Before I Got Home, My Daughter Started a Business

Before I got home from work the other day, my daughter decided she was starting a nail business. Effective immediately.

See, before my parents headed back to Florida the Tuesday before, Peyton had painted her grandmother’s nails and earned five dollars. Then she convinced (or coerced) her mom to pay another five for the same service. In Peyton’s mind, that was proof of the pudding. 10 whole dollars!

So within five minutes of me walking through the door, she had dragged a chalkboard easel out by the street, written up her offer, and set up a table with all her supplies. Then she sat down and waited for customers to appear which, in our quiet neighborhood, is not exactly a reliable business model.

Still, she was ready. And as I watched her sit there, first full of confidence and then full of impatience, I saw more of myself than I expected.

Not in the nail-painting part, necessarily, but in the waiting. In the hoping. In the work of putting signs out into the world and wondering whether they’re in the right places, clear enough to read, compelling enough to matter, and actually leading anyone back to you. (Business owners, you know what I mean?)

After dinner, I told the kids we could take a walk, which of course meant they rode their bikes while I walked behind them. The second Peyton spotted our first female neighbor outside, she lit up. This was it. Her first real sales pitch.

Then Miss Loretta got closer, and Peyton froze up.

So I stepped in and did what dads do. I helped her shape a quick elevator pitch, something simple that explained what she offered and why someone might say yes. Just enough to get her moving.

And then, Miss Loretta said yes. She told Peyton that the following Saturday, when her daughter and nieces came over, Peyton could paint all their nails.

Of course Peyton got extremely excited, but what stood out to me even more was the confidence that followed that first yes. 

Not long after, she pitched another neighbor, the mother of one of her classmates, who booked Peyton’s services as a birthday gift for her daughter that coming Monday.

Now at that point, Peyton flew home, dropped her bike in the yard instead of using the kickstand like a civilized person (because who needs it!), and sprinted upstairs to tell her mom the news. Pure joy.

I stayed back and chuckled. Because the resemblance between my seven-year-old daughter and my almost 47-year-old self was a little uncanny. 

As we approach our 25th year in business, I can say with complete honesty that not a day goes by when I don’t need some kind of confidence boost to keep moving forward with positivity.

That may sound surprising after all these years, but I think it’s natural. We tend to believe experience should replace uncertainty. We assume that if you’ve built enough, survived enough, and done enough, self-doubt eventually packs up and leaves.

It doesn’t. What changes is your relationship to it.

You learn that confidence doesn’t always arrive before action. Sometimes it shows up only after you take the risk. After you put out the sign. After you ask the question. After you make the pitch with your voice shaking a little.

Peyton reminded me of that.

She didn’t start with certainty or guaranteed customers. She started with belief. Then she took action, hit discomfort, accepted a little help, and got a yes. And that yes created traction.

A seven-year-old with a chalkboard sign may not know all of that yet. 

But she does know this: put yourself out there and ask for the opportunity. Sometimes that’s all it takes to turn hope into a win.

Join JHD at The Nexus at Trilith

If you’re looking for a place to continue your business journey, join us at The Nexus. It’s a space for entrepreneurs, creatives, and business owners to connect, share ideas, and keep moving forward together. Stop by, say hello, and see what we’re building. 

There’s always room for one more at the table.

461 Sandy Creek Rd, Suite 4109

Fayetteville, GA 30214

10 AM – 5 PM