Meet Mia Rubie

 

We were lucky to catch up with Mia Rubie recently and have shared our conversation below.

Mia, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

As complex, evolving human beings, I don’t think we were born to have one singular purpose. I believe that during our lifetimes, we can find different purposes that feel “right” through the many stages of our lives. I found my first true professional purpose when I followed my passion for nail art and built a business out of it around 11 years ago. Creating nail art that was unique and sparked an interest from the public was very exciting. The momentum of new customers finding me and a rapidly growing social media following really fueled me. During this time, I didn’t realize that creating a nail art business was my purpose – I was simply honoring the golden rule of “following my passion.” But reflecting over the last decade has given me the clarity to understand that my purpose was distilled from this journey. It’s not just about me and my business making money – it is about inspiring others to do something that perhaps wasn’t taken seriously or seemed too “out of the box.” I am here to show others that you can in fact create a career out of something you truly enjoy. You can do the thing that you love to do!

I have shifted from a hustling entrepreneur that took on many projects, to more of a balanced lifestyle. I can still hold space for others who want to work as an independent creative, serve my customers top tier nail art and be present as a mother who is deeply involved with her child and family. This has meant saying no to things, slowing down and realizing that we can pivot when needed. I just want others to know that it’s ok to have a change in “purpose” as you grow. If I had to define it, my purpose is to create, inspire, be of service, model kindness, humor and empathy to myself and others – no matter what stage of life I’m in. That feels right and purposeful.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I’m a nail artist that goes by @superflynails and small business owner who has been obsessed with nails since I learned to paint my own (quite badly!) at 10 years old. What started as a fun creative outlet, turned into a small business located in San Francisco (my hometown) alongside 5 other nail artists. We operate as a collective known as Sparkle SF – all of us focused on cutting edge gel nail art.

I went to college for small business and floated around afterward for a couple years in corporate before I landed on nail art as my first true entrepreneurial pursuit. It was something very exciting for me and at just the right time in terms of trends being set off and sought after in the nail enthusiast world. So many new innovations and techniques were budding at the time of my launch. I went after learning how to do nails and art styles with a vengeance and loved it so much! I was able to take my love for art, education, experience in business environments and apply these skills to a real, tangible thing that is still going over ten years later. Being able to connect with customers one on one and give them an experience that results in fabulous nails that brings them joy is truly incredible. Most of our clients are long term, return customers, or as like to call them: “lifers.” I often joke that they are trapped now that they refuse to go back to “normal” nails!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Willingness to learn, consistency and lots of patience. If you are not experienced in your field/industry, be willing to learn. Take classes, ask for help, study your craft and take some calculated risks! No one knows what they are doing when they first start out. There are some days, even after more than 10 years in business, I still feel like I don’t know what I’m doing so I look for ways to learn what I lack. It’s a lot of trial and error. There are a lot of mistakes to be made, but with consistency comes growth and development of skills and valuable lessons. To me, consistency means showing up and doing the work even on days you are overwhelmed or full of self doubt. Even if it’s only an inch forward, you are still moving in the direction of your goals.

Patience is also key to growing yourself and your business. Success and achievement don’t happen over night. They come with time and persistence. Don’t let setbacks knock you down. Bend but don’t break. You may feel discouraged and disappointment from mistakes or failures that occur during running a business or creative endeavor. The key for me has been patience. Patience with myself, my clients, and my business growth. I love the saying “slow and steady wins the race.” Although, there is no actual “race” – it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

Scaling growth in a highly niche business such as nail art has been my number one obstacle for expansion. We are a collective of independent artists that thrive without being micromanaged. I believe artists crave a level of autonomy. Nail techs that niche down into specialized art are rare and hard to find. I have yet to find a magic solution to take what I’ve built and bring more of it out to the world. I am brewing some solutions to this growth block, but none of them are simple. One idea would be to open a school or program that trains nail techs who want to focus on nail art and techniques. Currently, most nail schools just get you primed for the state licensing exam and don’t offer much beyond the basics of manicuring and pedicuring that are mostly outdated. Not sure if that’s the solution, but I’m definitely exploring it!

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