Boss Gyal of the Month: Angelina

This month, I will be introducing a new series. Each month will feature a Boss Gyal - whether it be a small business owner or content creator within the Caribbean community. It's important to support small businesses and creatives within our community and through this, I hope to help create a bigger space for Caribbean creatives and small business owners.

I came across Angelina and her business - nailsbyangc through The Brown Girl Diary, and I couldn't be more grateful. Platforms like these highlight talented, hard working creatives in the community. Angelina was one of the first businesses I purchased from and I love the quality of her work. She truly has a passion for what she does, which is why I chose her and her business to be the first feature!

1. First off, tell us a bit about yourself!

Hi, my name is Angelina Chung. I am a small business owner in Toronto, ON. The name of my business is nailsbyangc and we offer handcrafted press on nails and cuticle care products.

2. What inspired you to start your own small business?

To be completely honest, I started my business because I was tired of receiving poor service from the salon. I was always super uncomfortable when I was at a salon and my nails would never last or actually look the way I wanted, so I decided to learn to do them myself. I got certified for acrylics in March 2020, but due to the pandemic I was unable to take physical clients, so I began selling press ons through Instagram and then eventually I created an Etsy shop. 3. How did you feel prior to starting your business? Were you nervous putting yourself out there?

Before starting my business, I was honestly terrified but also really excited. I wasn’t sure what I was doing or who to ask for help. I hadn’t really seen any other Indo-Caribbean nail techs in my area, so it was really scary jumping into an industry where I didn’t see anyone that looked like me. But honestly, it’s been the best experience of my life. I’m constantly learning new things about running a small business and meeting some other amazing Indo-Caribbean business owners who I probably wouldn’t have come across had I not started this journey.

Given the current circumstances due to COVID-19, how did you learn to adapt your business to succeed in these unprecedented times?

Originally I planned to take face to face clients for acrylics, but due to the pandemic I had to shift gears. I was able to take a few clients in between the various lockdowns in Toronto but the majority of my business was press on nails. The shift to press ons wasn’t too hard, as I had most of the supplies I needed. The hardest part was probably marketing and reaching new customers through Instagram.

5. What is your favourite part of owning a small business and what advice would you give to other people looking to start a small business themselves?

There are so many things I love about owning a small business. I love getting to connect with my customers and other business owners. I also really enjoy seeing people wear and love my work. I put so much time and care into all the products I create, and it makes it all worth it when my customers loving them.

To anyone thinking about starting a small business, I say do it! It’s scary at first but totally worth it. Being a business owner is a learning experience, so it’s okay not to know everything when you’re starting out, but if you don’t try you’ll never know if you could be successful. My biggest piece of advice is don’t be scared to invest in yourself and your business. I’m not saying spend all your money on products or marketing, but do your research, read books on starting a business, talk to other small businesses; those are all ways to invest in yourself that don’t cost too much.

6. As you know, my blog is centered around the Caribbean experience. What does being Indo-Caribbean mean to you?

Other than my family I never really had any Indo-Caribbean influences growing up, so I never really understood what it meant. I remember being confused as a kid; never being “brown” enough or “Indian” enough compared to the South Asian kids in class and feeling really out of place. It’s taken a while, and I’m still learning to embrace my culture, but as an adult, I am so proud and happy to call myself Indo-Caribbean. After finding the Brown Girl Diary and your blog I feel such a sense of community and family. It’s so nice to see that we’re all really learning what it means to be Indo-Caribbean and learning about the stories of ancestors, which bring so much attention and awareness to our beautiful and diverse community. Our culture is so unique and beautiful, from the music we listen to, to the food we eat. Each of our stories are unique and no matter who you ask their definition of being Indo-Caribbean is gonna be a bit different. That’s the beauty of it! We all have different experiences but we are all connected.

7. Last but not least, a very important question remains: is it Chicken Curry or Curry Chicken? Chicken Curry!