It all started when Christian was just fourteen years old, learning how to do makeup by watching videos on the internet in her rural farming town. Now, Christian has completed her cosmetology training and is even getting a master’s degree.
Running her own beauty salon has always been the dream for 24-year-old Nicaraguan entrepreneur Christian. When COVID-19 hit right as she got her start, it didn’t deter her from pursuing her passion.
Through her own hard work and drive, Christian has brought a much-needed service to the town where she grew up, and business is booming.
She offers a whole suite of beauty services out of her home, from hair care, straightening, perms, styling, relaxing, keratin treatment, and nanoplasty to makeup and manicures of all kinds.
“To be honest, I can’t keep up,” she says of the requests for her services, which she’s currently expanding to meet demand.
But it wasn’t always easy.
When I started, I knew nothing. I learned on my own, al bolsazo [from scratch], as we say in Nicaragua. Through my training, I am able to provide better service and help my clients.
From looks to books, Christian invested in herself
Beauty is something Christian was always interested in, growing up with her family in Nicaragua.
“When I was little, I played with my cousin, and we liked to do nails,” says Christian. “After that, I remember enjoying putting on makeup.” When she turned 14, Christian looked to the internet for instruction. She had the tools and the love of the work, but her first attempts at makeovers didn’t always go so well. “By watching YouTube videos, I learned how to apply makeup on myself,” she says. “But when I applied makeup on another person, it was a total, total, total disaster. Obviously, every person is different — face type, skin type — those all influenced the disasters I made at first.”
Now, as a professional with her own business, Christian looks back on those early days with a smile.
“One time, there was someone with a light complexion, and I applied a dark foundation because that is what I used,” Christian says. “I also said I could style hair. I started using a flat iron on curly hair, but I learned first that you have to treat it before using the flat iron, otherwise poof.” She laughs and pops her hands out wide, indicating how puffy untreated curly hair can get after an attempt at straightening it without product.
And yet, Christian says people kept coming back. It was the first time that she thought maybe she could make a living doing people’s hair, people’s nails. It was the spark of a dream.
I’ve enjoyed doing this since I was a child. I styled my mother’s hair and enjoyed doing it, so it’s something that I’ve carried with me all my life.
COVID-19 unmoored Christian’s family
Like many other people around the world, Christian and her family were thrown by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. At 19, Christian was meant to start her own life, to step out into the world and pursue her dreams — but the pandemic had other plans.
Although Nicaragua didn’t ever “lock down” during the pandemic, COVID-19’s hold on the global economy had devastating effects felt around the world. For Christian’s family, work started to dry up.
“Everything fell apart. There was no work. My father was the pillar of our household, but he just lost his job. My mother was the one who worked. We decided to focus on farming.”
It was a hard time for Christian’s family, but Christian wasn’t going to let a pandemic keep her from following her dreams.
“I had just bought my first acrylic [nail] kit. I remember telling my sister-in-law, ‘let’s go and practice!’,” Christian says, laughing about their first attempts together. “We used super glue to apply nails. It was a disaster. It took hours upon hours to make them look super pretty.” But in the end, they didn’t look bad, given Christian’s lack of materials — and training. She knew that in order to take her beauty dreams to the next level, she’d need to invest in her own professional development.
“When COVID-19 hit, I made the decision to start studying. I hadn’t even taken a course by then, because the materials were expensive,” she says. “Little by little, I was able to buy them, and afterward my sister-in-law paid for my first course.”
As Christian learned, her business grew — and didn’t stop growing
Once she had the training, Christian started working out of her family home, which she lived in with her parents, siblings, and grandparents.
“We didn’t have a house,” she says. “We lived at my grandfather’s house. It was very difficult when we started because all of us stayed in one room, but over time we were able to expand.”
When Christian learned about how Kiva partner MiCrédito supports women entrepreneurs in Nicaragua, she knew she had to invest in herself. Inspired by a fellow entrepreneur, Christian reached out for more information.
Since I received the loan, I am proud that I earn my own income.
“I learned about MiCrédito because I have a friend who worked with them. She is also an entrepreneur, and her daughter is working with me now,” says Christian.
It’s not surprising that women entrepreneurs like Christian and her friend support one another, and work to hire other women. Research shows that women are more likely to invest their earnings in ways that have a long-term impact on their families and communities.
Around the world, 740 million women like Christian are underbanked, which makes it tricky for even the most determined of entrepreneurs to get their start, especially in rural areas like the Nicaraguan town where Christian lives.
My advice is to not give up and be consistent. And to make the effort, but most importantly, get training.
“I could have started without the loan,” Christian says. “But it would have been much more difficult.” Christian used her loan to further her beauty education and make important home renovations (like investing in a washing machine) that freed up her time to study and work. She also bought better materials to improve her services. These much-needed changes tightened up Christian’s bottom line and increased demand for her services so much that she’s even hired a few local women to help her keep up
“Since I received the loan, I am proud that I earn my own income. I no longer worry about the fixed household expenses. Not about food, electricity, or water,” Christian says. “I enjoy being independent. I like helping my parents and being on my own.”
The future looks beautiful
Thanks to her improved profits, Christian now has a house of her own where she lives with her brother, her sister-in-law, and her young nephew. She still works out of her house, but she’s planning more renovations to make her workspace more separate and more professional. She also has big dreams for her own future, and for the future of her business.
She hopes to buy her own land someday, and invest in even better products for her clients. But for now, Christian knows exactly what she needs to do next, after she finishes her Master’s program.
“The next steps are to expand my business, finish the training for the young women I’ve hired, and thanks to God, create jobs and continue my training.”
Real women. Real progress.
Christian’s story is just one of millions. Hear how women around the world are growing businesses and transforming their communities
