For some Seton Hall students, artistic hobbies have become more than a way to just pass the time; they’ve become a business.
For Isabella Link and Geovanna Pecoraro, their creativity has grown into a small business allowing them to connect with clients and learn valuable life skills.
Link, a sophomore biology major, runs Henna by Bella.
"I just do Henna—traditional and non-traditional," Link said. "Whatever people show me, I do."
Pecoraro,a freshman nursing major, has run Geo does Nails for the past two years, but her nail journey began long before that.
"My whole life I've been very artistic," Pecoraro said. "I've always been good with art and design."
After her mother encouraged her and her sisters to do their own nails, Pecoraro watched nail design tutorials on TikTok and YouTube.
"I started doing my sisters' nails, my cousins' nails and then little by little, it'd be their friends, and then mutuals and friends of friends,” Pecoraro said. “And then it started becoming people who I didn't even really know, so I made an Instagram account and ever since then it's kind of taken off."
Similarly, Link's henna business is built on an artistic foundation.
"When I was little, I used to draw on my hand a lot with Sharpie," she recalled.
After receiving a henna kit for Christmas one year in middle school, Link’s friends began to ask her to draw henna designs on them. Later, she began taking clients near her home on the Jersey Shore and created an Instagram account for her business.
For Pecoraro, advertising her work on social media has been fruitful. In fact, about eight out of 10 of her clients are people with whom she connected through Instagram.
Because their art is moderately time-intensive, both Pecoraro and Link spend a decent amount of one-on-one time with their clients.
"It's so fun," Pecoraro said. "It's a lot of time to have conversations with people, learn more things about everybody."
Link also enjoys getting to know her clients and the inspirations behind the henna designs they select.
"Sometimes I've had people with really significant designs to them—something that means a lot to them—and I just like being able to bring their design[s] to life," Link said.
Cultivating connections with their clients and dealing with the logistics of their businesses is time-consuming. Since both Pecoraro and Link are full-time students, they must manage their time wisely.
"Recently, I've been having to write down a physical to-do list," Pecoraro said. "I have to keep my head in a certain space."
While they learn important skills such as time management, their businesses also provide income.
"The way I look at it is I'm getting money for it, so it's helping me for school," Link said.
"As a college student, you're always looking for ways to make money, and if you have a hobby—something you're good at—you could turn it into a business," Pecoraro added. "It's good to have a source of income... [from] something you enjoy doing."
Beyond learning to manage finances and navigate a busy schedule, running a business has taught Link and Pecoraro practical social skills.
In dealing with slow responses and some crazy design requests, Link has learned patience. Pecoraro, meanwhile, has learned perseverance as she develops her nail tech skills.
"When I started out, I wasn't as good as I am now," Pecoraro reflected. "It's taught me a lot of trial-and-error and pretty much [to] stick with it."
In the future, Pecoraro imagines she will always do nails "on the side," and Link foresees herself further enhancing her skills as a beautician.
"Although I am on the PA track, I would love to go to Esthetician school for a little bit," Link said. "That whole field—beautician field—always has interested me."
From tattoos to hair, and from henna to nails, the beautician field offers many artistic avenues.
"In the beauty industry, there's so much you could do," Percoraro said.
For both students, their businesses are more than just a source of income. Their experiences have allowed them to develop their artistic skills while learning life lessons about time management, patience and perseverance.
"If you have a passion for something, you could definitely turn it into a business," Pecoraro said.
Carly Hunter is a writer for The Setonian’s Features section. She can be reached at carly.hunter@student.shu.edu.
