Meet Sophia Espinoza

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sophia Espinoza and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sophia, how does your business help the community?
I try and make my nail services more affordable so that fellow college students, or non-college students, are able to treat themselves without worrying about breaking the bank. Sometimes just having your nails done can make someone feel more put together and I want to make that a more accessible option for people.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Apart from the small nail business I run, I am also a full-time college student. School is always something that has been super important to me and I love learning about everything. I am a current Junior at MSU studying Psychology with a minor in Cognitive Science and a minor in Law. Doing nails is a way to still keep a creative outlet which I think is easy to lose when there are so many other things going on. It took time and planning in order to start doing nails while being a full-time student but if something is important enough, you make it work. I’ve definitely had to learn patience because getting clients was a whole other challenge to overcome, but I genuinely love connecting with all the people I meet and learning about them. As a Psychology major, I’ve always been interested in people, so doing nails is fulfilling because I get to meet new people and talk to them about all sorts of things.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend were to come to East Lansing for a week here’s some of the must-do things we would do:
Visit Chateau Coffee Co- this is my second part time job as a barista and they have the cutest coffee flights that we’d have to go try
Walk MSU’s Campus- the campus is huge and beautiful and we could make a whole day of walking around and feeding the squirrels
Try different coffee shops/bookstores- I’m a huge reader so going to some smaller bookstores and cafe’s such as Hooked would be on our list for sure.
Places we’d eat- Cottage Inn for sure, some of the best pizza ever. Then there’s a Trader Joes nearby where we could buy stuff to cook a nice meal at home.
Constellation cat cafe- we’d of course have to go see the kitties!!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My biggest supporters have always been my parents and my sister. My sister would let me spend hours practicing nail art on her and my family has always encouraged me to make my dreams a reality. I am surrounded by a lot of creative people and people who uplift me constantly, including my boyfriend Brayden. I could not of begun this journey without any of them.

Instagram: @nails.at.sophs @soph.espinozaxx

Linkedin: Sophia Espinoza