexible, which made the lease possible. 11. She says she got into nails in sixth grade by practicing designs from YouTube with her mom's nail polish box. 12. Najali says her work got better through practice, and she liked that nails turned art into income. 13. She says being her own boss means "even more responsibility" and not the freedom people assume. 14. Najali says she now has one other nail tech, which makes hiring and rent coverage difficult. 15. She says the hardest early period was working alone, overbooking herself, and writing appointments in a book before the website existed. 16. Najali says one day with six clients left her crying in the back because her back and neck hurt from working nonstop. 17. She says Hania, a nail tech who moved to Georgia, became a blessing because their work style matched and business picked up. 18. The episode keeps a practical interview tone with rapid-fire questions, pricing breakdowns, and business operations talk. 19. Listeners who want beauty-business logistics and young-founder stories will get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners looking for polished success stories without operational detail may skip it.

As heard by us

A grounded young-founder story with local-business lessons and a clear view of Instagram-driven bookings.

This piece follows a 20-year-old nail business owner as NBN Nails grows into a Lakeview staple after an opening that came sooner than expected.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want a real founder story from a 20-year-old who opened at 18 and kept building.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from STARTUP or SHUTUP! : Startup Playbook for Founders & Creators