Nail Talk and Hair

Angie Cummings never thought she'd own a salon. When her husband surprised her by buying one, she worried about expanding her clientele beyond the loyal fans of her at-home nail business. "So I kind of just stumbled into [this business], honestly. But it has been the biggest blessing," she says. "There's never a day, ever, that I wake up and think, 'I don't want to work.'"

The turnaround came when Cummings realized she could "[sit] there talking to people" as she boosted their confidence beautifying their nails. The salon is fresh from recent redecorating, which included painting the walls a soothing neutral color and filling tall vases with even taller reeds. Within the new salon, massaging pedicure chairs cushion clients during luxurious spa services, and oval portrait mirrors capture the flash of stylists' scissors and twinkling eyes as they customize fashionable cuts.