We recently connected with Rachel Lopez-Bagan and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Rachel thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?
I’ve learned that the idea of being successful is subjective. It depends on what you consider to be “successful” and what your goals are as a business owner and creative. I’ve had my graphic and web design business for over 8 years now and I feel that I’ve learned a lot during that time. Today successful looks like a self sustaining business (basically a business in which I have enough work/income to support myself and my family without going into extreme workaholism) it’s also a business that allows me to be present for my family as well as create and work on projects that I love. Recently I’ve started another business called Play Grnd Nails as a way to tap into my personal creative side a bit more and it’s been a big lesson in trusting the process and moving forward no matter what. Play Grnd Nails is still in it’s infancy and comes with it’s own challenges and rewards, right now I’m focusing on growing it at a steady pace while also letting it be an outlet for me creatively. To sum up, I would say that in order to be successful you need to be able to push through the self doubt, the constant ups and downs of running a business, and be open to changing things up when needed. Really it all comes down to trusting the process and always working to take that next step, whatever it is at that time.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My first business is Play Grnd Design, a graphic and web design business with a focus on branding. I started Play Grnd Design after shifting career paths out of architecture and have grown it to be a successful, full time job for myself. More recently I’ve started another brand, Play Grnd Nails which are hand painted luxury press on nails. Nails have always been a big part of my identity and self-expression, so when the pandemic hit and I had to face losing that piece of normalcy I set out to learn how to do my own nails. I started with dip powder but I hated how it destroyed my natural nails, then I played around with creating my own nail decals which were fun but didn’t get me the full painted nail art look I wanted. Finally, I stumbled upon gel nail tips and started playing with creating my own press-ons and instantly got hooked.
In 2022 I became a mom and after going through a bit of a whirlwind shift in identity press on nails helped me reconnect with myself once again. It seems like such a silly concept but being able to have nice nails and a way to showcase my style and identity means so much as I navigate this new identity of mine (not to mention the fact that I have like zero minutes to spend at a nail salon!) Getting into the press-on game has become such an incredible creative outlet and a great way for me to share killer nail art with the world. It’s allowed me to get back into painting on a tiny scale and has helped me connect with so many other talented and supported artists!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Running a business and working for yourself comes with a lot of challenges and lessons to be learned. I’ve learned alot from starting Play Grnd Design that I’ve been able to take into this new venture of Play Grnd Nails. I don’t have a specific event that happened to illustrate my resilience in this new business, rather a constant looming of self doubt that I work every day to push past. Getting exposure is one of the hardest things I’ve dealt with in getting new clients and customers, there’s been many times I’ve wanted to give up out of frustration that I’m not making the amount of sales I think I should be or reaching as many folks as I want to. I’m fortunate to have the experience of starting a business already to pull memories from to remind myself that the hardest most rewarding thing to do is just keep moving forward especially when I feel like I can’t. Anytime I get in my head or start the comparison game on social media I take a step back and remind myself why I’m doing what I’m doing. I enjoy created hand painted designs and other products where I get to create cool packaging that all connects to my brand story and I know that if I just keep going the business will continue to grow.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
I recently became a mom at the end of 2022 and it’s forced me to pivot in a big way. I’m my daughter’s primary care taker during the day which means I don’t have the time and flexibility I used to have. It’s forced me to get creative with working more efficiently and taking any downtime I have to work and create while also trying to remember to take time to rest and recover. I’m currently in the process of starting a new business: Play Grnd Nails which has added another layer of stress and struggle to the mix, while also adding in a creative outlet that has helped bring me back to myself. Now that I’m a few months in I’m definitely finding my stride and I’m noticing that I work a lot quicker than I used (I have to!) I have also had to re-access where I put my energy in terms of jobs I take on and the products I want to create for my new brand. It’s been a big lesson in being flexible and focusing on what makes me happy, brings in the level of support I want for my family, and has the potential frow growth and connection.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.playgrndnails.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/playgrndnails/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@playgrndpressons https://www.pinterest.com/playgrndnails/ https://www.playspacegrnd.com/