We recently connected with Idonteá Richardson and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Idonteá, thanks for joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?
Earning a full-time living from my creative work has had its advantages and disadvantages. In June of 2021, I was working in the public sector as the manager of Legal Operations for a well-known nonprofit organization. I enjoyed my role, but, after two years I increasingly became burned out. With other factors included, I decided to put in my two weeks. Within that time, I applied for other positions. However, nothing seemed to align with my career path or long-term goals. Consequently, I decided to focus 100% on my online press-on nail boutique, Hammered Nails for the first time. This was a new venture for me because I’ve always used my legal career to fund things I needed for my business. Nonetheless, I knew that would not be the case much longer and decided to get creative to maximize my income.
Therefore, I decided to shift my focus toward my creative talents and use the knowledge and experience gained from my law degree to run my online press-on nail boutique, Hammered Nails. I made this happen through strategic planning, organizing, time management, self-growth, and perseverance. However, this process had its challenges. I had to set strict hours for myself to focus on inventory, payouts, events, collaborations, wholesale, meetings, and time for me to be creative and create new nail sets to sell to kids and adults.
A disadvantage that has taken place in my two-year journey of being a full-time creative is establishing creative blocks. Which I experienced a lot last year, resulting in me not creating or marketing as many press-on nail sets as I could have. However, I was patient with myself, used traveling as an inspiration, and creatively sketched out new nailsets over time. From these elements, I was able to get my creative process back flowing.
An advantage I was able to leverage was negotiating deals and collaborations during this time. I have been able to achieve a small level of success with my business with strict budgeting. I only buy things that can make me more money. For instance, I will not purchase a polish color just because it is trendy at the time. I strategically calculate whether I will get my money’s worth from buying this nail item. Initially, asking myself, “How many sets can I create and sell using this polish color?”
Being able to work full time on my business has awarded me a lot of flexibility with traveling within the past two years. I have traveled to Cancun, St. Martin, Aruba, Amsterdam, London, Paris, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán, and Cabo San Lucas. All of which, I was able to network and gain clients from the places I’ve traveled to. With my passion for traveling, I was able to introduce my brand to other countries and bring international awareness to nail health. This has developed international brand awareness for Hammered Nails in other countries that I didn’t think would come this soon. It’s amazing when I get an alert on my phone that someone from Aruba, France, or Mexico is browsing my site and decides to purchase an item listed in my nail catalog.
I was also a part of two significant moments in two of my great friends’ lives. One friend tied the knot with the man of her dreams and my other friend proposed to the love of her life. I can’t seem to think if I was working full time for someone other than myself, I would have missed those important moments and greatly regretted it. Yet, my business awarded me the satisfaction and flexibility of being there to support my family and friends in different parts of their life journey.
However, it wasn’t always like this. I’ve had staggering moments within my entrepreneurial journey but, I never allowed those thoughts to take over my initial plan for Hammered Nails. Everything started to flow more fluently when I stepped outside of my comfort zone and found my target audience. Guiding me to advocate for a healthier alternative to acrylic nails with surrounding communities and educating other entrepreneurs with my STEAM based vlogged segments, Sip and Swatch ®. Some major affirmations that I should have implemented sooner that would have sped up the process for me would be, “Believing starts with a thought, achieving starts with action, and failure starts with not doing.” “The WIN is coming don’t worry about the WHEN.” “No one cares, work harder.” As well as “you do not receive your harvest in the same season you plant your seed.” These four quotes I’ve tailored and centered around my business structure. These quotes have taught me to act on every thought when it comes to creating art, be patient with myself, and to foresee the future results of what will come from creating art through press-on nails.
Although I’ve enjoyed this journey as a full time entrepreneur, I will be reconvening my legal career this spring to broaden my financial plans to expand Hammered Nails. I will go back to running my business on part-time hours. However, that does not mean my business will only get part of my time. I will still provide my clients with quality press-on nails, great customer service, new products, interacting with them through Sip and Swatch ® and still advocating for nail health throughout the community. Altogether, every website purchase will go towards helping fund my legal education.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Hammered Nails is an online press-on nail boutique that provides luxury customizable press-on nail sets for kids and adults. I started Hammered Nails in 2017 to bring awareness to nail health and showcase a healthier alternative to acyclic nails. My journey started in the nail industry when I became an undergraduate student at Indiana Tech University. I had to sacrifice getting my nails done every two weeks for my school books. During this journey, I returned to my roots as a kid and started doing my nails again. I would receive so many comments on my nails weekly and no one knew I was wearing press-on nails. That’s how naturally I customized each press-on nail set I wore. After graduation and a year of planning, I decided to create Hammered Nails.
The services Hammered Nails provide include
Customizable Luxury Press On Nails For Kids and Adults.
Nail Parties (Consultation Required- For Kids Only)
House Call Natural Manicure and Pedicure (Consultation Required)
Reflexology Services – Hands and Feet (Consultation Required)
The problems Hammered Nails solves is the fact our nails are non-damaging, trendy, convenient, and reusable. Here at Hammered Nails, we understand that your nail tech may get sick or can’t squeeze you for an appointment at the last minute. However, that does not mean you should not have fabulous nails. Or you don’t wear nailregularlyis and want to look cute for your date, vacation, event, or girl’s night out. We are here to offer press-on nails to anyone who wears them on a biweekly basis or every once in a while for special occasions only such as birthdays, back to school, school pictures, graduation, vacation, maternity shoots, weddings, or video shoots. What sets us apart from other press-on nail brands is that we offer over 30 nail lengths and shapes to fit your desired nail request. We also offer different collections such as $10 Tuesday, Grab N Go, and Custom Order Request.
$10 Tuesday can only be purchased on Tuesdays of each month.
Grab N Go nail sets are quick, cute, and easy sets you can purchase and apply within seconds.
Custom Order Requests are request you submit through the website of detailed nail sets you would like recreated (pictures are highly recommended for nail Inspo ) Or you can request for a freestyle set.
I am most proud of educating my clients on nail health and annihilating the myths behind press-on nails being cheap, popping off, not lasting, and not fitting their nailbeds properly. For our potential clients I would like you to know that you will be valued at Hammered Nails and here it is a safe place to learn about alternatives to acrylic nails and your nail health. Because at Hammered Nails, you’re your own nail boss. I am here to service you in all of your nail requests for press-on nails.
Are there any books, videos, or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
Books that have assisted me greatly in my entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy are Smart Money Moves For African Americans by Kelvin Boston, Atomic Habits by James Clear, Soar by T.D Jakes, How Money Works by D.K Publishing, Power Shift by Daymond John, #Girl Boss by Sophia Amoruso, The Most Powerful Woman In The Room Is You by Lydia Fenet, and The Small Firm Roadmap by Lawyerist.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
The lesson I have unlearned was the concept of being trained to believe the concept of ” I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” I’ve always been under the impression that I needed to always be working and that is what I did. I would work two jobs, while attending college, operate Hammered Nails, and still find a way to have a social life. My friends always honored my ability to balance it all. However, when I look back sometimes I am in awe that I was able to still fit sleep into my schedule.
Although, the older I got the wiser I became, and now I understand that resting is true wealth. Being able to listen to my body has gained my inner peace I can’t explain. Dedicating time to doing absolutely nothing, but relaxing, is exhilarating. This life lesson has made me a better entrepreneur because I no longer overwork myself, overbook my calendar, or take on community events I don’t have the capacity for.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hammerednails.net
- Instagram: Hammered.Nails
- Facebook: Hammered
- Twitter: HammeredNails
Image Credits
Idonteá Richardson
Hammered Nails