When it comes to getting nails done, it’s not just about the design.
To business and marketing major Alyssa Parker, 24, it’s about the care.
Parker is a student entrepreneur who started her own nail technician business. From her dining-room-turned-nail-spa, Parker polishes clients nails in a couple hours into eye-catching art.
Building A List Nailz didn’t happen in a magic snap of her fingers. It took time and patience.
She started it fresh after graduating El Segundo High School in 2019.
“There was a lot going on in the world and I felt like I wanted to do something with substance,” Parker said. “Something that I can contribute to this world — and nails were the first thing I thought of.”
Posting her nails on Instagram and TikTok helps keep her business active and reach people. She has worked with OPI and Nike, and also does catered nail work at birthday parties, events and corporate events.
She started having clients over every two weeks.
A client that stepped in on a Friday was Jennifer Donnell, 53, who came in with a friendly warm smile. She sat down on the seat ready for her new set of nails.
Donnell knew Parker before she started her own nail shop.
“She was working at another nail salon that I would go to, and she was one of the nail artists there that would do my nails. So I was already familiar with her work.”
She went to an event in Hawthorne featuring small businesses at Glow and Flow, a beauty supply store that opened in 2024. That’s when she saw A List Nailz.
“It’s very private, it’s very personal. This is for people who want personal attention. She’s not starting and stopping and doing anything else. It’s one on one. You have her full attention,” Donnell said.
Fred Jones from the Professional Beauty Federation located upstate in Auburn said there are about 50,000 licensed hair, skin and nail establishments in California.
Jones has been a legal counsel advocate representing the beauty industry and has 26 years of experience when it comes to starting businesses.
He said for nail service providers, it’s not just about applying their craft but valuing the safety of their client.
“The beauty industry allows them to balance their professional and personal life. In a way, there are a lot of other careers that are more nine to five, five days a week. We want to give them that kind of flexibility. But it’s not just about finances. It also includes time management and freedom which is a very attractive element,” Jones said.
His advice to students who are learning to build their own company like Parker is that health and safety are just as important as artistic ability.
“Because we need to be able to convince our clients that we hold their safety paramount. That comes first,” Jones said.
Before business marketing major Parker, 24, started her own gel nail business, she had a nail biting dilemma on her hands.
Over a decade ago, inside the Kings and Queens nail spa in Hawthorne is actively filled with clients, and everyone has a role to play.
Until click, click, click.
A noise came from a 12-year-old girl sitting in the corner of the room.
It was Parker leaning back against her chair as she frequently fought the temptation to bite her nails.
And now her nails clicked together against her teeth.
Her mother didn’t like how Parker would bite her nails. Shortly after, she put acrylic nails on Parker in the nail shop in an attempt to stop biting them.
“That’s what really got me into nails as a kid cause I used to bite my nails often and my mom needed something for me to do, so I wouldn’t keep biting it,” Parker said.
The moment Parker saw the colorful patterns, her eyes fluttered as she stared at the vivid designs.
She tilted her head curiously. Her eyes scanned around the room and watched how others worked.
“It wasn’t like a color that caught my eye. It was just admiring the workers and how hard they had to work to get something out of nothing,” Parker said.
As she sat quietly behind the workers, she noticed every move they made.
“I would love seeing the person sitting right next to me do a really cool design,” Parker said.
The way their eyes locked on the nails like magnets and their gentle care for their clients inspired Parker. That’s when the idea of nail technicians sparkled in her mind.
She was in middle school at the time and the thought of becoming a nail technician herself never occurred to her. Over time, Parker discovered paying attention to small details at the nail salon in giving her a sense of purpose and a way to contribute to the world.
Parker said she notices little things about herself and other people to the point where she wants to help them take care of their nails too.
A couple of years later, it’s a quiet, late night in Hawthorne. No cars pass by.
Then splash.
Somewhere in the corner of the beige, single-story house was a tiny dining room where Parker was up practicing nail designs.
A nail polish remover bottle wobbles before tipping over. Its liquid sizzled, spreading across like lava to devour a table cloth.
Most people should be sleeping around 3 a.m. She was worried she would get in trouble.
But her mother wasn’t upset. She saw the determination in Parker and is supportive of her daughter.
“In the beginning I had a deep passion for being creative so I really used that moment to use a time of peace, this is where I want to get too. It motivated me to stay up at night. I was able to step away and have fun and learn something new.”
Parker said.
Staying up until the early morning hours taught her all of this is to show her family she can work hard like them too.
The tenacity for staying up late at night applying nails and working tirelessly motivates her to pursue this passion even more when she notices them smile.
“Seeing the satisfaction and the happiness of my friends, like that, fueled me to keep going. That led me to be like, ’OK let me try it on myself more, let me do crazy art,’ Parker said.
But to her, the owner of A List Nailz, it’s not just about designing nails.
“I want to learn how to run a business,” Parker said. “I went back to school for business and marketing, mainly business, so I can be able to come out to the world freely and calmly. So I can put in the footwork.”
Spring has sprung.
The streets of the same Hawthorne neighborhood were active with cars driving by as Parker stayed in that same house.
What was once a dining room now transformed into Parker’s own nail salon. There are many items displayed around the floor and the walls. LED lights, a red lip-shaped pillow and nail hand figure stand props.
In the corner sits the pedicure chair with an iridescent foot spa basin and a table stands across from it where she works with her clients.
She transforms it into a nail salon that has impressed people. She said she created a system of consistency where people are able to trust her.
Parker paused.
Then ZAP. BUZZ. CLANK.
Electric tools, nail bits and hand files for nails are now in the grasp of Parker as she sat at her very own table, present in her own nail room.
Her sleeves were folded up and she wore a black apron with bejeweled polish bottles that float below the phrase, “Pick a color,” written in gemstones.
She was ready to dip into the work of nail designing.
One of Parker’s clients is biology major and dog trainer Kennedi Huff, 24, who comes every two weeks. She found Parker on Instagram and enjoys her experience at A List Nailz.
“I felt relieved that I kind of have a safe space,” Huff said. “I can appreciate that she’s professional but also friendly.”
Many people compliment Huff on her nails.
They ask if she got them from a shop. But Huff always tells them the same thing.
“No, actually I go to a person, a nail tech,” she said.
She said watching Parker and her company grow has been inspiring.
“She is inviting, she is professional and adaptable,” Huff said.
To Donnell, Parker’s shop packs a concierge experience complete with free snacks and beverages.
Prices range from manicures for $40, pedicures for $45, basic gels for $50 and hard gels for $65.
Parker wants her business to transform into a lounge at a new location.
“I want it to be like a wellness center where they can sit down, relax and be pampered. The surface would be clean and their nails are healthy,” Parker said.
Parker has two dream ideas for her future career.
Her first idea was to be a medical nail spa for diabetics, athletes who are hard on their feet and the elderly.
Now, Parker is in school training to get a medical nail license where she can work side by side with a nail podiatrist. That involves treating nails with excellent care.
“I want the medical nail spa to be clean and healthy. We’re focusing on growing people’s nails. Changing people’s nail lives,” Parker said. In the medical nail spa dream, she wants to give her clients healthy snacks and a workshop to educate her community.
Her second idea is to open a nail lounge with seats, meeting and study rooms offering places to do homework.
Parker envisions her lounge to be a place for the people to relax until it is time for the client’s turn to get their nails done in private rooms, one on one.
Throughout her work process, sometimes doubt and anxiety come across her mind.
“There is no pressure now even though I do good work, sometimes I feel pressured like, ‘Oh, there’s an expectation on me now.’ People know my work is good, so I have to make sure it’s always good,” Parker said.
