With the demands of schoolwork, jobs and extracurriculars, it can be difficult for students to find the time and energy to engage with their creative hobbies. Some Trinity students, however, have found an innovative way to do just that by channeling their passions into business.
Katie Simmons (@kt_polish on Instagram), junior marketing and communication double-major, has been running her nail business, KT Polish, since her senior year of high school.
“During COVID, I kinda picked up a hobby,” Simmons said. “In my free time, I taught myself how to do my nails, using my mom and my sister as guinea pigs. And … when everything started kind of opening back up again, I started seeing my friends at school, and people started asking me to do [their nails] as well.”
Simmons brought her business with her to Trinity, where she continues to expand it. In an average week, she sees three to five clients who come to her for her intricate designs and other nail enhancements.
Similarly, Camryn Sperling (@camys.crafts on Instagram), sophomore political science and economics double-major, creates patchwork shirts and sweatshirts out of old t-shirts and fabric scraps she sources from thrift stores and recycled craft stores. Though Sperling only recently began selling her work, she had a similar founding experience to Simmons.
“I didn’t actually start, like, ‘Oh, I’m going to sell officially,” Sperling said. “But … a lot of people were asking me about it and asking me to sell it. So I was like, okay. I should start selling this if people want it, and I love making it.”
Social media sites like Instagram often serve as storefronts for student entrepreneurs. Lila Juenger (@nailssbyleela on Instagram), first-year biology major, does nails and cited the app as her primary means of recruiting customers.
“When people ask me, like, ‘Oh my gosh, I love your nails,’ I’ll be like, ‘Yeah, I actually did that myself. You should follow me,’” Juenger said. “So [I advertise] when I see people around or my friends will repost [my account] … comment, share it.”
Sperling and Simmons also conduct the majority of their business through Instagram but utilize other promotional methods as well. Simmons, for instance, got the word out about her business during her first few weeks on campus by wearing elaborate Trinity-themed nails to first-year events and advertising to anyone who asked about them.
For these students, though, it’s about more than just business. With the constant demands of college, these side hustles carve out space for their creativity.
“Honestly, I just wanted an outlet to continue my passion,” Sperling said. “And if that can make me some money, that would be great, especially because I’m trying to save up for study abroad.”
Simmons expressed similar sentiments regarding her business as a way to keep in touch with her creativity. She emphasized the social benefits of her work as well.
“On one hand, it’s a fun creative outlet for me, and I enjoy doing it, but then on the other hand, it’s the connections that I make with my clients,” Simmons said. “[I get] to meet … a lot of different kinds of people that I probably wouldn’t have met otherwise.”
Like any job, running a side business is not without its challenges — cost of supplies, time commitment, personal management — but the students’ love for their art and desire to share it with others make it worth it.
“I don’t want to just create things and … it just be sitting around,” Sperling said.
