We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Inshirah Allen . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Inshirah below.

Inshirah , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you tell us a bit about who your hero is and the influence they’ve had on you?

My hero is my sister. She was the one to motivate me to start a business. She helped me find my talents when I didn’t know I had any. My sister is one of the reasons I want to be successful. I want to be able to repay her for all that she’s done for me. Even though she’s never asked for anything from me, I feel it’s the least I can do to show my appreciation. When I feel like giving up on everything, she helps me to see the bigger picture. I’m forever grateful to have someone like her in my corner.

Inshirah , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I was working 10 hour shifts for a company from home. Day after day, I realized my time can be spent doing something better but I never thought that I would be able to make it happen. My sister encouraged me to find something new to do. Soon I realized I enjoyed doing my own nails. I started painting them differently every week. I then started going to the store to buy press on nails since I am a huge nail biter. But I realized the nails in the stores were pretty expensive for them to be bland designs. So I decided to start making my own press on nails. In June 2021 my sister bought me a few supplies and I started creating nails. This is how Nail Sheek by Diamond was created. Soon, I started drawing characters on them, but they weren’t coming out right. I laughed at how terrible they looked, I knew I could do better. With practice I’ve managed to make a few designs that I am comfortable with looking at. I then started posting on Facebook not knowing I would get any sales but I did! I then started an etsy page to sell my products. I’ve made 24 orders on there. My business may not be where I want it to be right now, but I’m still working towards perfecting my craft and growing my customer list. I currently have 4 dedicated customers that have brought over 5 pairs of my nails and I’m very proud of my success thus far. I’m looking forward to being better than I am right now. I can’t wait to see what the future holds.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

” Whatever you do isn’t good enough.” This is by far the toughest lesson I am still trying to unlearn. I fight with myself when I see some of my work that doesn’t come out right. When I go to social media and see other nail techs doing what I am doing but their work is better than mine in every way, I feel inadequate. I quickly get discouraged and feel like I’m wasting my time. However, I’m learning not to look at someone else’s work and feel as if I’m not good enough. I know everyone starts from somewhere. I know everyone has a different upbringing or support system which can affect their business. I’m learning to achieve my goals with all that I have access to and not envy what the next nail tech has that I don’t. Because eventually, I will be where I want to be.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

At first I started posting pictures on Facebook and I would get a few likes. Then I started a tik tok account and started posting time lapse videos of me creating my press on nails. A few of my videos would only get a few views and a couple likes. Others got over a thousand views and I felt accomplished. Then I started participating in Facebook reels, I try to stay as consistent as possible with making a post or video. If I get 1 like on my post I feel like everything I’m doing has a purpose.

Contact Info:

• Website: Etsy.com/shop/NailSheekByDiamond
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/dimethenailtech?igshid=ZDdkNTZiNTM=
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Pretty.Dime25?mibextid=ZbWKwL

Image Credits
Inshirah Allen Talkthatsheeknails Nails Sheek by Diamond