Fluorescent white light casts shadows on the wooden desk and the colorful bottles of nail polish atop it. Holding the paintbrush carefully, Coppell High School senior Cynthia Zhao gently paints press-on nails.

In the evenings, this is the scene awaiting Zhao. During her free time, she runs her business, Nails by Cyn, working tirelessly to make press-on nail sets for her clients.

Established in April, Zhao’s business is a rather recent development. However, it has already made a remarkable impact on her clients.

“She is so good at doing [the nail sets] and I never would have thought someone my age could do that, because all the designs are so intricate,” senior Finley Watchman said. “She is so fast in making them as well. She is super efficient and her work is seriously perfect. She definitely has a talent for nails.”

Part of Zhao’s interest in designing nails comes from her passion for art and design as a child.

“She likes art, she likes to paint with nails and everything,” Zhao’s mother Ying Liang said. “I encouraged her to explore those opportunities and whatever she wants to do, and to just go for it.”

Zhao is also very consistent and timely, as she balances rigorous schoolwork and swimming practice along with her business.

“She is really good at meeting deadlines. She is not late, so when she says she is going to get you something, it is going to be there,” senior Aditi Rathod said. “She is always working on her business to make it grow. She has a really good work ethic for sure.”

Zhao’s effort to provide high quality nail sets for her clients is guided by an intrinsic motivation: making nails cheaper and more accessible. The first time having her nails done, she noticed the expense, and she sought a cheaper way for people her age to get their nails done.

“I just wanted to make nails that were affordable because a lot of teenage girls do not have jobs, and I just feel like it will be easier. Also, I wanted to be able to make designs that people actually liked,” Zhao said.

In addition to her personal ambition and the support of her peers, Zhao also learned vital skills in her Business Information Management I class last year, such as making Excel spreadsheets, which helped her in tracking her finances and managing her business.

However, Zhao’s journey is not entirely smooth and straightforward, and she has found her own struggles in the process of running her business.

“[One difficulty is] navigating social media, which posts get the most engagement and stuff like that,” Zhao said. “I am still trying to figure out how I should promote my products on social media.”

Zhao’s success, while mainly attributed to her business, is not confined to it. At the heart of this entrepreneurial endeavor is a successful student, member of the CHS swimming team and kind friend to many.

“She is really great in all her classes, she is an awesome swimmer, and she is just so successful in all the things she is doing right now,” Watchman said. “Her nail business is honestly such an inspiration, and she has always been able to balance so many different things going on in her life. She has been a good friend through it all and I love that I get to support her endeavors.”

Being able to help those around her, whether through her business or not, is part of the passion Zhao conveys through her work.

“I just want to make my clients happy because I know that I have a responsibility, so I want to fulfill that for them,” Zhao said.

Whether or not Zhao chooses to continue her business in the future, every nail set is a token of her dedication to her craft, made with care, creativity and compassion.

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