Teen overcomes seizures to start own business

At just 18, Shanice Willis refused to let epilepsy or academic setbacks define her future.

Instead, she leaned into her creativity, took a leap of faith and transformed a tiny storeroom in her Union Gardens, St Andrew, community into her own nail studio. It’s a small business that she hopes will one day become the foundation for an even bigger dream.

Willis told THE STAR that seizures kept her away from classes at Holy Childhood High School almost every two weeks.

“When I went back, I wouldn’t know what’s going on. So every class I would just fall short, so I was just never on top,” she said. Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterised by recurrent, unprovoked seizures caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Her frequent absence from school affected her confidence and grades.

“To be honest, workwise I wasn’t the best, so it was hard seeing that when the grades came out and mine were off. I just felt out of place and dunce,” she said.

As CSEC examinations approached, Willis said the stress triggered even more frequent seizures, making an already difficult situation even harder.

“I only got three CSEC. I was stressed. I used to get all three seizures a month and mine troubles me when I am sleeping,” she said. Not being recommended for many regional exams and with money at a premium, she made a decision.

“I asked my mother if I could go to HEART to do nails,” she said. Earlier this year, she enrolled at the HEART College of Beauty Services to become certified in nail technology, but much of her practical skills had already been self-taught.

“I was on TikTok watching videos and then my mother bought a beginner kit that included all the basics: arcylic, brushes, tips, lamps and just everything and I really learned everything in a month. I was practising on my hands,” Willis said.

Today, sitting inside her compact shop, Willis reflected on the first nail set that made her realise this hobby could become a career.

“I remember the Jamaica-inspired set I did and posted on TikTok and said ‘Ye man a me this, this can work’,” she said, smiling.

After completing her HEART programme and while awaiting certification, Willis worked in a school canteen before her TikTok videos caught the attention of a salon owner on Waltham Park Road.

“She was just working me out. I wasn’t getting to practise nails, only pedicures, for the four months I was there,” she said.

Unsure of what to do next, Willis found an unexpected opportunity when a friend offered her an unused storeroom to convert into a salon. With roughly $60,000 in savings and support from neighbours and friends, she slowly transformed the space into what is now known as Nailed By Shan.

“When it comes to help, I had to swallow my pride and asked my neighbour who does construction and took what I could get. My friend had this pink paint and I had some white from my neighbour. I end up mix it to stretch it and the fan now is a cheap fan like six grand ($6,ooo) a town. It naa blow much still,” she told THE STAR laughing while looking around at her set-up.

“This light fixture somebody donate, and I already have some nail polish and I just order everything else online. Everything took like three days because my neighbour just wanted to do everything at once, so it felt like a bang,” she said.

That ‘bang’, she said, came almost immediately after she documented the renovation online.

“I started getting the bookings. Some came through and some didn’t, more than five persons per week and other persons passing in the community,” she said. However, Willis explained that operating from Union Gardens has its drawbacks.