Pettaway Square, located in the heart of Little Rock, Arkansas, is an area where many entrepreneurs open their businesses and its newest resident is L’Etoile Nail Salon. L’Etoile is a new nail salon owned by Sheila Johnson who says that their focus is on quality relaxation for all guests. L’Etoile is the French word for star and Sheila is excited to see her salon’s future shine as bright as the name suggests.
Sheila moved to the Little Rock area seven years ago. She spent twenty years working as a Project Manager/Administrative for the Federal Government, and after retiring, she wanted something more. Through the years, Sheila had always wanted to be a business owner, so when she retired, she started thinking about what kind of business she would start.
“I’ve always enjoyed getting my nails done. There are not many black business owners that own salons.”
-Sheila Johnson
This made her start thinking about changing that, and she determined that there was no better time than the present.
After completing an online search for Arkansas small business loans, Sheila came across Communities Unlimited (CU). She contacted CU’s Lending Team to see if they could assist her with start-up costs for her new business idea.
Sheila began working with Communities Unlimited Senior Economic Development Officer Debra Williams and Loan Assistant Amber McClellan. “The whole process was not long. Debra and Amber were very detailed and helped to explain everything,” Sheila stated.
Sheila closed on her loan in September 2023 and immediately started working on getting her business going. Sheila has been in the building for over a month and has hired three employees. She is working on getting a few more to join her staff.
Not only does Sheila have the background and experience to run the business, but she also hired a professionally trained salon manager to help maintain the salon’s success.
Sheila wants to see her business grow and plans to expand into a full beauty salon in two or three years. Her plans are for L’Etoile Nail Salon to soon be an icon in the Little Rock area.
